Personality Disorders
Purely in England there are approximately 5% of the population or 1 in 20 people suffer from a Personality Disorder.
Individual problems are where a person varies considerably from an ordinary individual, in regards to just how they think, perceive, feel or associate with others. We aren't sure what causes Personality Disorder's. Sometimes the Root Cause's can be linked right back to earlier Abuse or Trauma.
Differences in how a person really feels and disorted beliefs regarding other individuals can result in odd practices, which can be upsetting and may disturb others.
All Personality Disorders consist of:
- being overwhelmed by negative sensations such as distress, anxiousness, unimportance or bad temper and also feeling empty
- staying clear of other people and also sensation empty and also psychologically detached
- trouble managing bad sensations without self-harming (for e.g. drugs, alcohol, or overdosing) or, in rarely, threatening other people
- problems maintaining close partnerships, with partners, kids, family, friends, therapists and carers
- occasionally losing sence of reality
- very odd or eccentric behaviour
Other signs and symptoms:
Individuals often experience other mental health challenges, e.g. Depression, Acute Anxiety or Panic. People can also suffer with Delusions (unreal strong thoughts and beliefs) and/or Hallucinations (seeing or hearing voices or other things that other people cannot see or hear), as well as substance misuse.
Why problems occur:
Personality Disorders, usually emerge in teenagers and proceed into adult years. They are mild to extreme, and individuals may have periods of "remission" where they are well.
Conditions may be hereditary or observed, or experiences of Anxiety during youth: neglect, abuse.
Different types of Personality Disorder are recognised. They have been grouped into one of 3 Categories A, B or C, as follows:
Cluster A Disorders:
This has a tendancy to have challenges relating to others and normally reveals patterns of behaviour which seem odd or eccentric. Others may describe them as living in a dream world. An example is Paranoid Personality Disorder, where the individual is extremely distrustful as well as suspicious.
Cluster B Disorders:
This person battles to control their feelings as well as swings moods between favorable and unfavorable views of others. This causes patterns of behavior others think are remarkable, uncertain and disturbing. An instance is Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) or Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder (EUPD), where the individual is psychologically unpredictable, has impulses to self-harm, as well as has extreme and unstable relationships with others. It is important to understand that this Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) or Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder (EUPD) is only a Disorder within Cluster B, it is not another word for all Personality Disorders. Another example of Cluster B Disorders is Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD).
Cluster C Disorders:
This person battles with persistent and overwhelming feelings of fear and anxiety. They reveal behaviour lots of people would certainly regard as antisocial as well as withdrawn. An instance is Avoidant Personality Disorder, where the person appears timid, socially inhibited, really feels unworthy and is conscious of rejection. The person does not have confidence and self-esteem to form close relationships.
Overall outlook:
Around 1 in 20 people have a Personality Disorder. Many people are only mildy affected now and then (e.g. bereavement, divorce, etc). Only some people need indepth or Professional Psychotherapy Support, but it is proven that simple Counselling does not work. The latest method we intergrate into our Psychotherapies is DBT (Dialectic Behavioural Therapy), which is an advanced form of CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy).