PERSONALITY DISORDERS

COMMON BUT HARDLY KNOWN

DR. SUSAN W GITAU,

COUNSELING PSYCHOLOGIST
 What is a Personality Disorder?
Personality disorders are complex mental health conditions that effect
multiple areas of a person’s life, including behavior, thoughts, and
feelings, on a daily basis. They can also affect how you understand and
relate to other people, as well as your general health and wellbeing.
cont...
There are many types of personality disorders and they can range from
being mild and relatively manageable, to having a severe and enduring
impact on an individual’s ability to function. These patterns cause a
person significant distress and/or impair their ability to function.
 What are the Types of Personality Disorders?
• Dependent personality disorder

• Paranoid personality disorder

• Schizoid personality disorder

• Schizotypal personality disorder

• Avoidant personality disorder

 Personality Disorders
Personality disorders may cause distorted perceptions of reality,
abnormal behaviors and distress across various aspects of life, including
school, work, relationships and social functioning. Additionally, people
with a personality disorder may not recognize their troubling behaviors
or the negative effect they have on others.
 Types of Disorders
• Obsessive compulsive personality disorder (OCPD)
• Histrionic personality disorder
• Narcissistic personality disorder
• Antisocial personality disorder (ASPD)
• Emotionally unstable personality disorder (EUPD) also known as
Borderline Personality disorder (BPD)
• Impulsive personality disorder (a subtype of BPD)
 Clusters of Personality Disorders
To help us understand some of the symptoms and characteristics a little
better, personality disorders can be categorized into three different
clusters.
 Cluster A
Includes personality disorders that are characterized by unconventional
behavior. This group includes paranoid personality disorder, schizoid
personality disorder, and schizotypal personality disorder.
 Cluster B
Groups together disorders with dramatic and unpredictable symptoms.
This group includes antisocial personality disorder, histrionic
personality disorder and narcissistic personality disorder. Borderline
personality disorder, also known as emotionally unstable personality
disorder, and impulsive personality disorder also fit into cluster B.
 Cluster C
A grouping that includes disorders where people typically experience
fearful and anxious symptoms. This group includes avoidant personality
disorder, obsessive-compulsive personality disorder, and dependent
personality disorder.
 Paranoid Personality Disorder
Characterized by a difficulty in trusting others and believing they will
take advantage of you in some way. If you have paranoid personality
disorder, you may interpret danger in everyday situations which other
people don’t observe, and you will always be watching other people
closely in case they become hostile.
Cont...
• Believing that others have hidden motives or are out to harm them (in
other words, experiencing persecutory delusions)

• Doubting the loyalty of others.

• Having trouble working with others.

• Being hypersensitive to criticism.

• Quickly becoming angry or hostile.

Cont...
• Being reluctant to confide in others

• Nearing grudges

• Finding demeaning or threatening subtext in even the most innocent of

comments or events

• Quickly feeling anger and hostility toward others

Cont..

• Prefer being alone and choose to do activities alone.

• Don't want or enjoy close relationships.

• Feel little if any desire for sexual relationships.

• Feel like you can't experience pleasure.

 Schizoid Personality Disorder
You may feel that relationships get in the way of your day-to-day life,
and that other people will only cause you problems. This means you
tend to have an ongoing disinterest in forming relationships, even with
other family members. It can be difficult to experience pleasure from
everyday life, with little interest in emotional connection or intimacy.
Schizoid Personality Disorder

• Have difficulty expressing emotions and reacting appropriately to

situations.

• May seem humorless, indifferent or emotionally cold to others

• May appear to lack motivation and goals

• Don't react to praise or critical remarks from others

 Schizotypal Personality Disorder
Often compounded by eccentric behavior, finding and making close
relationships is often incredibly difficult. You may use words and
phrases which other people find unusual, while delusional thoughts and
beliefs, such as believing you have special powers, can lead you to
feeling anxious or tense when others don’t share these ideas.
Cont...
• Lack of close friends outside of immediate family.

• Eccentric or unusual beliefs or mannerisms.

• Belief in superpowers (i.e. telepathy) or superstitions.

• Excessive social anxiety associated with paranoid fears.

• Paranoid thoughts or doubts about others' loyalty.

 Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD)
People with antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) may behave
dangerously and sometimes illegally, and generally act in ways that are
unpleasant to others. You may already have a criminal record and feel
little or no sense of guilt when mistreating or upsetting other people.
Cont...
• Repeatedly breaking the law.

• Repeatedly being deceitful.

• Being impulsive or incapable of planning ahead.

• Being irritable and aggressive.

• Having a reckless disregard for their safety or the safety of others.

• Being consistently irresponsible.

• Lack of remorse.
 Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)
Also known as emotionally unstable personality disorder, EUPD, you
will often experience intense emotions which can last anywhere from a
few hours to several days. Fluctuations will vary between the extremes
of happiness and self-belief to feeling low later, often in the same day.
You may find it hard to maintain stable relationships, while suicidal
thoughts and self-harming behavior can also be experienced.
Cont...(BPD)
• Fear of abandonment. People with BPD are often terrified of being
abandoned or left alone

• Unstable relationships

• Unclear or shifting self-image

• Impulsive, self-destructive behaviors

• Self-harm
(BPD) cont..

• Extreme emotional swings

• Chronic feelings of emptiness

• Explosive anger.

• Feeling suspicious or out of touch with reality.

 Impulsive Personality Disorder
Is a subtype of BPD, and is very different from other types of the
disorder in that you will appear charismatic to others. Enjoying being at
the center of attention, you may be adventurous to the point of engaging
in dangerous activity, although meaningful connections with others can
be difficult to come by.
Cont...
• Flirtatious with others, sometimes without even realizing it

• Captivating, able to act with a natural magnetism

• Elusive and mercurial-subject to sudden or unpredictable changes in

mood or mind

• Superficial, easily entertaining others on a surface level but avoiding

more meaningful interactions or relationships

• High levels of energy and easily bored

 Impulsive Personality Disorder

• Thrill-seeking and risk-taking behaviors without regard for consequences

• Attention-seeking behaviors
• Charismatic and charming
• Dramatic
• Highly manipulative of others, particularly in order to position oneself as the
center of attention
• Complaints of chronic or recurring illness
 Histrionic Personality Disorder
Similar to impulsive personality disorder, with histrionic personality
disorder you might feel uncomfortable not being center of attention at
social events or in the workplace. You may have an overwhelming urge
to entertain people regularly, and can be easily emotionally influenced
by other people and their opinions towards you.
Cont...
• Feel underappreciated or depressed when they’re not the center of
attention.

• Have rapidly shifting and shallow emotions.

• Be dramatic and extremely emotionally expressive, even to the point

of embarrassing friends and family in public.

• Have a “larger than life” presence.

Histrionic Personality Disorder

• Be persistently charming and flirtatious.

• Be overly concerned with their physical appearance.

• Use their physical appearance to draw attention to themselves by

wearing bright-colored clothing or revealing clothing.
Cont... Histrionic
• Act inappropriately sexual with most of the people they meet, even when
they’re not sexually attracted to them.

• Speak dramatically and express strong opinions but with few facts or details to
support their opinions.

• Be gullible and easily influenced by others, especially by the people they

admire.

• Think that their relationships with others are closer than they usually are.
Histrionic Personality Disorder

Have difficulty maintaining relationships, often seeming fake

or shallow in their interactions with others.
Need instant gratification and become bored or frustrated very
easily.
Constantly seek reassurance or approval.
 Narcissistic Personality Disorder
If you struggle with narcissistic personality disorder, you may appear
selfish and regularly put your needs above others. You believe that there
are unique reasons that make you different or better than other people,
although you have a delicate self-esteem which is built upon others’
recognition of your value and attributes.
Cont...
• A grandiose sense of self-importance

• Preoccupation with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance,

beauty, or ideal love

• The belief that he or she is “special” and unique and can only be
understood by or should associate with, other special or high-status
people or institutions

• Requires excessive admiration

cont...

• Has a sense of entitlement

• Is interpersonally exploitative — takes advantage of others

• Lacks empathy

• Envies others or believes others are envious of him or her

• Shows arrogant, haughty behaviors and attitudes

cont..
This condition involves a consistent pattern of perceived superiority and
grandiosity, an excessive need for praise and admiration and a lack of
empathy for others. These thoughts and behaviors often stem from low
self-esteem and a lack of self-confidence.
 Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder
(OCPD)
You feel the need to keep everything in order and be in control of your
surroundings, which can make you have high expectations of yourself
and other people in work and other ability focused settings. You will
think that awful things are about to happen if something doesn’t go your
way, while you will dwell on the mistakes of yourself and others.
Cont...
• Preoccupation with rules, details, organization, schedules,
and tracking processes

• Feeling an urgency to reach perfection, which gets in the way

of completing tasks

• Prioritizing work and productivity over interpersonal

relationships and relaxation
cont...

• Being extremely conscientious, inflexible, and

scrupulous when it comes to your own beliefs, values,
and ethics, often struggling to accept the beliefs of
others
Cont... OCPD
• Not being able to discard unused, broken, worn-out, or useless objects

• Having extreme difficulty delegating tasks or negotiating with others,

unless they’re willing to adhere to your ways

• Going to extremes to save money and limit expenses for yourself and
others, even when unnecessary

• Adhering to rigid thinking patterns and stubbornness

 Avoidant Personality Disorder
Also known as anxious personality disorder, with avoidant personality
disorder you will tend to avoid situations where you have to spend a
significant amount of time with others, such as at work or social gatherings.
You will feel overly sensitive to disapproval and will constantly worry about
being rejected in social settings. You may feel inferior to others, and avoid
developing relationships for fear that you may be ridiculed or rejected.
 Dependent Personality Disorder
You are dependent on others to make decisions in your daily life, and
will often let others take responsibility for you in many areas. You may
have low self-confidence and appear submissive or passive to others. In
work meetings for example, you will agree to things even if you dislike
a thought or opinion so that you don’t lose the support of others.
Cont..
• Difficulty making daily decisions without an inordinate amount of advice
and reassurance from other people.

• A need to have others be responsible for most important aspects of their life.

• Difficulty expressing disagreement with others because they fear loss of

support or approval.

• Difficulty starting projects on their own because they are not confident in
their judgment and/or abilities (not because they lack motivation or energy)
Cont...
• Willingness to go to great lengths (eg, do unpleasant tasks) to obtain support
from others

• Feelings of discomfort or helplessness when they are alone because they

fear they cannot take care of themselves

• An urgent need to establish a new relationship with someone who will

provide care and support when a close relationship ends

• Unrealistic preoccupation with fears of being left to take care of themselves

 What To Do If You Suspect You Have A
Personality Disorder?
It’s important to understand that having a personality disorder does not
make a person untreatable and that different treatments are available
depending on the type of personality disorder.
How Is A Personality Disorder Treated?
Treatment can vary depending on the type and severity of your personality
disorder. It may include psychotherapy and medications.

Psychotherapy-Psychotherapy, or talk therapy, may help in managing

personality disorders. During psychotherapy, you and a therapist can discuss
your condition, as well as your feelings and thoughts. This can provide you
with insight on how to manage your symptoms and behaviors that interfere
with your daily life.
 Treatment for Personality Disorders
• It aims to reduce the impact of the condition on your life, and there
are several psychotherapies that can help to achieve this. Medication
can also be helpful in dealing with distressing symptoms.

• Depending on the severity of a personality disorder, there are diffrent

ways to offer treatment- residential, day care, inpatient and outpatient
based treatment for personality disorders
 Contact Us:
0724730117-Limuru
0777730117-Kiambu
0777730118-Nyeri
0777730119-Chuka
[email protected]