Personality Disorders

Question 1

1. What are personality disorders?

Answer 1

1. A personality disorder is an unhealthy or abnormal pattern of thoughts, emotion, and behaviour and psychological mechanisms hidden or not hidden.
2. Personality disorders are described as ingrained patterns relating to other peoples situations and events, but with a rigid and maladaptive quality.

Question 2

2. What are the types of personality disorders and what are the clusters?

Answer 2

1. Cluster A: Odd and Eccentric
2. Cluster B: Emotional, Dramatic or Erratic
3. Cluster C: Anxious and Fearful

Question 3

3. Briefly explain Cluster A: Odd and eccentric

Answer 3

1. Paranoid: The person is tense, suspicious and chronically hostile.
2. Schizoid: Is a disorder in which there is an absence of warm tender feelings for others.
3. Schizotypal: They are anxious and apprehensive, often appear quirky and react stiffly in social situations.

Question 4

4. Briefly explain Cluster B: Emotional, dramatic or erratic

Answer 4

1. Antisocial: History of failing to comply with social norms; they perform actions most of us would find unacceptable such as stealing from friends and family.
2. Borderline: Lack stability in their moods and in their relationships with other people and have a very poor self-image.
3. Histrionic: Are overly dramatic and often appear almost to be acting out.
4. Narcissistic: Thinks highly of themselves beyond their real abilities. These people consider themselves special and somehow different from others and deserving of special treatment.

Question 5

5. Briefly explain Cluster C: Anxious and Fearful

Answer 5

1. Avoidant: Extremely sensitive to the opinion of others and therefore avoid social relationships.
2. Dependent: Rely on others to the extent that they let them make everyday decisions as well as important life decisions.
3. Obsessive compulsive: Includes people that stick to rules and schedules.

Question 6

6. What cause personality disorders?

Answer 6

Personality disorders are caused by biological, psychological or social events.

1. Biological : include hereditary genes whereby a parent can pass to his / her child and so forth
2. psychological : include traumatic experiences, mental and psychological abuse
3. Social: environmental constraints such as poverty, poor support systems as well as cultural misconceptions.

Question 7

7. What is the treatment and intervention for personality disorders?

Answer 7

1. Psychological therapy
   Schema therapy
   Dialectical behavioural therapy
   Cognitive analytical therapy
2. Biological therapy

CLUSTER A
-Antipsychotic drugs e.g Resperdone

CLUSTER B
- Serotonin blockers can be useful for impulsivity and aggression.

CLUSTER C
MAOI agents may be useful for Avoidant personality disorders.
Furthermore, for those individuals with prominent anxiety, but without impulsivity an SSRI may be considered