Personality Disorders Flashcards
What is borderline personality disorder?
Borderline personality disorder is a personality disorder in which there is difficulty in maintaining stable interpersonal relationships and self-image. This manifests as unpredictable and impulsive behavior, outbursts of anger, irritability, sadness, and fear. Self-mutilation or suicidal behavior may also be present. Sometimes there is a chronic feeling of emptiness or boredom.
What is a personality disorder?
A personality disorder is disorder a pathological disturbance of the patterns of perception, communication, and thinking that impairs a person’s ability to function effectively. Personality disorders are manifested in at least two of the following areas: cognition, affect, interpersonal functioning, or impulse control. Generally, the disorder is of long duration, and its onset can be traced to early adolescence.
Treatment: Psychotherapy, psychopharmacological drugs, or a combination of the two is used in treating these disorders although many personality disorders resist treatment.
What is antisocial personality disorder?
Antisocial personality disorder is a of personality disorder characterized by disregard for the rights and feelings of others. It usually begins before age 15. In early childhood, lying, stealing, fighting, truancy, and disregard of authority are common. In adolescence, aggressive sexual behavior, excessive use of alcohol, and drug use may be characteristic. In adulthood, these behaviorial patterns continue with the addition of poor work performance, inability to function responsibly as a parent, and inability to accept normal restrictions imposed by the law. Affected people may repeatedly perform illegal acts (such as destroying property, harassing others, or stealing) or pursue illegal occupations. They disregard the safety, wishes, rights, and feelings of others.
What is avoidant personality disorder?
Avoidant personality disorder is a personality disorder marked by a pervasive pattern of social inhibition, feelings of inadequacy, and hypersensitivity to criticism. This begins by early adulthood and is present in various situations (such as school, work, or activities involving contact with others). People with this disorder desire affection, security, certainty, and acceptance and may fantasize about idealized relationships with others.
What is histrionic personality disorder?
Histrionic personality disorder is a personality disorder marked by excessive emotionalism and attention seeking. Those affected are active, dramatic, prone to exaggerate, and subject to irrational, angry outbursts or tantrums. They express boredom with normal routines and crave novelty and excitement. Behavior in interpersonal relationships is shallow, vain, demanding, and dependent.
What is paranoid personality disorder?
Paranoid personality disorder is a personality disorder characterized by unwarranted suspiciousness and mistrust of others, hypervigilance directed at hidden motives or intent to harm, hypersensitivity to criticism, tendency to hold grudges and to be easily offended, and reluctance to confide in others.
What is schizoid personality disorder?
Schizoid personality disorder is a personality disorder characterized by shyness, oversensitivity, seclusiveness, dissociation from close interpersonal or competitive relationships, eccentricity, daydreaming, preference for solitary activities, and inability to express anger or joy in situations that normally call for such a reaction. In most social interactions, those affected seem cold or aloof.
