Personality Disorders

The term 'Personality Disorders' refers to a group of conditions that have a number of characteristics in common. Personality disorders tend to develop in childhood or adolescence and they shape the way in which people generally react to circumstances. The result is that these people show consistent but extreme patterns of behavior and emotions. Most psychiatrists do not see Personality Disorders as being like mental disorders such as schizophrenia. People with Personality Disorders have same character traits as most of us but to a more extreme degree.

There is no test available to help doctor decide whether someone has a Personality Disorder. Instead the diagnosis is made by identifying characteristic groups of behaviors and symptoms. Personality Disorders are less common in older people.

Types of Personality Disorders

There are nine specific Personality Disorders described by WHO. There are however 3 main groups of Personality Disorder, termed for convenience Clusters A, B, and C. This type of problem experienced by sufferers is very different between clusters.

Classification of Personality Disorders

Personality Disorder Categories

Features of each Personality Disorder

Group of Personality Disorder

Problems experienced by sufferers

Paranoid

suspicious, sensitive, stubborn, self-important

Cluster A

Tendency to be socially withdrawn and have difficulty in forming close relationships.

Schizoid

Emotionally cold, detached, humorless

Dissocial

Disregard of others feelings, impulsive actions, lack of guilt

Cluster B

Experiencing intense emotional responses both positive and negative. This can lead to impulsive and reckless behavior

Impulsive

Emotionally volatile, sometimes very angry and violent

Borderline

Impulsive behavior, suicide threats or action, feeling of emptiness

Histrionic

Self-centered, short lived enthusiasms

Cluster C

Have difficulty with relationships due to high levels of anxiety which can result in avoiding social contract.

Anankastic

Stubborn, lacking emotion or humor, inflexible

Dependent

compliance with others wishes, lack of self-reliance

Anxious

Persistent anxiety, discomfort in company, lacking self-esteem

Causes and Treatment of Personality Disorders

The causes of Personality Disorders are not known, but there are many theories. Personality itself has quite a large inherited component and this has led to research studies into the genetics of personality disorders.

Personality Disorders are commonly associated with other forms of mental illness such as depression and anxiety and these conditions are likely to need treating, usually with medication. A large number of psychological therapies have been used with some success in people with a Personality Disorder.

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