A Look Deeper at Personality Disorders

A look deeper at Personality Disorders

A look deeper at Personality Disorders

Kristine L King Empire State University Abnormal Psychology

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A look deeper at Personality Disorders

A personality disorder is a blanket term which describes a condition in people who seem unable to regulate their thoughts, feelings and behaviors which in turn leads them to act in negative, harmful or destructive ways. The DSM-V lists ten distinct personality disorders. Different from some stress-related or mood disorders, personality disorders might be considered to be chronic, deeply rooted in the psyche of the afflicted individual. Organized by the DSM-V into three clusters, each cluster sharing similar traits, personality disorders can represent cognitive distortions and maladaptive behaviors, which often stem from traumas and stress- producing events that have occurred in childhood. According to Butcher et al., 2013, DSM-V criteria for personality disorders includes an enduring pattern of behavior that is unavoidable and inflexible, as well as stable for a long duration.

The three personality disorder clusters, A, B, and C, represent different behavior patterns and affinities. Within the each of the individual clusters, the disorders display common traits, yet each disorder has its distinguishing factors. Personality disorders also share many traits amongst the clusters; this comorbidity rate often makes it hard to make a clear diagnosis" (Butcher et al., 2013). The personality disorders in cluster A are paranoid, schizoid, and schizotypal. An individual with one of these disorders might seem odd or eccentric, as well as displaying “distrust, suspiciousness, and social detachment” (Margaret Johnson, 2014). Cluster B includes histrionic, narcissistic, antisocial, and borderline personality disorders. Margaret Johnson, 2014, portrays those with a cluster B

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A look deeper at Personality Disorders

diagnosis as dramatic, emotional, and erratic. Finally, the personality disorders in cluster C are: avoidant, dependent, and obsessive-compulsive. Individuals that are diagnosed with a cluster C disorder show anxiety and fearfulness.

Cluster A: Paranoid, Schizoid, and Schizotypal Personality Disorders A person diagnosed with paranoid personality disorder could appear to be outwardly angry for any number of reasons. “Suspicion, distrust, anger, a tendency to bear a grudge, as well as to be unforgiving, these symptoms define a person with paranoid personality disorder.” (Margaret Johnson, 2014) As in all cluster A disorders, an individual with paranoid personality disorder might seem introverted, detached, and perceived as a loner. An individual exhibiting inherent anger and suspicion for others often create distance between themselves and the rest of the world. Additionally, a person with paranoid personality disorder feels that others are to blame for their perceived actions and thoughts. Resulting in person pushing the outside world away as self-defensive mechanism or self-fulfilled prophesy.

Cluster B: Histrionic, Narcissistic, Borderline, and Antisocial Personality Disorders While those diagnosed with a cluster A disorder can show signs of being introverted while a primary trait of the cluster B personality is extraversion. Individuals with borderline personality disorder exhibit erratic, impulsive, and unstable behaviors. They do not have stable interpersonal relationships or a strong sense of self, those with "borderline personality disorder have "chronic feelings of hollowness" and are quick to react with "inappropriate, intense anger" (APA, 2000).

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A look deeper at Personality Disorders

Additionally, these individuals may experience severe dysphoria, which can cause extreme reactions such as with "cutting" (self-mutilation). In the documentary The Silent Epidemic, Self-Harm, a girl "Kelly," who was being treated for borderline personality disorder, describes her experience: “I needed a release from pain. I just couldn't touch reality, my one way of touching reality was to cut myself, I needed to see the blood, this made me feel better to see the scars." Accompanying this self-mutilating behavior is an increased rate of suicide attempts. (Andover, Pepper, & Gibb, 2007).

A Person with borderline personality disorder experience a high degree of comorbidity with other Axis I disorders including "Bipolar spectrums, anxiety disorders, substance-abuse, and eating disorders" (Butcher et al., 2013). Although several causal factors are associated with borderline personality