Personality disorders – what is it, how to diagnose it, how to treat it?

Personality disorders are a popular social problem and affect people of all ages. People who experienced rejection early in life, experienced trauma, or had bad patterns in the environment in which they were raised are more prone to the occurrence of dysfunctions. The genetic burden is not without significance. Often the problem occurs during and after vigorous growth (maturation). Previously, a number of dysfunctions could be explained, for example, by the developing nervous system, during which the human psyche continues to shape.

When can a person be considered to be suffering from a personality disorder? Self-diagnosis is impossible, so it is better to consult a specialist. If a potential problem concerns a young person, e.g. a school-age child or a teenager, it is also worth consulting his teachers and a psychologist. Their insights are valuable because they give an image of how a person behaves in a peer environment.

Personality disorders – what is it?

To better understand what personality disorders are, one needs to know the answer to the question – what is personality? In this way, we define a set of physical and mental characteristics, dispositions and inclinations of a given person. To a large extent, they are inborn, but over the years they are shaped by the environment in which a person lives, the people they are surrounded by, and the upbringing they receive. Some evolve, others remain at a low level, far from what the majority of society presents.

The first disturbing symptoms can be picked up in late childhood and adolescence. However, it happens that they are underestimated or make themselves felt only after crossing the threshold of adulthood. Then it is difficult to justify disharmonious attitudes by a hormonal storm or youthful rebellion.

If you suspect that you or a loved one suffer from personality disorders, consult a psychological clinic in Wołomin. Therapists working here specialize in diagnosing the problem, but also help their patients achieve and maintain balance. Thanks to the therapy, it is possible to regain peace, comfort and joy in life, as well as normal functioning in society.

Symptoms of personality disorders

The symptoms of personality disorders vary and depend on what type of person they are – whether they are irrational, antisocial, highly dependent, adhering to rigid rules or, on the contrary, living in a world where no rules seem to apply to them .

Symptoms of personality disorders that should arouse alertness and be the basis for extending the diagnosis are:

disharmonious attitudes, extreme behavior – the impression that the person does not fully control their actions, cannot always explain them rationally, behaves excessively in relation to the situation that has taken place,
disturbing symptoms they are not disposable and are not episodic. They are long-term, with an intense course,
failure to conform to social norms, not paying attention to the feelings of others, not taking responsibility for one’s behavior, insufficient level of empathy towards other people,
escalation of problems in age school and adolescents, which persist and worsen until they reach maturity,
malaise – both mental (mood swings, going to extremes, tendency to depression) and physical – over time, abdominal pain, headaches, nausea, fatigue, insomnia and many other impeding normal functioning may appear,
problems at the level of work and family life – difficulties in contacts with other people, lack of resistance to criticism, inability to build lasting relationships.

Disorders personalities – types

There are at least 9 types of personality disorders . Each of them gives different symptoms and determines different behavior. Note that some of the symptoms can seem quite innocent, e.g. staying aloof, striving to be alone. It is sometimes difficult to determine immediately whether we are dealing with a symptom of a personality disorder, or rather with character traits characteristic of a choleric or introvert. An in-depth psychological interview, including conversations with people from the closest environment, allow the psychologist to make an unambiguous diagnosis, excluding neurological or brain diseases (it happens that they are responsible, for example, for aggressive behavior).

Narcissistic personality

A narcissistic personality is when a person is focused on himself, his needs, the so-called “Self-love” – often very indiscriminately, expecting the same from people around him. He welcomes praise but cannot handle criticism.

Although moderate self-love is part of human nature, people with a narcissistic personality tend to cross a fine line for which there is a lack of empathy, a lack of understanding of people’s feelings, and a fragile self-esteem. Too much focus on one’s desires and expectations makes the “narcissist” close to others.

Go ahead, it can be said that such a person is not adapted to function normally in society or to develop closer relationships with others. They are traumatized by her – they have to be constantly on the alert, take every word they say, bear the burden of constantly hurting someone, even though they are doing nothing wrong.

Borderline personality

Sometimes a person’s symptoms clearly indicate a personality disorder, but a closer look at their behavior prevents a clear diagnosis. In medicine, there is also a term for such a dysfunction, which is borderline , or borderline personality disorders .

Borderline personality disorder is fairly common these days and relates to people who express extreme emotions – from love to hate, from euphoria to despair. However, negative feelings and irrational behaviors, such as:

, prevail

fear of rejection and emptiness,
tendency to make impulsive, irrational decisions,
strong anger inadequate to the situation.

Borderline personality disorders are strong and debilitating – both for the person and those around him. It’s hard to imagine living with a person who loves one moment and hates the other. Very often these difficult and unstable emotions go hand in hand with diseases such as anorexia, bulimia, suicidal thoughts, tendency to depression and self-harm. Most of the time problems start in adolescence during adolescence.

Unless there is a quick and effective psychological intervention, borderline personality disorders worsen and require, in addition to psychotherapy (which often takes place also with relatives), also pharmacological treatment and even hospitalization.

It is worth intervening quickly, because borderline personality disorders can take a dangerous turn, harm the patient himself and those around him. Self-destructive tendencies, but also gambling or engaging in risky, intense sexual activities usually bring devastating results – debts, loss of property, stability, breakdown of family relationships, damage to reputation and much more.

Histrionic personality

A person with this disorder always wants to be the center of attention. We talk about histrionic personality when striving to gain and maintain popularity or recognition in the eyes of others pushes the patient to sexual or emotional provocations, even theatrical dramatization, expressing his own opinions and sticking to them, often without any justification. On the other hand, such a person is easily influenced by others, wants to please them, therefore he focuses excessively on his appearance, and his behavior is sometimes sexually marked, full of inappropriate overtones or seductive gestures. It is not difficult to guess that he has a lot of problems with functioning in a society that perceives him as a selfish and intrusive person.

Antisocial personality

Avoiding people, abnormal behavior, is often harmful or harmful to others, and yet does not make the person feel guilty. Lying to even loved ones in order to achieve your own goals and benefits. Lack of control over bad emotions – irritation, aggression, frustration. Discharge yourself on others. These are only part of the symptoms of antisocial personality disorder. It is not uncommon that such a person’s behavior goes hand in hand with substance abuse or addictions such as gambling. This is because the antisocial personality has a disrupted sense of risk, so there is greater courage to engage in activities that are not entirely justified or rational.

Paranoid personality

Suffering because of the paranoid personality most often manifests itself in obsessive search for conspiracies, proposing conspiracy theories (often irrational, without any justification), suspecting other people, including close people, that they are intentionally harming the patient. This is an absurd situation that also exhausts family, friends and co-workers a lot.

It is difficult for a person who suspects them of collusion or impure intentions to understand that it is otherwise than he thinks it is. He perceives any manifestation of dislike, boredom or dissatisfaction as a personal attack on himself. She is distrustful and very often controls others, especially children or partner, suspecting him of cheating. The lack of trust in people causes them to close in on themselves, to avoid company, not to open up, confide and talk about themselves. They are hard to forgive and tiresome behavior tends to recur or worsen over time. Even the obvious evidence that others are innocent cannot convince them to change their defensive attitude.

Schizoid personality

This type of disorder is most often suffered by individualists, people who avoid others, do not enter into deeper relationships, prefer to work alone. Team activities are not for them – they prefer to engage in work personally, treating it as a mission, a mission that they are able to devote themselves without reservations. They have a similar approach to hobbies or whatever else they engage in. They avoid people, but seek consolation in supernatural phenomena, believe in the sixth sense or seeing aura. They focus on sensory feelings, rejecting the temporal ones that are actually experienced by a healthy person. They think quite abstractly, but due to the fact that they show excessive fear towards others, they do not tighten relationships by keeping people around them at a distance.

Avoidant personality

A person who suffers from Avoidant Personality Disorder , as the name suggests, shuns people, does not need socializing, and does not enter into social relationships. He has a very low self-esteem and many complexes about himself, he feels insecure because he is most afraid of being judged and negative messages towards himself. She works and lives alone, thus protecting herself from criticism, rejection, lack of praise and ridicule. He does not want to be disappointed, therefore he avoids any confrontations, and thus cannot fight for his own or assertive attitude.

It is a difficult experience for family and others around them to be with someone who has an avoidant personality. It is almost impossible to tear down the wall that a sick person has built around himself.

Dependent personality disorder

Lack of dependency can be explained in children and adolescents, but when it concerns an adult, it may be a sign of dependent personality disorder. A man with disorders characteristic of this group:

can’t express his own opinion,
cannot make independent decisions – even the simplest ones,
is passive,
feels helpless,
expects others to take responsibility for his life ,
agrees with all the principles, rules, expectations that others have of him,
focuses on his own fear of loneliness, is associated with other people at all costs.
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Adults who exhibit at least some of the above behaviors feel helpless, need assistance at every stage of their lives, and can consult their disorders with a therapist from a psychological clinic in Wołomin.

Dependent personality disorder only seemingly seems easy to get along with. In practice, it is tiring that he never takes the initiative, has no ideas of his own, does what others do, even though he doesn’t feel like it. It is hard to expect her to leave her partner, even if he treats her badly. The willingness to endure even humiliation or mistreatment is greater than the trach of humiliation. From the partner’s perspective, he or she may feel deprived of privacy and responsible for the other person more than normal.

Anankastic personality

This is the last type of personality disorder that relates to perfectionists, people who are very strict and lacking flexibility in their daily activities. The fear of changes or failures causes them to voluntarily withdraw from social, family and professional life. Although in the latter area they seem to be ideal employees, in fact they are so conscientious, focused and following the top-down schedule that is difficult to work with.

An anankastic personality is characterized by a strong attachment to tradition, old objects to which they feel a strong attachment and sentimentalism. She does everything on time, she lacks spontaneity and flexibility. He doesn’t delegate responsibilities to others because no one can work or act as well as he does.

Psychological clinic in Wołomin – treatment of personality disorders

Can personality disorders be cured? Patients with dependent anankastic personality in the psychological clinic in Wołomin whether paranoid, they can take part in psychodynamic or cognitive-behavioral therapy. Sometimes pharmacology is helpful, but the key to success is the patient’s internal motivation, trust and openness towards the therapist, and the extent to which the characteristics have been established in him. Certainly, the support of loved ones is very helpful, hence the therapy may include sessions with family members and partners.

Psychological clinic Spokój w Głowie is a place where patients are cared for. First, the therapist interviews the patient and his relatives. He has to gather as much information as possible and only then make a diagnosis. It is necessary to rule out neurological diseases, genetic or other defects that are treated pharmacologically and not during psychotherapy. Sometimes additional consultations with other specialists or selection of drugs in cooperation with a psychiatrist are required.

The most important thing, however, is the feeling that the patient is well cared for and that his behavior and disturbing attitudes will not worsen. Well-conducted treatment, support of loved ones and internal motivation can bring the best results.