Modern psychology identifies ten personality disorders (APA, 2013). These are often separated into three groups or clusters. The first cluster is marked by odd or eccentric behavior, a second cluster is marked by dramatic behavior, and the third features a high degree of anxiety. This report is not a diagnosis.Continue Reading
Schizoid Personality Disorder is a mental disorder associated with people characterized with a serious pattern of detachment and indifference, or a very limited range of emotions in social and interpersonal relationships. They are generally loners who prefer solitary activities and rarely express strong emotion. Cluster ‘A’ Schizoid Personality Disorder isContinue Reading
Major DSM-IV-TR CategoriesDiagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (First & Pincus, 2002) Disorders Usually First Diagnosed in Infancy, Childhood or Adolescence Mental Retardation – as Mild Mental Retardation Learning Disorders – as Reading Disorder Motor Skills Disorder – as Developmental Coordination Disorder Communication Disorder – as Stuttering Pervasive DevelopmentalContinue Reading
Avoidant Personality Disorder is one of a cluster of disorders accompanied by anxiety, called Anxious Personality Disorders. These are accompanied by feelings of fear, nervousness, and poor or low self-esteem. People with this disorder often have strong feelings of rejection from criticism and being judged negatively by others, feel uncomfortableContinue Reading
People with Dependent Personality Disorder have a deep-seated need to be taken care of. (APA, 2013) As a result, they are “clingy” and obedient; afraid of being separated from their parent, spouse or other person they may be in a close relationship with. They rely on others for nearly everything,Continue Reading
People with Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder, just as those afflicted with the more commonly known Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), are overly preoccupied with perfection, order and control – at the expense of losing all flexibility, openness and efficiency. (APA 2013) Their obsession for doing everything “right” impairs their productivity. They become soContinue Reading
Antisocial Personality Disorder, sometimes called sociopathy, is the most troubling and researched personality disorder, in which a person usually lacks a conscience of wrong-doing – even toward friends and family members. This person is often impulsive, selfish, dishonest, emotionally shallow, poorly socialized, often incapable of feeling shame, fear, loyalty orContinue Reading
Borderline Personality Disorder is a mental disorder associated with people who have difficulty regulating intense, impulsive emotions over a long period, have a poor self-identity and unstable relationships. People with BPD often feel insecure, are terrified of being left alone or abandoned, have impulsive, often self-destructive behavior, exhibit self-harm orContinue Reading
About seventy-five percent of people diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder are women. (Gunderson, 2011) People with this disorder display great instability, including major shifts in mood, an unstable self-image and impulsivity. (APA, 2013) When combined, these characteristics can make their relationships very unstable. (Paris, 2010) People with Borderline Personality DisorderContinue Reading
The word narcissistic, having an excessive or erotic interest in oneself, comes from Greek mythology in which a handsome young man named Narcissus sees his own reflection in a pool of water and falls in love with it. Not even the lovely nymph Echo could manage to tempt him fromContinue Reading