PERSONALITY DISORDERS: TYPES AND CHARACTERISTICS - ECONOMÍA - 2025

Personality disorders are a series of mental disorders characterized by the appearance of maladaptive behaviors, thoughts and emotions. It is one of the most frequent types of psychological disorders, affecting approximately 50% of psychology and psychiatry patients.

The main criterion for diagnosing the presence of a disorder of this type is the appearance of elements of the personality that are very different from the usual ones, and that cause significant discomfort to the person.

Another of the most important characteristics of personality disorders is that their influence can be observed in many different situations and over time.

In the long term, the problems caused by these conditions can lead patients to suffer from depression, anxiety and other more serious disorders.

Personality disorders are diagnosed according to differences in behavior with what is considered normal by a society; for this reason some experts question its validity.

However, the study of this type of mental disorder serves to increase the quality of life of people who suffer from it.

What is a personality disorder?

To understand how this type of psychological disorder works, it is first necessary to understand what is meant by personality. Personality is the way of thinking, feeling and behaving that differentiates an individual from others.

In general, there is no right or wrong type of personality, but each person builds their own based on their genetics, their experiences, their education and their environment.

However, some personality types produce results that cause suffering or problems of functioning in society continuously over time.

These maladaptive ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving are the basis of personality disorders. These personality types usually form in adolescence or early adulthood, and they tend to be permanent if the person does not receive psychological treatment.

The effects can affect four different areas:

- The way the person thinks about himself and about others.

- The emotions you feel.

- The way of relating to other people.

- Self-control.

Classification

The manual of the American Psychiatric Association (APA) is known as DSM. This manual is the most widely used in the world to diagnose different mental disorders and its most famous version is the DSM - IV.

This article will take into account the classification that this manual makes of personality disorders. According to the DSM-IV, ten different types of personality disorders are recognized.

These can be classified into three large groups: group A (rare or eccentric personality disorders), group B (dramatic, emotional or erratic personality disorders) and group C (anxious or fearful personality disorders).

Group A: rare or eccentric personality disorders

Group A disorders are characterized primarily by the appearance of cognitive or perceptual distortions.

For example, some of the most common symptoms of disorders in this group include irrational ideas, paranoia, and strange worldviews.

People with a type A disorder also often experience problems in their relationships with others, mainly due to their unusual way of thinking. In addition, sometimes they also present strange or erratic behaviors.

Type A disorders are believed to be related in some way to schizophrenia, one of the most serious mental illnesses.

However, the symptoms of the latter are much stronger, and include hallucinations and a lack of distinction between what is real and what is not.

There are usually three type A disorders:

- Paranoid personality disorder

Its main characteristic is distrust of other people. Those who suffer from it believe that others want to harm them, and for this reason they avoid creating close relationships.

- Schizoid personality Disorder

It is characterized by avoiding social relationships and by the little existence of emotional expression.

These people tend to be indifferent to criticism or compliments from others, preferring solitary activities.

- Schizotypal personality disorder

Its main characteristic is the appearance of strong discomfort towards close relationships, the presence of distorted thoughts or perceptions, and strange behavior.

People who suffer from this disorder tend to have atypical beliefs, such as magical powers or extraterrestrials.

Group B: dramatic, emotional, or erratic personality disorders

The second group of personality disorders is characterized by the appearance of dramatic, unpredictable, or overly emotional thoughts or behaviors. They also often provoke attempts to manipulate or take advantage of others.

In general, these ways of feeling and behaving cause individuals with a type B disorder to have many problems in their relationship with other people, which causes them great discomfort.

There are four such disorders:

- Antisocial personality disorder

People with this disease are commonly known as "psychopaths." These are individuals who do not care about the emotions of others.

This is why they continually lie, break social norms, and act impulsively regardless of the damage they cause.

- Borderline personality disorder

Characterized by great instability in several areas, including personal relationships, emotions, impulsivity and self-image.

People who suffer from it believe that others will abandon them and do everything in their power to avoid it (including emotional blackmail).

In addition, they tend to be suicidal and quickly go from depression to anger.

- Histrionic personality disorder

These are people who seek to attract attention in an exaggerated way. They often feel very bad when they are not the center of attention, so they use their physical appearance or emotional outbursts to get it.

- Narcissistic personality disorder

People who suffer from it need the admiration of others, while they are unable to empathize with them.

They tend to believe that they are better than others and that they deserve everything; therefore, they often take advantage of other people without remorse.

Group C: anxious or fearful personality disorders

The third group is made up of disorders that cause a great deal of exaggerated fear in the person.

These fears make the patient tense, full of anxiety and need to have great control over the different situations in his life.

There are three disorders in this group:

- Avoidant personality disorder

Due to feelings of inappropriateness and an extreme fear of criticism, a person with this disorder will avoid any kind of relationship with others.

If he is forced to relate, he will have a constant fear of being rejected or laughed at, while at the same time perceiving himself as worse than the rest.

- Dependent personality disorder

These are people who need others to take care of them to insane extremes. Those who suffer from this disorder feel incapable of making decisions, and suffer when they are alone because they believe that they cannot take care of themselves.

- Obsessive compulsive personality disorder

People with this disorder are very concerned with order, control, and perfectionism.

They tend to work too hard, be very inflexible in their beliefs, and worry excessively about details.

This pathology is not the same as Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), one of the most serious anxiety disorders.

Diagnosis and differences with healthy personality

According to the DSM, a person must meet several criteria to be diagnosed with a personality disorder.

The most important criteria are a way of feeling and behaving very different from those expected within their own culture.

Furthermore, these differences must be inflexible and maintained both over time and in different situations.

On the other hand, for the person to be considered to have a mental disorder, these emotional and behavioral patterns must cause significant discomfort or prevent them from leading a normal life.

A normal personality is characterized by being flexible and adaptive, in such a way that the person who has it can function effectively in all areas and maintain close relationships with others.

This way of being and behaving makes the healthy person feel good about himself, and is able to set goals and meet them.

In contrast, people with a personality disorder often display the same pattern of behavior in all situations, and are unable to change even when their personality causes serious problems.

Therefore, these people are unable to adapt to changes. This rigidity makes the person suffer a lot, especially in their relationships with others.

However, people with a personality disorder often do not realize that they are ill, and blame their environment or other people instead of looking for a solution to their problem.

Therefore, the first task of a psychologist when detecting one of these disorders is to show the person that a change is possible, and that carrying it out will greatly improve their quality of life.

References

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2. "Personality Disorders" in: Mind. Retrieved on: February 5, 2018 from Mind: mind.org.uk.
3. "What are personality disorders?" in: Psychiatry. Retrieved on: February 5, 2018 from Psychiatry: psychiatry.org.
4. "On the subject of personality disorders" in: Psicomed. Retrieved on: February 5, 2018 from Psicomed: psicomed.net.
5. "Personality disorder" in: Wikipedia. Retrieved on: February 5, 2018 from Wikipedia: es.wikipedia.org.