The Types of Personality Disorders and How to Recognize Them

1. THE TYPES OF PERSONALITY DISORDERS AND HOW TO RECOGNIZE THEM Understanding Personality Disorders from a Professional Perspective

2. INTRODUCTION Many have a base level idea of what a specific personality disorder entails, but this can be marred by stereotypes, misinformation and societal misconceptions of mental illness. This slideshow will explore personality disorders through their Cluster categories, then explain them in more detail.

3. CLUSTERS OF DISORDERS Personality disorders are grouped into three different categories, defined as clusters. Each cluster covers a different type classification of disorders. • Cluster A – These disorders are often odd and eccentric in nature. • Cluster B – These disorders encompass more dramatic, emotional tendencies. • Cluster C – These disorders are more fearful or anxious in nature.

4. CLUSTER APARANOID PERSONALITY DISORDER Paranoid personality disorder is characterized by irrational suspicion. People who suffer from this disorder often believe the world is out to get them, and will connect unrelated, disjointed ideas in order to mentally justify their paranoia. Those who suffer from this disorder often mischaracterize others as having malicious intent, causing them to disconnect from others around them.

5. CLUSTER ASCHIZOID PERSONALITY DISORDER Sufferers of schizoid personality disorder often lack the capability to connect with others. They exhibit extreme levels of apathy that cannot be connected to an outside source, like autism. These people often suffer from a severe lack of expression. While they may be capable of experiencing an emotion, their ability to show this emotion is severely limited.

6. CLUSTER A SCHIZOTYPALPERSONALITY DISORDER Unlike schizoid personality disorder where a person lacks the ability to connect with others, those who suffer from schizotypal personality disorder feel extremely uncomfortable connecting with others. This heavily prevents them from interacting socially with others in a normal way, causing them to act aloof and eccentrically when faced with interaction.

7. CLUSTER BANTISOCIAL PERSONALITY DISORDER Those with this disorder aren’t antisocial in the way that they don’t interact with others. Instead, “anti” refers to not living within the societal norms in a way that is often invasive and dangerous. Those that suffer with this disorder often disregard the safety, comfort and wishes of others, lacking empathy and understanding of why their actions are dangerous or abusive.

8. CLUSTER BBORDERLINE PERSONALITY DISORDER BPD sufferers have a very limited grasp on normal emotional reactions. Because they feel invalidated by others, they feel like they must create scenarios in which they gain the validation they otherwise lack. This disorder can effect someone’s ability to care for themselves and often fractures their relationships with those around them.

9. CLUSTER BHISTRIONIC PERSONALITY DISORDER The behaviors of those with histrionic personality disorder are attention-seeking – often to the detriment of the person afflicted. These sufferers will often go out of their way and put themselves into harmful situations in order to gain the attention of others.

10. CLUSTER BNARCISSISTIC PERSONALITY DISORDER Those that suffer from narcissism as a form of disorder have an overly-inflated ego. They have grandiose fantasies about their abilities and status that far exceed their reality, and often lack empathy with others due to their belief that they are the most important and beloved person in a scenario. This is often a delusion, as many friends and family members of those who suffer with this disorder alienate themselves from the affected person.

11. CLUSTER CAVOIDANT PERSONALITY DISORDER Those diagnosed with avoidant personality disorder will go out of their way to avoid interacting with others because they don’t want to be perceived negatively. These individuals believe that they are incapable of interacting with others due to inadequacy, thus close themselves off to avoid facing this fear.

12. CLUSTER CDEPENDENT PERSONALITY DISORDER This disorder is effectively the opposite of avoidant personality disorder. People with dependent personality disorder will go out of their way to make sure they are taken care of by others at all times. They feel that they must interact with and be cared for by others in order to become adequate, though this need is never truly met in their eyes.

13. CLUSTER COBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDER While the general idea of OCD is someone being a neat freak, the reality is that the diagnosis is much broader. Those with OCD feel a prolonged, debilitating sense of anxiety unless they follow strict rules or rituals which they believe will keep the anxiety at bay. This can including patterns, habits, cleanliness and other forms of perfectionism.