What Is Personality Disorder?
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- What Is Personality Disorder?
A personality disorder is one of a range of personality traits and behaviors that describe individuals who face challenges when dealing with other people.
A personality disorder is considered a mental illness. The patient can become distressed when having to perform everyday functions in the workplace, the school, or in situations involving other people.
The person with a personality disorder may believe that their behaviors and interpretations of situations are normal. However, their thought processes and behaviors may be self-destructive and self-denigrating. Other people are sometimes blamed for any problems or difficulties that arise.
They may find it harder than other people to respond to the changes and demands of life. Others may regard them as dysfunctional in the way they assess situations and relate to people around them.
Paranoid Personality Disorder With this condition, you feel that people are always trying to take advantage of you, even when there’s no logical reason for it. You may get angry when someone questions you, or not want to tell people about yourself because you think they’ll somehow use it against you. All this can make it hard to trust others and build healthy relationships.
Schizoid Personality Disorder This condition can make it hard to express your emotions. You might show little or no reaction if someone yells at you or sings your praises — this can make you come across as “cold.” You may find it hard to feel pleasure and have little interest in sexual relationships. Others may think you lack goals or ambition.
Schizotypal Disorder You may have strange beliefs — that you can read people’s minds, for example — and your clothes may be odd or messy. You might not react to things that make most people emotional and often doubt or suspect others’ intentions. People may not know how to respond to your rambling and unclear conversation. You might be really anxious around people outside your immediate family and prefer to be alone.
Antisocial Personality Disorder You may try to make others angry, trick them, or treat them badly to get what you want. You may not care what’s right or wrong. You may lie and do things that are reckless, violent, and even illegal. You usually don’t feel bad when you hurt others, and drug and alcohol abuse may be problems, too. People with this condition often have a hard time keeping a job or taking care of their families.
Borderline Personality Disorder You may have strong feelings of anger, sadness, or anxiety that suddenly change. You may frantically try to connect with someone if you think they want to separate from you. You swing between extremes: A friend may be “perfect” one day and awful the next. This makes for intense, rocky relationships. You can act impulsively — drug abuse, reckless driving, or risky sex, for example — if you don’t have a strong sense of who you are.
