What is a personality disorder? Show
A personality disorder is a mental health condition that affects the way people think, feel, and behave. This can make it hard to handle emotions and interact with others. This type of disorder also involves long-term patterns of behavior that don’t change much over time. For many with this disorder, these patterns can lead to emotional distress and get in the way of work, school, or home life. There are 10 types of personality disorders. They’re broken down into three main categories:
Read on to learn more about cluster A personality disorders, including how they’re diagnosed and treated. Cluster A personality disorders include:
While they’re separate conditions, they all tend to involve thinking and behavior that appears unusual or eccentric to others. This often leads to social problems. Paranoid personality disorderParanoid personality disorder causes patterns of distrustful behavior. People with this personality disorder often feel suspicious about the motives of others or fear that others intend to harm them. Other traits of paranoid personality disorder include:
Schizoid personality disorderSchizoid personality disorder is an uncommon condition that causes people to avoid social activities and have trouble displaying emotion. To others, people with schizoid personality disorder may seem humorless or cold. Other traits of schizoid personality disorder include:
Schizotypal personality disorderPeople with schizotypal personality disorder are often described as having unusual personalities. They tend to have few intimate relationships, distrust others, and experience a great deal of social anxiety. Other traits of schizotypal personality disorder include:
Personality disorders are often harder for doctors to diagnose than other mental health conditions, such as anxiety or depression. Everyone has a unique personality that shapes the way they think about and interact with the world. If you think you or someone close to you may have a personality disorder, it’s important to start with an evaluation by a mental health professional. This is usually done by either a psychiatrist or psychologist. To diagnose personality disorders, doctors often start by asking a series of questions about:
They might ask you these questions in a conversation or have you fill out a questionnaire. Depending on your symptoms, they may also ask for permission to talk to someone who knows you well, such as a close family member or spouse. This is completely optional, but allowing your doctor to speak to someone close to you can be very helpful for making an accurate diagnosis in some cases. Once your doctor gathers enough information, they’ll likely refer to the new edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. It’s published by the American Psychiatric Association. The manual lists diagnostic criteria, including symptom duration and severity, for each of the 10 personality disorders. Keep in mind that the symptoms of different personality disorders often overlap, especially across disorders within the same cluster. There are a variety of treatments available for personality disorders. For many, a combination of treatments works best. When recommending a treatment plan, your doctor will take into account the type of personality disorder you have and how severely in interferes with your daily life. You might need to try a few different treatments before you find what works best for you. This may be a very frustrating process, but try to keep the end result — more control over your thoughts, feelings, and behavior — in the front of your mind. PsychotherapyPsychotherapy refers to talk therapy. It involves meeting with a therapist to discuss your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. There are many types of psychotherapy that take place in a variety of settings. Talk therapy can take place on an individual, family, or group level. Individual sessions involve working one-on-one with a therapist. During a family session, your therapist will have a close friend or family member who’s been affected by your condition join the session. Group therapy involves a therapist leading a conversation among a group of people with similar conditions and symptoms. This can be a great way to connect with others going through similar issues and talk about what has or hasn’t worked. Other types of therapy that might help include:
MedicationThere are no medications specifically approved to treat personality disorders. There are, however, certain medications that your prescriber may use “off label” to help you with certain symptoms. Additionally, some people with personality disorders may have another mental health disorder which can be the focus of clinical attention. The best medications for you will depend on individual circumstances, such as the severity of your symptoms and the presence of co-occurring mental disorders. Medications include:
Make sure to tell your doctor about any medications you’ve tried in the past. This can help them better determine how you’ll respond to different options. If you try a new medication, let your doctor know if you experience uncomfortable side effects. They can either adjust your dosage or give you tips for managing side effects. Keep in mind that medication side effects often subside once your body gets used to the mediation. If someone close to you may have a personality disorder, there are a few things you can do to help them feel comfortable. This is important: People with personality disorders might be unaware of their condition or think they don’t need treatment. If they haven’t received a diagnosis, consider encouraging them to see their primary care doctor, who can refer them to a psychiatrist. People are sometimes more willing to follow advice from a doctor than from a family member or friend. If they’ve received a diagnosis with a personality disorder, here are a few tips to help them through the treatment process:
If you’re feeling overwhelmed and don’t know where to start, consider starting with the National Alliance on Mental Illness’ guide to finding support. You’ll find information about finding a therapist, getting financial help, understanding your insurance plan, and more. You can also create a free account to participate on their online discussion groups. Which factor differentiates a client diagnosed with schizotypal personality disorder from a client diagnosed with schizoid personality?The main difference between schizotypal and schizoid personality disorder is that schizoid does not have any paranoid ideation or suspiciousness. This means that people with a schizoid diagnosis will not be overly worried about other people's motivations or worried that people are out to get them.
Which is a primary behavior of a client diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder?People with antisocial personality disorder tend to antagonize, manipulate or treat others harshly or with callous indifference. They show no guilt or remorse for their behavior.
How are personality disorders defined?A personality disorder is a mental health condition that involves long-lasting, all-encompassing, disruptive patterns of thinking, behavior, mood and relating to others. These patterns cause a person significant distress and/or impair their ability to function.
Which personality disorder is most often treated within the inpatient psychiatric setting?Patients with borderline personality disorder, which make up about 6 percent of the US adult population, utilize inpatient treatment programs because of their inability to control and regulate their emotions and behaviors.
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