Personality disorders are characterized by an enduring pattern of maladaptive thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that can cause serious detriments to relationships and other life areas.
Types of personality disorders include:
- Antisocial Personality Disorder is characterized by a long-standing disregard for rules, social norms, and repeatedly violating the rights of others through intimidation and dishonesty. People with this disorder antagonize, manipulate or treat others harshly. They usually display symptoms during childhood; they lack empathy for others, and lack remorse for their destructive behaviors. They might evolve into modern age sociopaths and psychopaths or a serial offender.
- Avoidant Personality Disorder involves severe social inhibition and sensitivity to rejection. The major issue associated with this disorder occurs in social and occupational functioning. They have low self-esteem and more susceptible to rejection restrict personal, social, and work contacts. Such feelings of insecurity lead to significant problems with the individual’s daily life and functioning.
- Borderline Personality Disorder is also termed as “emotionally unstable personality disorder” associated
with symptoms including Fear of abandonment, Lack of sense of boundaries, poor feelings of self-worth, severe difficulties with relationships, unstable self-image, emotional instability and impulsive behaviors. - Dependant Personality Disorder involves fear of being abandoned or separated from important individuals in their life. People exhibit dependent and submissive behaviours often characterized by self-doubt and pessimism.
- Histrionic Personality disorder is associated with extreme emotionality and attention-seeking behaviors. People with this condition feel uncomfortable in settings where they are not the center of attention, have rapidly changing emotions, and may engage in socially inappropriate behaviors designed to attract attention from others.
- Narcissistic Personality Disorder is associated with a peculiar lasting pattern of exaggerated self-image, self-centeredness, and low empathy. People with this condition tend to be more interested in themselves than with others.
- Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder is a pervasive pattern of preoccupation with orderliness, inflexibility, perfectionism, and mental and interpersonal control, at the expense of flexibility, openness, and efficiency. This is a different condition than Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD).
- Paranoid Personality Disorder is characterized by a distrust of others, even family, friends, and romantic partners. People with this disorder perceive others intentions as malevolent, even without any evidence or justification.
- Schizoid Personality Disorder involves a long-standing pattern of detachment from social relationships. People with this disorder are directed toward their inner lives and are often indifferent to relationships. They lack a desire for intimacy and will avoid close relationships with others. They may be designated as typical “loner”.
- Schizotypal Personality Disorder is often associated with cognitive or perceptual distortions as well as eccentricities in their in speech, behaviors, appearance, and thought. They exhibit unusual perceptual experiences, including bodily illusions with Suspiciousness or paranoid ideation.
Impulse Control Disorders
- Kleptomania involves uncontrollable and recurrent impulses to steal without any self -intention for personal use or financial gain. Those with this condition experience escalating tension prior to committing a theft and feel relief and gratification afterwards. People who have kleptomania will often steal things that they do not really need or that have no real monetary value. Behavior modification therapy, Cognitive behavioral therapy and Psychodynamic therapy can help them.
- Pyromania is an impulse control disorder having an unexplainable obsession with fire that results in acts of fire-starting that endanger the self and others. The fire setting is not done for any monetary gain or for ideological reasons, or revenge, or as a result of a delusion, or impaired judgment
- Intermittent Explosive Disorder is a behavioral disorder characterized by brief outbursts of anger and violence that are out of proportion for the situation in response to everyday annoyances or disappointments. (e.g., impulsive screaming triggered by relatively inconsequential events). Impulsive aggression is not premeditated and is defined by a disproportionate reaction to any provocation, real or perceived.
