Symptoms and Signs of Personality Disorders

We have all ever heard how someone calls someone else paranoid, antisocial, narcissistic or obsessive-compulsive.

They are ways of speaking, so we do not have to give it more importance, but we must be aware that these "adjectives" are personality disorders that cause enormous discomfort to the people affected and to their immediate surroundings.

That is why I think it is interesting to know a little more about these disorders and perhaps it helps us to reconsider our vocabulary and how our words can sometimes go further.

The mental disorders in general and those of personality, in particular, affect a high number of people, that is why it is interesting to know a little more about them because this will help us ourselves and also, as society.

Recommended article: "The 10 types of personality disorders"

Characteristics of personality disorders

There are different personality disorders, but all of them maintain general diagnostic criteria.

The person's behavior will clearly deviate from what his culture considers correct or from its expectations. This should be reflected in at least two of the following areas:

• Cognition: the way of perceiving and interpreting.
• Affectivity: emotional response.
• Interpersonal Activity: relationship with other people.
• Impulse control.

This behavior or conduct must be persistent, inflexible and affect a wide range of personal and social situations. It also causes clinically significant discomfort or significant impairment in areas such as social relationships or the work environment.

These types of maladaptive behaviors usually begin in adolescence or adulthood and remain stable.

Finally, it is important that we know that there are some personality disorders that are due to the ingestion of substances such as medications or drugs, or that may occur as a consequence of a general medical condition. Therefore, we must know if this persistent behavior pattern is not due to any of these factors.

Basic classification of personality disorders

Once these general criteria are defined, we will look at some of the personality disorders so that we can distinguish them. We will divide them into 3 groups according to the similarity of their characteristics.

It should be remembered that the characteristics that we will see below do not have to define the disorder unless the criteria defined above are also met.

Rare or eccentric

This group of disorders is characterized by a clearly abnormal pattern both in relation to cognition and in the expression and relationship with others.

• Paranoid: show excessive mistrust and suspicion, interpreting the intentions of others as malicious. They suspect that they are going to take advantage of them, that they will harm or deceive them. They also have unjustified doubts regarding loyalty or fidelity and a reluctance to trust others.

• Schizoid: distancing from social relationships and difficulty for emotional expression. They do not enjoy social relationships, they do not have friends or trustworthy people, they appear as cold and distant people.

• Schizotypal: social and interpersonal deficit associated with acute discomfort and little capacity for personal relationships. Cognitive or perceptual distortions and eccentricities in their behavior. They have strange beliefs or a tendency to magical thinking that influences their behavior. They tend to have unusual perceptual experiences, strange thoughts, language, and appearance; are suspicious, have emotional difficulties, lack of close friends or social anxiety.

Dramatic, emotional, or unstable

The following disorders are characterized by a pattern of violation of social norms, impulsive behaviors, excessive emotionality and grandiosity.

• Antisocial: contempt and violation of the rights of others. They do not adapt to social norms regarding legal behavior, they are dishonest people and they lie regularly. They exhibit impulsiveness, irritability, and aggressiveness, as well as a lack of remorse, persistent irresponsibility, and an inability to take over their obligations.

• Limit: characterized by instability in interpersonal relationships, self-image and effectiveness. Impulsiveness. they present altered identity, impulsiveness and unstable and intense relationships. They also show recurrent suicidal behaviors, attempts or threats or self-mutilating behaviors, as well as chronic feelings of emptiness and inappropriate and intense anger.

• Histrionic: they present a theatrical style of behavior, excessive emotionality and attention seeking. They want to be the center of attention and show seductive or provocative behaviors, superficial and changeable emotional expression. They draw attention using their physique, self-dramatization, theatricality, or exaggeration. They are easily influenced and consider their relationships more intimate than they really are.

• Narcissistic- They present a need for admiration and a general pattern of grandiosity, as well as a lack of empathy. They believe they are very important, they are concerned with obtaining unlimited success, power, beauty. They demand excessive admiration and take advantage of others. They do not show empathy but they frequently envy others, and they are arrogant or arrogant.

Anxious or fearful

Disorders in this group are characterized by abnormal fears. Its types are as follows.

• Avoidant: show social inhibition and feelings of inferiority. They avoid contact with other people for fear of criticism or rejection. Also fear of being embarrassed or criticized. They see themselves as socially inept, uninteresting, or inferior to others.

• Dependent: They present the need to be taken care of, as well as a tendency to submission and fears of separation. They have difficulties making everyday decisions, they need others to take responsibility, they have difficulties expressing their disagreement for fear of disapproval. They also show exaggerated fears of being unable to care for themselves.

• Obsessive compulsive: they are characterized by concern for order, perfectionism and control. They care about details, rules, lists, order, schedules... they tend to be overly dedicated to work. They display intense stubbornness, conscientiousness, and inflexibility on issues related to morals, ethics, or values. Also difficulty getting rid of material objects. They are reluctant to delegate tasks to others and are often greedy people with expenses for themselves and others.