Personality Disorder

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·         Personality Disorder

Throughout their lives, people continually develop and change as required by the changing demands, opportunities, and limitations which accompany different stages of life. 

As an individual grows, however, certain broad traits, coping styles, and ways of behaving socially tend to emerge.  

 

 By the time a person has completed the teen years, he has developed his own unique ways of dealing with life situations.  

 

These ways or patterns are his personality.  

·         Personality Development and the Adult

·         An adult personality is usually able to deal effectively with the society in which he lives.  

 

In contrast, there are some individuals whose personality development has been warped. These individuals cannot live comfortably in any society. Such individuals have a personality disorder.  

 

Typical personality disorders are not caused by stress or anxiety but rather by immature and distorted personality development.

  • Paranoid Personality
  • The person who is paranoid feels singled out and taken advantage of, mistreated, plotted against, stolen from, spied upon, ignored, or otherwise mistreated by "enemies." These feelings are delusions. In truth, no one is "out to get" the person.  

    Characteristics of the paranoid personality include the following:
    • Hypersensitive 
    • Rigid
    • Suspicious
    • Jealous
    • Envious
    • Exaggerated sense of own importance
    • Tendency to blame others
  • Paranoia does not seem to interfere with the rest of the individual's personality.  
    Aside from the area of paranoia, an individual may be able to function very well in a highly organized manner.
    • Cyclothymic Personality
    • This mild personality disorder is characterized by extreme mood swings from elation to depression.  
      The mood swings, however, are not disabling to the individual. 

      The individual may feel exhilarated and outgoing with a high energy level-- hypomanic behavior.  

      On the other hand, he may feel melancholy with a mild, depressive-like state. 

      He feels lonely, sympathetic, kind, quiet, and a little sorry for himself.
      • Schizoid Personality
      • This is a personality characterized by shyness, oversensitivity, seclusiveness, and eccentricity in communication and behavior.  

        An example of schizoid personality is an adult who has a life pattern of social isolation (little or no interaction with other people).  

        He is distant and somewhat distrustful of other people, rather fearful, and sensitive.  

        Instead of dealing with people, he concentrates on non-people details of his life such as the meaning of "Wash before wearing" on a new pair of jeans.  

        Does this mean wash the jeans before wearing the first time or, for some reason, do the jeans need to be washed each time before they are worn?  

        He considers this question for several days.  

        This type of dilemma is comfortable for the individual with a schizoid personality because the problem requires no interaction with any other person.
        • Explosive Personality
        • The distinguishing feature of this personality is frequent, sudden outbursts of aggression. 

          Especially under pressure, an individual with this type of personality becomes overly excitable and overresponsive.
          • Obsessive-Compulsive Personality
          • Obsession can be defined as a persistent preoccupation with something--an idea or a feeling. A compulsion can be defined as an irresistible impulse.  

            An individual with an obsessive-compulsive personality feels compelled to think about something that he does not want to think about, or to carry out some action against his will.  
          • People with this type of personality usually realize that their behavior is irrational, but they feel they can't stop the behavior.

            Characteristics of this type of personality include the following:
            • Rigid
            • Punctilious (strict observance of formalities or conduct)
            • Fastidious (hard to please; much too critical and demanding)
            • Very formal
            • Overy conscientious
            • Hysterical Personality
            • Hysterical Personality
            • An individual with this type of personality exhibits the following characteristics:
              • Vain
              • Self-indulgent
              • Overly-dramatic


              • Exhibitionistic

 

 

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