You can think of your traits as sitting along a scale. For example, everyone may feel emotional, get jealous, or want to be liked at times. But it is when these traits start to cause problems that you may be diagnosed as having a personality disorder.
A personality disorder can affect how you cope with life, manage relationships, and feel emotionally. You may find that your beliefs and ways of dealing with day-to-day life are different from others.
You can find it difficult to change them. You may find your emotions confusing, tiring, and hard to control. This can be distressing for you and others. Because it is distressing, you may find that you develop other mental health problems like depression or anxiety.
Research shows that personality disorders are fairly common. Around one in 20 people live with some form of personality disorder. Anxiety disorders by clicking here. Depression by clicking here. A doctor will ask you questions about your life and what feelings, emotions, and behaviours you have. The doctor should be a psychiatrist. Problems with diagnosis are explored in more detail in further down on this page. People with cluster A personality disorders can find it hard to relate to other people.
Their behaviour might seem odd or eccentric to other people. Paranoid personality disorder If you have been diagnosed with this, you may feel very suspicious of others without good reason. This can make you feel that other people are being nasty to you. You might feel easily rejected or hold grudges. Schizoid personality disorder With schizoid personality disorder, you may have few social relationships and will prefer to be alone.
You may not enjoy or want to be part of a close relationship. This may include being part of a family. You might appear cold and removed from situations. Schizotypal personality disorder Schizotypal personality disorder is where you have problems with relationships with other people.
You may have strange thoughts, feel paranoid and have odd behaviour or appearance. You might have an inappropriate display of feelings. People with cluster B personality disorders can find it hard to control their emotions.
Other people might see them as unpredictable. You may get easily frustrated, aggressive and be prone to violence. You may lie to get what you want.
Others may see this as acting selfishly and without guilt. You may blame others for problems you are having in your life. You may feel anxious and distressed a lot of the time. You may have problems with how you see yourself and your identity. You may self-harm or use drugs and alcohol to cope with these feelings.
This can affect the relationships you have with other people. Histrionic personality disorder If you are diagnosed with histrionic personality disorder, you may like being the centre of attention. You may feel anxious about being ignored. This can cause you to be lively and over-dramatic.
You may become bored with normal routines, worry a lot about your appearance and want to be noticed. You might be easily influenced by others. Narcissistic personality disorder Narcissistic personality disorder can mean you have a high sense of self importance.
You may fantasise about unlimited success and want attention and admiration. You may feel you are more entitled to things than other people are. You might act selfishly to gain success. You may be unwilling or unable to acknowledge the feelings or needs of others. Dependent personality disorder If you have dependent personality disorder, you may allow other people to take responsibility for parts of your life. You may not have much self confidence or be unable to do things alone.
You may find that you put your own needs after the needs of others. You may feel hopeless or fear being alone or abandoned. Avoidant personality disorder If you have avoidant personality disorder, you may have a fear of being judged negatively. This can cause you to feel uncomfortable in social situations. You might not like criticism, worry a lot and have low self esteem. You may want affection but worry that you will be rejected.
Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder This is also known as anankastic personality disorder. Everything you do must be just right, and nothing can be left to chance. You may be very cautious about things and think a lot about small details. You may have problems completing tasks due to your own high standards. Others may see you as being controlling. Without treatment, personality disorders can be long-lasting. Personality disorders affect at least two of these areas:. Diagnosis of a personality disorder requires a mental health professional looking at long-term patterns of functioning and symptoms.
Diagnosis is typically made in individuals 18 or older. People under 18 are typically not diagnosed with personality disorders because their personalities are still developing. Some people with personality disorders may not recognize a problem. Also, people may have more than one personality disorder. An estimated 9 percent of U. Certain types of psychotherapy are effective for treating personality disorders. During psychotherapy, an individual can gain insight and knowledge about the disorder and what is contributing to symptoms, and can talk about thoughts, feelings and behaviors.
Psychotherapy can help a person understand the effects of their behavior on others and learn to manage or cope with symptoms and to reduce behaviors causing problems with functioning and relationships.
There are no medications specifically to treat personality disorders. However, medication, such as antidepressants, anti-anxiety medication or mood stabilizing medication, may be helpful in treating some symptoms.
More severe or long lasting symptoms may require a team approach involving a primary care doctor, a psychiatrist, a psychologist, social worker and family members.
In addition to actively participating in a treatment plan, some self-care and coping strategies can be helpful for people with personality disorders. Score one point per True answer. As you answer, try to think about your consistent experiences since adolescence or young adulthood, not just how you feel in this moment. Then, add up your points and read on to learn more about what your score signifies. Personality Disorder Quiz.
True False. I often feel that people are criticizing, judging, or attacking me. I often feel I have to use drastic measures to keep people from leaving or abandoning me. My emotions are very intense. When I feel something, the emotional volume is always turned up to When I feel hurt, I react quickly and strongly, and often say things I later regret. A person with antisocial personality disorder will typically get easily frustrated and have difficulty controlling their anger.
They may blame other people for problems in their life, and be aggressive and violent, upsetting others with their behaviour. Someone with a personality disorder may also have other mental health problems, such as depression and substance misuse. Find out more about the different types of personality disorder on the Mind website. Treatment for a personality disorder usually involves a talking therapy. This is where the person talks to a therapist to get a better understanding of their own thoughts, feelings and behaviours.
Treatment can last several months or years, depending on the severity of the condition and other problems the person may have. As well as listening and discussing important issues with the person, the therapist may identify strategies to resolve problems and, if necessary, help them change their attitudes and behaviour.
Therapeutic communities TCs are places where someone visits or stays for an intensive form of group therapy. The experience of having a personality disorder is explored in depth.
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