Ever heard of personality disorders? People with personality disorders may seem like us, but their behaviours and moods are often disruptive.
Defined by the American Psychiatric Association (n.d.), personality is the “way of thinking, feeling and behaving that makes a person different from other people”. According to the Association, an individual’s personality is determined by his life experience, inherited characteristics and environment. While a person’s personality usually remains the same over time and is relatively safe, personality disorders emerge when an individual’s personality deviate from the norm and result in conflicts and unhappiness within his community that lasts for a long time.
Diagnosis of personality disorder is never made before a person hits age 21 since personality often undergoes changes in childhood and teenage years (American Psychiatric Association, n.d.). This ensures a proper diagnosis is made.
There are different clusters of personality disorders and affect at least two of the following areas (American Psychiatric Association, n.d.):
Emotional response to others
Self-regulation of behaviour
Way of thinking about oneself and others
Perspective-taking with others
In the following weeks, the clusters of personality disorders introduced are cluster A, B and C. They can be further broken down into different personality disorders (Mayoclinic, n.d.):
Cluster A (Odd and Eccentric):
Paranoid
Schizoid
Schizotypal
Cluster B (Emotional and Impulsive):
Antisocial
Borderline
Histrionic
Narcissistic
Cluster C (Anxious):
Avoidant
Dependent
Statistics of People with Personality Disorders
While the exact number of people diagnosed with a personality disorder is unknown, it is estimated that at least 10 to 13 per cent of the world’s population suffers from some form of personality disorder (Cleveland Clinic, 2018). That’s approximately 1 million people suffering from personality disorder! It is important for individuals suffering from personality disorders to seek early treatment to prevent distress and major disruption to one’s life.
How Can I Help?
Most of the time, it is difficult to get individuals suffering from a personality disorder to seek treatment or even help themselves. If you suspect a closed one has a personality disorder, you can help by offering emotional support (Institute of Mental Health, n.d.). If the individual wishes to speak his mind, allow him to without imposing your own judgements and values. Through active listening, you may be able to find out what is bothering the individual and ask how you can best assist him.
Be warned that depending on their personality disorder, symptoms exhibited may be different. Individuals may either push you away, be hostile towards you or even become overly reliant on you (Institute of Mental Health, n.d.). Make sure to draw the line and seek professional help if the individual starts to be aggressive towards himself and/or others or have suicidal thoughts.
Treatments Available for Personality Disorders
Psychotherapy is considered most effective for treating certain personality disorders. During the therapy, clients will share their thoughts, feelings and behaviours regarding their disorder (American Psychiatric Association, n.d.). Psychologists will help clients to come to terms with the effects of their behaviours on others, which aims to motivate change in clients.
The psychotherapy used to treat personality disorders include:
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
Changes an individual’s maladaptive thoughts and feelings into adaptive thoughts and feelings.
Group therapy
In group therapy, psychologists would establish a safe environment for individuals suffering from different (or the same) personality disorder to come together and share their thoughts and feelings and brainstorm ways to help one another.
Psychoeducation
Education on the disorder, possible treatments and ways to cope are provided for the client and his family so that it is easier for clients to manage their disorder and its symptoms.
In cases where symptoms of personality disorders are so severe and cause extreme mood swings or aggressive behaviour, medications are prescribed (American Psychiatric Association, n.d.). The common prescription includes mood stabilisers and antidepressants.
Summary
Hopefully, you are excited to learn more about the different clusters of personality disorders now! Below is a video that summarises personality disorders perfectly.
If you have anything to share with us, please do! We would love to hear from you.
For a list of helplines, click here.
In the next post, which comes out this Saturday, Personality Disorders: Cluster A will be discussed.
References
American Psychiatric Association (n.d.). What Are Personality Disorders? [Information on a page]. Retrieved from https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/personality-disorders/what-are-personality-disorders
Cleveland Clinic (2018, February 02). Personality Disorders Overview [Information on a page]. Retrieved from https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/9636-personality-disorders-overview
CrashCourse (2014, October 14). Personality Disorders: Crash Course Psychology #34 [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/4E1JiDFxFGk
Institute of Mental Health (n.d.). Personality Disorder [Information on a page]. Retrieved from https://www.imh.com.sg/wellness/page.aspx?id=1218
Mayo Clinic (n.d.) Personality disorders [Information on a page]. Retrieved from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/personality-disorders/symptoms-causes/syc-20354463
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