Personality Disorder is the characteristics of a person which make him/her different from another person in terms of thoughts, feelings and behaviour which is relatively permanent over time.
The pattern of experience and behaviour begins by late adolescence or early adulthood. Personality disorders can be diagnosed only after 18 years.
Types of Personality Disorders
There are various types of personality disorder broadly classified into three clusters. There common signs and symptoms are as follows.
Cluster A:
Paranoid personality disorder – a pattern of being suspicious of others, irritable, hostile, pathologically jealous spouses, reluctant to confide in others or become close to anyone.
Schizoid personality disorder- being detached from social relationships and expressing little emotion. A person with schizoid personality disorder typically does not seek close relationships, chooses to be alone and seems to not care about praise or criticism from others.
Schizotypal personality disorder- a pattern of being very uncomfortable in close relationships, having distorted thinking and eccentric behavior. A person with schizotypal personality disorder may have odd beliefs or odd or peculiar behavior or speech or may have excessive social anxiety.
Cluster B:
Antisocial personality disorder – a pattern of disregarding or violating the rights of others. A person with antisocial personality disorder may not conform to social norms, may repeatedly lie or deceive others, or may act impulsively.
Borderline personality disorder – a pattern of instability in personal relationships, intense emotions, poor self-image and impulsivity. A person with borderline personality disorder may go to great lengths to avoid being abandoned, have repeated suicide attempts, display inappropriate intense anger or have ongoing feelings of emptiness.
Histrionic Personality Disorder – a pattern of excessive emotion and attention seeking. People with histrionic personality disorder may be uncomfortable when they are not the center of attention, may use physical appearance to draw attention to themselves or have rapidly shifting or exaggerated emotions.
Narcissistic Personality Disorder – a pattern of need for admiration and lack of empathy for others. A person with narcissistic personality disorder may have a grandiose sense of self-importance, a sense of entitlement, take advantage of others or lack empathy.
Cluster C:
Avoidant Personality Disorder – a pattern of extreme shyness, feelings of inadequacy and extreme sensitivity to criticism. People with avoidant personality disorder may be unwilling to get involved with people unless they are certain of being liked, be preoccupied with being criticized or rejected, or may view themselves as not being good enough or socially inept.
Dependent Personality Disorder – a pattern of needing to be taken care of and submissive and clingy behavior. People with dependent personality disorder may have difficulty making daily decisions without reassurance from others or may feel uncomfortable or helpless when alone because of fear of inability to take care of themselves.
Obsessive- compulsive personality disorder - a pattern of preoccupation with orderliness, perfection and control. A person with obsessive-compulsive personality disorder may be overly focused on details or schedules, may work excessively not allowing time for leisure or friends, or may be inflexible in their morality and values.
Etiology
Genetics
Biological – many biological factors like hormones and neurotransmitters are responsible for symptoms of personality disorders.
Psycho-social – There are various psychosocial factors which might cause personality disorders, namely Childhood traumas like physical/verbal/sexual abuse; family environment and parenting, unconscious mental process (healthy/unhealthy defense mechanisms) and peer influences.
Management
Management plans for personality disorders include psychotherapies and pharmacotherapy. Following are some therapies which are generally used for treatment of personality disorders:
Dialectical behaviour therapy
Mentalization-based therapy
Transference-focused psychotherapy
Insight-oriented psychotherapy
Supportive psychotherapy
Supportive psychotherapy
Family therapy and group therapy.
For expert advice Nirvan Hospital – Centre of excellence in Behavioral and Addiction Medicine has a very efficient team of Psychiatrists, Clinical Psychologists and counsellors to manage such issues.
