Signs, Symptoms and Types of Personality Disorders

Personality Disorders

An individual’s identity is centred around their personality. Clothing, mannerisms, style of speaking, how they express their thoughts and opinions, recognition of right and wrong, and consideration of societal norms are key factors in shaping a person's personality. Personality varies greatly from person to person; even identical twins do not possess the same personality.

Some individuals have socially obtuse personalities which can cause problems for those around them. Due to personality-related illnesses, such people cannot live their lives in a fulfilling way and can even cause difficulties for others. This article aims to discuss the signs and symptoms of various personality disorders.

Personality disorders are psychologically significant because they explain the person’s unusual habits which eventually become a typical part of their behaviour. These negative habits can seriously damage a person’s relationships at home and beyond.

We shall now go on to discuss the varying types of personality disorders, from a list compiled by experts in the field of psychology.

Paranoid personality disorder

 - A person suffering from this will usually display the following symptoms:

*   Overt sensitivity and difficulty in carrying out even the simplest tasks.

*   Unforgiving of other people’s mistakes.

*   Falling prey to constant doubt and suspicion

*   Distorting events and incidents in their mind, making them seem as personal insults and attacks.

*   Aggressively giving claim to their own personal rights being more important than others.

*   Making accusations against their life partner.

*   Considering oneself to be more important than others.

*   Being consumed by impermissible suspicions.

Schizoid personality disorder

*   Unable to enjoy otherwise enjoyable and fun activities.

*   Unable to express themselves, in happiness or sadness.

*   Limited expression and ability to show love, kindness, or anger.

*   Unaffected by words, praise, or criticism at all.

*   Lack of motivation for marital relations.

*   Preferring to be alone.

*   Staying lost in personal thoughts.

*   No sign of inclination towards friends or other trustworthy relationships.

Dissocial personality disorder

*   Overwhelming lack of concern for the feelings and thoughts of others.

*   Lack commitment to responsibilities; happy to be free from responsibility and duty.

*   Not observing societal norms, principles, and regulations.

*   Unable to maintain relationships.

*   Characterised by lack of tolerance; quickly irritated and quarrelsome.

*   No concept of personal error, and unable to learn lessons from their own mistakes.

*   Seeking justification for their own shortcomings and being judgemental of others.

Emotionally unstable personality disorder

*   Uncontrollable and volatile emotions.

*   Doing things without thinking, with no concern for their outcome or consequences.

*   If they are stopped from or criticised for their plan, they become angry.

*   Being harsh with others if things do not happen as they wished.

*   A lack of planning for the future.

*   No self-recognition, nor any goal.

*   Establishing weak relationships but becoming overly involved in them, which lead to emotional crises.

*   When these relationships desire to be finished by the other party, the sufferer of emotionally unstable personality disorder may resort to threatening them with claims of suicide, or committing self-immolation.

Histrionic personality disorder

*   Exaggerating their emotions and opinions and expressing them in an overly dramatic fashion.

*   Quick to be personally affected by incidents or other people.

*   Quick to form bad opinions based on the statements of those around them.

*   Looking for opportunities to be the centre of attention.

*   Consistently hoping for help from others.

*   Always remaining adorned or speaking in an overly appealing manner.

*   Great focus on remaining adorned or presentable.

*   Constantly drawing others towards the fulfilment of their personal needs.

Anankastic personality disorder

*   Suspicious and doubt-filled personality.

*   Overly cautious with the simplest of things.

*   Going into extreme detail in relation to tasks and actions.

*   Going into extreme detail with making lists, planning, categorizing or organizing.

*   Overt desire to perform everything with an unachievable level of perfection, to such an extent, it becomes difficult to perform the intended task at all.

*   Lack of care for others while pursuing their personal aims.

*   Extreme stubbornness and inflexibility.

*   Forcing others to do things the way they see fit.

Anxious avoidant personality disorder

*   Always panicked, anxious, and in unfounded fear.

*   Suffering from inferiority complex - consider themselves to be incapable, unattractive or lacking any commendable qualities.

*   Fearful of being embarrassed or put to shame in front of people.

*   Fear of criticism.

*   Not interacting with others, unless the sufferer believes they like him.

*   Avoiding places or times whereupon interaction with other people takes place, fearing they will not agree with him or rebuke him.

Dependant personality disorder

*   Depending on others to make personal decisions for them.

*   Considers himself under the supervision of the one he depends upon and gives importance to their needs over his.

*   Reluctant to even ask for his permissible needs from whoever he depends upon.

*   Prone to anxiety and feelings of loneliness when by themselves.

*   Believing they are incapable of looking after their own affairs.

*   Fear of being abandoned by those they depend on.

*   Going to extreme extents in taking advice from others and being assured by them, even in simple day to day issues.

You may think that you present a number of these symptoms. However, it is normal for people to have one or two of these symptoms, and that does not mean that you have an underlying personality disorder. However, if most symptoms related to a respective disorder are found in someone, it will be recommended to consult a specialist to discuss it.

Also, the reader may think: “After reading this article, I think so-and-so suffers from this particular personality disorder.” Unless you are an expert in this field, you cannot self-diagnose nor pin these disorders onto another. If you truly consider someone to be suffering from a personality disorder, give them this copy of Faizan-e-Madinah monthly, so they may read this article.

There is no cure for personality disorder, but it can be managed with psychotherapy so that the person can lead a normal life.