Personality disorders are a type of mental disorder in which a person has an unhealthy and long term rigid pattern of thinking, functioning, and behaving. A person with a personality disorder faces difficulty in relating and perceiving people and the situations. Personality disorder creates certain limitations and problems in social activities, work, school, and close relationships.

What are Personality Disorders?

People who experience personality disorders have trouble dealing with stressors and problems because of the way they think and behave. And they often blame others for all the challenges that they face. Personality disorders make people different from others because of the way of their feelings and thinking. A person suffering from personality disorders is influenced by inherited characteristics, experiences, and environments.

Personality disorders usually start in early adulthood and teenage years. Personality disorders are of different types, and certain types of personality disorders are less obvious throughout the middle ages.

How to find a Personality Disorders Therapist

If you are looking to find the perfect Personality Disorders therapist it is crucial to make sure that they have the appropriate qualifications, knowledge and experience. At Expat Therapy 4U we only accept therapists who have full professional proficiency in English and are highly experienced in working with people from culturally diverse backgrounds. The clinicians we approve share our values and commitment to provide high quality therapy to the expatriate community in the private sector across Europe and online worldwide. We strongly believe that therapy changes lives, and being accredited ensures all our therapists are qualified to a high standard. You can find a Personality Disorders therapist who is insured to practice and accredited with a recognised membership body online here.

Types of Personality Disorders

There are overall 10 Personality disorders that are grouped into three basic clusters and are based on similar symptoms and characteristics.

Cluster A personality disorders

1. Paranoid personality disorder

People suffering from this disorder find it difficult to reveal themselves to family and friends. They find it hard to relax themselves and trust other people since they believe that they will take advantage of them.

2. Schizotypal personality disorder

This creates distorted perceptions and thoughts. People with this disorder find it extremely difficult to build close relationships, express and think in a way that others find it odd, and use unusual phrases and words. They can think that they have special powers and can read minds. In addition, they always feel tense, anxious and stressed when around others, and paranoid in social situations.

3. Schizoid personality disorder

People this disorder don’t have any close relationships with other people. They choose to be alone with their own thoughts. They usually don’t derive pleasure from many activities, are emotionally cold towards others, and choose to live their life alone without the interference of others.

Cluster B personality disorders

They are characterized by emotional, very dramatic, and unpredictable behavior and thinking. This cluster includes:

4. Antisocial personality disorder

Those suffering from this disorder get into fight easily and behave aggressively, always have empathy problems, are impulsive, lie, steal and consistently behavior irresponsibly. They always violate the rights of others, disregard others and their feelings, and have no remorse for behavior.

5. Narcissistic personality disorder

People suffering from this disorder have a belief that they are the most special and important. They fail to identify others’ needs and feelings, are full of arrogance, are envious of others, and think that others envy them. More importantly, such people choose to live in fantasies about success, power and attractiveness.

6. Histrionic personality disorder

People suffering from this disorder easily get influenced by others and have excessive concern with physical appearance. Moreover, they speak dramatically with strong opinions but know just a few facts.

7. Borderline personality disorder

People suffering from this disorder have frequent and intense displays of anger. This is the reason that their relationships are unstable and extremely intense, which leads them to ongoing feelings of emptiness. Unstable relationships can lead to suicidal behavior and self-harm.

Cluster C personality disorders

They are characterized by fearful thinking and anxious behavior.

8. Avoidant personality disorder

People suffering from this disorder feel inferior, unattractive, and inadequate. They always avoid new activities and meeting strangers. Extreme shyness in personal relationships and social situations leads them to a fear of disapproval, ridicule and embarrassment. They are too sensitive to face rejection and criticism. In addition, they always avoid those activities that require interpersonal contact.

9. Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder

People suffering from this disorder lack the ability to discard worthless and broken objects. They have a stubborn and rigid behavior, are inflexible about values, ethics and morality, and have a strong desire to be in control of situations and tasks. 

10. Dependent personality disorder

They face difficulty disagreeing with others and fear disapproval. When a close relationship has ended, there is an urgent need to start a new one for such people. They have clingy and submissive behavior towards others. They lack self-confidence and always require excessive advice. They tolerate excessive abusive and poor treatment even if more options are available.

Causes of Personality Disorders

Personality is the combination of behaviors, thoughts and emotions that makes you unique. Personality starts building in childhood and is shaped by the interaction of the following factors.

Your genes. There is no doubt that you get the traits from your parents through the inherited genes. These genes are sometimes known as your temperament.

Your environment. It includes the surroundings where you grow up and live your life. It also involves your relationships, family, and all the events that occurred.

These genetic and environmental factors are the main causes of all types of personality disorders.

Recommended treatments for Personality Disorders

If you experience a personality disorder, then a range of treatments are there that can help you.

1. Talking therapies
2. Therapeutic communities
3. Medication

Talking therapies

Therapies are an important treatment method for various personality disorders. The National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has suggested various guidelines for talking therapies. They include:

Metalization-based therapy: Its aim is to improve your ability to analyze and understand the mental state of people.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy: Its main purpose is to understand your beliefs, which have a direct effect on your behavior and feelings. 

Cognitive analytic therapy: Its main focus is to build a trusting relationship between you and your therapist, who can assist you to act in a healthier way to solve the problem.

Other talking therapies include interpersonal therapy, art therapy, psychodynamic therapy, and schema-focused cognitive therapy.

Therapeutic communities

They are a type of community program where you spend time with others. People in such communities support each other in a group and do different activities.

Medication

There are no drugs specially announced by the Food Drug and Administration for the treatment of personality disorders. People with personality disorders have a lot of other mental health issues such as anxiety and depression. Therefore, doctors prescribe the medication for the treatment of these mental health issues, which include antidepressants, mood stabilizers, and antipsychotics.

Find a Personality Disorders Therapist through the Expat Therapy 4U platform

Personality disorders can destroy the lives of both the person who is affected by it and those who care about that person. It can cause significant problems for you that can even lead you to suicidal behavior. Having a family member of some kind of personality disorder can be stressful for all the other members at home. Family members can help them to cope with all the difficulties by providing them a mental health specialist.

Further Readings on Personality Disorders

https://theinternationalpsychologyclinic.com/problems/personality-disorders-counselling-london/

https://theinternationalpsychologyclinic.com/self-care-tips-for-borderline-personality-disorder-bpd/