Personality Disorders

We all have our own distinct personalities. These set of traits and behaviors is what defines us society and it is what makes up our character. Personality really defines who we are. The way we look at the world, the way we feel and think, they all contribute to our personalities. This is what allows us to develop strong bonds with friends and family. However, there are people in this world that don’t have as much control of their personalities like we do. These people have something called personalities disorders, which affect their character and role in society.

Before we see which personality disorders are the most common, it’s important to know what exactly they are. A personality disorder is exactly what it sounds like. It’s simply a disorder that negatively affects the factors that contribute into the making of our personality. There are actually three clusters that scientists group the disorders in based on their effect. Cluster A is for odd or eccentric behavior, B is for dramatic or emotional behavior, and C is for anxious or fearful behavior. With most PDs (personality disorders), the person impacted will, “Have a narrow view of the world and find it difficult to participate in social activities.” Something important to note is that when you do have a PD, even if your behaviors are very strange and off, you still consider your behavior to be correct and normal. With the aid of others, it is typically easy to see if you have a at a young age and as time goes on, the PD often becomes less obvious (www.mentalhealthamerica.net). And now that we know exactly what a personality disorder is, another question is still left unanswered; what exactly causes a personality disorder to form?

Interestingly enough, research is still being done, trying to find out the specific causes in certain disorders. With the many genetic combinations and mutations possible, it may take years to fully understand all the genetic factors behind the disorders. What we do know is that if a PD is caused by genetics, it is usually due to a malfunctioning gene. However, it is thought that most PDs are caused by negative experiences that developed at a very young age. For example, the Collaborative Longitudinal Personality Disorders Study recorded that people with Borderline Personality Disorder had most likely experienced sexual trauma. Verbal abuse is also seen to have caused borderline, narcissistic and paranoid personality disorders. When they studied this topic, they saw that phrases containing hate and threats were often the causes of these disorders. Finally, the interaction of peers is a very common way people get PDs. The American Psychological Association said, “Even a single strong relationship with a relative, teacher or friend can offset negative influences, say psychologists,” (www.apa.org). Now that we know the basic information about personality disorders, it is time to answer the real question - What are the most common types of personality disorders?

First, we will look into Cluster A of the personality disorders. This cluster consists of three common PDs; Paranoid PD, Schizoid PD, and Schizotypal disorder. Paranoid PD causes a person to be very suspicious and cautious. They aren’t capable of trusting anybody at all, including, parents and siblings which makes it very hard for them to build any type of close relationship. Even when they keep themselves away from people, they constantly think about their fears and they can be humiliated very easily. Schizoid PD is a very interesting disorder. The best way to really explain it, is as a disorder in which the person is in their own fantasy and away from reality. They have no desires for any type of social interactions at all. It has been theorized that the reason why people develop this specific disorder is because the experiences they have in the real world such as developing close relationships is simply too much for them. Them being intimate, creates a rich inner life for them which is something that they can always retreat to to feel comfortable. Schizotypal disorder as you may have realized, is not considered a PERSONALITY disorder but the effects of do still majorly impact one's personality. The reason why it is considered as a disorder is because what it does, is make a person hallucinate. Because of the all the nonsensical things that are happening in their minds, they develop odd beliefs, usually revolving around some type of magical power and these people are often very suspicious of everything. They feel as if every event occur has some type of connection to them (www.psychologytoday.com). As you can see, PDs from Cluster A can cause many weird and bizarre effects and Cluster B only adds to the effects.

Cluster B is more down to earth set of disorders that are often associated with depression and drama. The common PDs from this cluster include, Antisocial PD, Borderline PD, Histrionic PD and Narcissistic PD. Antisocial PD is actually not as simple as you may think. Many people would think of it as a disorder in which the person interacts with no one in society. However in reality, the person, “Disregards social rules and obligations, is irritable and aggressive, acts impulsively, lacks guilt, and fails to learn from experience.” They have no need for others so they don’t care about anything about them in any type of way. Borderline PD is also known as emotionally unstable PD. People inflicted with these disorders are lack any type of self confidence and always experience fear because of this. They are emotionally unstable often getting violent in bursts which make it very hard for them to keep a relationship stable. The reason why it’s called “borderline” PD is because lies between anxiety disorders and psychotic disorders. In this section, people aren’t completely psychotic but they still express a bipolar personality. Histrionic PD is more about a lack of belief and self-worth. People diagnosed often value themselves very lowly and don’t think they can do very much. They rely on the approval and attention of others in order to feel like they have accomplished anything. Also, they are the prime example of the saying “Don’t judge a book by its cover”. This is