Personality Disorders

What Are Personality Disorders?

A personality is the combined sum of a person’s thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and conscious actions, molded partially by inherent factors (genes), cultural norms and expectations, and by their experiences. Personality disorders are characterized by disordered thinking, aberrant behaviors, and often antisocial actions that do not match a person’s cultural expectations.

Some personality disorders are more likely to occur after episodes of childhood abuse or childhood trauma. However, personality disorders can also develop without a specific experiential trigger.

Personality disorders are usually diagnosed in adolescence, and treatment differs wildly. Most personality disorders require long-term behavioral treatment, life skill, and relationship training.

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Types of Personality Disorders

Experts in the field recognize ten different personality disorders, categorized into three different types. These are the odd or eccentric personality disorders, the dramatic personality disorders, and the anxious personality disorders.

Cluster A: Odd/Eccentric Disorders

The first cluster of personality disorders is characterized by symptoms such as paranoia, irrational distrust, magical or delusional thinking, emotional detachment, and eccentric behavior. These include:

Paranoid Personality Disorder: marked by suspicion of others, and inherently assuming malevolent intentions.

Schizoid Personality Disorder : characterized by a limited range of emotional expression and inability to form meaningful relationships.

Schizotypal Personality Disorder :recognized by peculiar beliefs and difficulties with societal conventions and social cues, as well as severe anxiety regarding trust and relationships.

Cluster B: Dramatic/Emotional Disorders

These personality disorders are characterized by chronic manipulation and emotional instability, antisocial behavior, and sometimes a lack of empathy. They include:

Antisocial Personality Disorder : characterized by a lack of empathy, lack of remorse, and inability to understand or respect other people’s rights or boundaries.

Borderline Personality Disorder : characterized by unstable emotions, rapidly shifting self-image, fear of abandonment, and impulsivity.

Histrionic Personality Disorder : characterized by excessive emotionality, manufactured or theatrical behavior, and patterns of attention-seeking.

Narcissistic Personality Disorder : marked by a need to be admired, seen as the center of the world, and a lack of empathy.

Cluster C: Anxious/Avoidant Disorders

These personality disorders are characterized by symptoms of avoidance, extreme anxiety, intrusive thoughts, and hypersensitivity. They include:

Avoidant Personality Disorder : characterized by highly inhibited behavior, hypersensitivity to other people’s perception, or potential negative evaluation.

Dependent Personality Disorder : extreme co-dependence, fears of abandonment and separation, and a need to be taken care of.

Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder : distinct from obsessive-compulsive disorder, this is a personality disorder devoted to perfectionism and rules, including extreme moralism and personal rigidity.

Personality Disorder Treatment at Resolutions

Each personality disorder has its own potential diagnostic and treatment protocols, and each person experiencing the disorder will require their own bespoke treatment plan – oftentimes, these treatments are long-term, even life-long commitments to behavioral therapy and training. At Resolutions we help our clients on the path through our outpatient programs, tailored to each client’s needs and symptoms.

People with personality disorders sometimes need to learn or relearn how to put themselves into other people’s shoes. They sometimes struggle with severe anxiety or psychosis, requiring recurring therapy sessions to learn to manage their intrusive thoughts, or separate reality from delusion. Medication management may play an important role in a personality disorder treatment plan, especially for conditions with severe symptoms of anxiety, depression, or psychosis.