When Anxiety Becomes a Personality Disorder

Very severe anxiety can sometimes lead doctors to diagnose people with personality disorders. Symptoms of the two most prevalent ones are described in this article.

Anxious (Avoidant) Personality Disorder is characterized by pervasive and persistent emotions of insecurity, shyness, tension and apprehension. The person believes they are undeserving, unlikable, and inept socially, and not that important compared with other people. These feelings often mean the affected individual avoids relationships unless certain that they are liked by the other person.

Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder comes in two forms: 'impulsive type' and 'borderline type', both have the following characteristics: a strong inability to think and plan ahead in combination with no real self-control and the occasional sudden outburst of extreme anger. This anger can itself lead to other behaviors such as violence, particularly if these acts are challenged or stopped by people in the vicinity.

Impulsive type emotional instability manifests itself with a low level of being able to control impulses. Violence and threatening behavior are frequent, and more often than not are direct responses to others criticizing the person affected.

Borderline type emotional instability can be characterized by strong doubts of personal aims, image and sexual preferences, leading to upset and distress. Debilitating feelings of emptiness can promote suicide, or at the very least self-harming. People get involved in emotionally taut, constrained relationships which frequently have crises, but which they try to remain in so as to avoid being abandoned.

As yet the diagnosis of this mental condition is controversial since its causes and treatments are not fully agreed upon. Certain sufferers benefit from being emotionally open enough to discuss past difficult and upsetting experiences. Through airing their problems they become able to better identify the risky situations and so learn how to then deal with them.

Addiction and personality disorder

Substance abuse and Addictions (alcoholism, drug addiction) is a form of pattern recurring and self-destructive of misconduct. People are addicted to all sorts of things: games of chance, shopping, Internet, reckless and sides of life-danger of the same coin. Adrenaline junkies abound.

The link between the chronic anxiety, pathological narcissism, depression, features obsessive compulsive and drug addiction, alcoholism and substance abuse is common and well established in clinical practice. But not all Narcissists, compulsive, depressive and anxious people are turning to the bottle or the needle.

Frequent claims to find a complex of genes responsible for alcoholism was constantly thrown in doubt. In 1993 suggested Berman and behavior addictive Noble and bold is just emerging phenomena, and can be connected with other, more basic features such as risk taking or new research. Psychopaths (patient with an antisocial personality disorder) are the two qualities in abundance. We expect them, so strongly of alcohol and drug abuse. Yes, as Lewis and demonstrated convincingly in 1991 Bucholz, they do. Although a negligible minority of alcoholics and drug addicts are psychopaths.

What was established that most of the addicts are narcisstic in personality. Cocaine abuse serves its purpose. The places him above the laws and pressure from secularism and humiliating and depressing reality requirements. They make him the center of attention - but also locked up in 'splendid isolation' troublesome and less than the quantity.

These pages of the wild and mandatory judgment gives a psychological exoskeleton. They are a delegate existence connected. The narcissistic advice with an agenda, with timetables, goals and false results. Narcissistic-adrenaline-junkie-feel that he is in control, alert, energized and vital. He does not consider his condition as a dependency. Narcissistic convinced he is responsible for his addiction that he may leave at will and in a short time.

Histrionic Personality Disorder

Histrionics resemble narcissists - both seek attention compulsively and are markedly dysphoric and uncomfortable when not at the center of attention. They have to be the life of the party. If they fail in achieving this pivotal role, they act out or create hysterical scenes.

The histrionic is preoccupied with physical appearance, sexual conquests, her health, and her body. The typical histrionic spends huge dollops of money and expends inordinate amounts of time on grooming. Histrionics fish for compliments and are upset when confronted with criticism or proof that they are not as glamorous or alluring as they think they are.

Histrionics sexualize everyone and every situation. They constantly act flirtatious, provocative, and seductive, even when such behavior is not warranted by circumstances or, worse still, is highly inappropriate. Such conduct is often ill received. People usually find this unabashed directness and undisguised hunger for approval annoying, or outright repulsive. Consequently, histrionics are sometimes subject to social censure and ostracism.

The histrionics' intensity and unpredictability are exhausting. The histrionic's nearest and dearest are often embarrassed by her unbridled display of emotions: hugging casual acquaintances, uncontrollable sobbing in public, or having temper tantrums. The histrionic's behavior is so off-color that she is typically accused of being a fake.

Concerned only with the latest conquest, the histrionic uses her physical appearance and attire as a kind of conscious bait. It is ironic that histrionics often mistake the depth, durability, and intimacy of their relationships and are devastated by their inevitable premature termination.

Histrionics are the quintessential drama queens. They are theatrical, their emotions exaggerated to the point of a caricature, their gestures sweeping, disproportional, and inappropriate. The histrionic is easily suggestible and responds instantly and fully to the slightest change in circumstances and to the most meaningless communication or behavior by others.

The Psychopathic Personality

Are the psychopath, sociopath, and someone with the Antisocial Personality Disorder one and the same? The DSM says "yes". The psychopath has antisocial traits for sure but they are coupled with and enhanced by callousness, ruthlessness, extreme lack of empathy, deficient impulse control, deceitfulness, and sadism.

The psychopath refuses to conform to social norms and obey the law. He often inflicts pain and damage on his victims. But does that make this pattern of conduct a mental illness? The psychopath has no conscience or empathy. But is this necessarily pathological? Like narcissists, psychopaths lack empathy and regard other people as mere instruments of gratification or as objects to be manipulated.

Most people accept that others have rights and obligations. The psychopath rejects this. As far as he is concerned, only might is right. People have no rights and he, the psychopath, has no obligations that derive from the "social contract". The psychopath holds himself to be above conventional morality and the law. The psychopath cannot delay gratification. He wants everything and wants it now. His whims, urges, catering to his needs, and the satisfaction of his drives take precedence over the needs, preferences, and emotions of even his nearest and dearest.

Consequently, psychopaths feel no remorse when they hurt or defraud others. They don't possess even the most rudimentary conscience. They rationalize their behavior and intellectualize it. Psychopaths fall prey to their own primitive defense mechanisms. The psychopath firmly believes that the world is a hostile, merciless place, prone to the survival of the fittest and that people are either "all good" or "all evil". Psychopaths are abusively exploitative and incapable of true love or intimacy..

Psychopaths are irresponsible and unreliable. They do not honor contracts, undertakings, and obligations. They are unstable and unpredictable and rarely hold a job for long, repay their debts, or maintain long-term intimate relationships.