Personality Disorders

By Grady McRae, Shantel Parker, Megan McMillan, Cassie Matthews, Moroni Sorroche, Marlene Avellano, and Thomas Crowther

IntroductionDefinition Some

Statistics…. About 1 in 4 Americans

suffers from a diagnosable mental disorder.

Fewer than 25% of College Students seek treatment.

Personality disorders are disorders characterized by deeply ingrained, inflexible patterns of thinking, feeling, or relating to others or controlling impulses that cause distress or impaired functioning.

Introduction continued…

Schizotypal Paranoid Schizoid Antisocial Borderline

Histrionic Narcissistic Avoidant Dependent Obsessive-

compulsive

Schizotypal

Definition… Peculiar or eccentric

manners of speaking or dressing. Strange beliefs. “Magical thinking” such as belief in ESP or telepathy. Difficulty forming relationships. May react oddly in conversation, not respond, or talk to self. Speech elaborate or difficult to follow.

Schizotypal continued…

Symptoms: Causes: Incorrect

interpretation of events

Peculiar thinking, beliefs or behavior

Suspicious or paranoid ideas

Belief in special powers (telepathy)

Excessive social anxiety

Childhood abuse Neglect or stress

Schizotypal continued…

Treatment: Medication—

antidepressant antipsychotic

One or more types of therapy: Psychotherapy Behavior therapy Cognitive therapy Family therapy.

Paranoid DisorderDefinition

Distrust in others, suspicion that people have sinister motives. Often jealous, guarded, secretive, overly serious.

Paranoid Disorder Continued…

Symptoms: Pattern of distrust and

suspiciousness. They expect people to

deceive, exploit or harm them, all regardless of their relationships with them self's

They have an excessive need to be self sufficient and must have control over those around them

Causes: Biological and

Genetic Factors How the person

was raised

Paranoid Disorder Continued…

Treatment: Medication—

Anti-anxiety agent Diazepam

Anti-psychotic Thioridazine Haloperidol

Psychotherapy is also recommended along with medication

Schizoid DisorderDefinition

Extreme introversion and withdrawal from relationships. Fearful of closeness, with poor social skills, often seen as a “LONER”.

Schizoid Disorder Continued…

Symptoms: Detached from the

social or emotional relationships mostly because they don’t know how to communicate effectively

They often react passively to circumstances.

They enjoy solitude

Schizoid Disorder Continued…

Treatments: No medications

usually assist unless the person is also suffering from major depression.

If at all possible long term medication should be avoided.

Psychotherapy (people with this disorder are unlikely to seek help)

Self help groups (helps the person to develop healthy relationships)

Borderline Disorder Definition

Unstable moods and intense. Stormy personal relationships . Self-image fluctuation and a tendency to see others as “all good” or “all bad”

Borderline Disorder continued…Symptoms:

often has unstable relationships. low self-esteem. problems with impulsive behavior. all of which begin by early

adulthood.

Borderline Disorder Continued…

Treatments: Get enough sleep, and go to bed around the same

time every night. Eat a balanced diet that is low in saturated fat and

contains lots of fresh fruits and vegetables. Get regular exercise, such as walking or swimming. Avoid alcohol, illegal drugs, and medicines that have

not been prescribed to you. These may make your symptoms of borderline personality disorder worse and also may interfere with your prescribed medicines.

Avoid making any major life decisions (like changing jobs, moving, or getting married or divorced) when you are feeling irritable, anxious, angry, or depressed.

Keep scheduled counseling appointments, and take your medicines as prescribed.

Histrionic DisorderDefinition

Constant attention seeking. Believes that everyone loves them. Overly dramatic, enthusiastic, and excessively flirtatious. Shallow and labile true emotions

Histrionic Disorder continued…Symptoms:

Acting or looking overly seductive Being easily influenced by other

people Being overly concerned with their

looks Being overly dramatic and emotional Being overly sensitive to criticism or

disapproval

Histrionic Disorder continued…Treatments:

People with this condition often seek treatment when they experience depression or anxiety from failed romantic relationships or other conflicts with people. Medication may help the symptoms, but talk therapy (psychotherapy) is the best treatment for the condition itself.

Antisocial DisorderWhat it is:

A pervasive pattern of disregard for and violation of the rights of others that begins in childhood or early adolescence and continues into adulthood.

Cause: Typically have a history of conduct disorder before the age of 15, problems such as aggression, destruction of property, rule violation, deceitfulness, lying and stealing, this behavior often predicts antisocial tendencies.

Patients often have had little or no significant emotionally-rewarding relationships in their lives.

Antisocial Disorder Continued…Symptoms:

Failure to conform to social norms Deceitfulness Impulsivity or failure to plan ahead Irritability and aggressiveness Reckless disregard Consistent irresponsibility Lack of remorse, as indicated by being

indifferent to or rationalizing having hurt, mistreated, or stolen from another

Antisocial Disorder Continued…Treatments:

Medications should only be utilized to treat clear, acute and serious concurrent diagnoses. No research has suggested that any medication is effective in the treatment of this disorder.

Psychotherapy Rapport building Focusing on

emotions that cause the person’s actions.

Reinforce any emotions outside of anger or frustration.

Narcissistic Disorder What it is: the

individual is described as being excessively preoccupied with issues of personal adequacy, power, prestige and vanity.

Sub types: 1. The "oblivious"

subtype as being grandiose, arrogant, and thick-skinned

2. The "hypervigilant" subtype as being easily hurt, oversensitive, and ashamed.

Narcissistic Disorder continued… Causes:

An oversensitive temperament

at birth Excessive praise for good

behaviors or excessive criticism for bad

behaviors in childhood Valued by parents as a

means to regulate their own self-esteem

Severe emotional abuse in childhood

When these traits are compounded by a failure

of the interpersonal environment and continue

into adulthood they may intensify until diagnosed.

Symptoms: Reacts to criticism

with anger, shame, or humiliation

May take advantage of others to reach their own goal

Tends to exaggerate their own importance and achievements

Imagines unrealistic fantasies of success, beauty, power, intelligence, or romance

Requires constant attention and positive reinforcement from others

Narcissistic Disorder continued…Treatments:

Short hospitalization for severe cases Self help Group therapy There is no medication that will help someone

with narcissistic tendencies.

Avoidant Personality

Definition Avoidant personality

disorder is a condition in which a person has a lifelong pattern of feeling very shy, inadequate, and sensitive to rejection.

Avoidant Personality Continued…

Symptoms: Always thinking of their shortcomings They would rather be lonely than form close bonds

with others in fear of loss or rejection Very sensitive to any criticism or disapproval Hold back information about themselves in

relationships and are reluctant to become involved with anyone.

Avoid activities and/or jobs that involve contact with others

They are very shy in social settings in fear of doing something wrong

Make potential difficulties seem worse then they are View themselves as unappealing, not as good as

others, and not good socially

Avoidant Personality Continued…Treatments:

Psychotherapy Medications—

Anti-anxiety agents antidepressants

Dependent Disorder

Definition: A highly diagnosed, chronic

disorder in which the person depends too much on others for emotional or physical needs. From deciding who to socialize with to making a decision on what to wear for the day. Persons suffering from this disorder tend to be very needy and possibly suffer from depression and\or anxiety.

Causes are still unknown but are common equally amongst both genders

Dependent Disorder continued…

Symptoms:

Avoiding responsibility Overly focused on abandonment Very Passive, especially in relationships Cannot make decisions without

someone- Separation anxiety and/or depression

Dependent Disorder continued…

Treatments: The only treatment that has shown to

have affect is long term talk therapy which is not guaranteed to help.

Medications are provided but only to treat the depression or anxiety.

Complications — Alcohol and drug abuse-Depression . Suffer from or inflict on physical, emotional

or sexual abuse.

Consequences of non-treatment

Senseless death. Harm to self. Stealing. Lying. Destruction of Property. People that are unable to be

productive for themselves or their families.

In Conclusion… Personality Disorders are not to

be taken lightly. Some are fatal or life threatening. They affect all of us in some way or another. All individuals that have some sort of mode altering disorder should seek help.

Any questions?