Antisocial Personality Disorder - Symptoms, Treatments

Antisocial Personality Disorder can be diagnosed only in adults who are of the age of 18 years or older. This disorder starts to show its symptoms much before a positive diagnosis can be made. Symptoms such as behavioral antisocial personality traits can start showing up in individuals as early as at 15 years of age. You may notice the person of being totally callous towards other peoples’ rights, to the extent that they would not hesitate before violating them too. The patient may also totally fail to adhere to any social norms of what is considered to be right or wrong. They could also be crossing the limits and lines of what is considered to be lawful, thus inviting legal restraint and consequences. They could also be lying in mammoth proportions, and generally behaving consistently irresponsibly. There is absolute lack of planning on part of the person with regard to anything, be it small day to day activities and decisions of the larger scheme of things. They may also be found to be totally deceitful, impulsive, as well as irrationally aggressive. Over and above everything, the feature that separates such people from otherwise normally inclined adults is the total lack of remorse for their actions or for the consequences of those actions.

The only “treatment” that can be administered is in the form of psychotherapy. The most important prerequisite for this kind of treatment is usually the agreeability of the person to be involved in the treatment to begin with. It is very rare that patients suffering from antisocial personality disorder will be referred to medication, though this cannot be ruled out totally. Some extreme cases may call for medication, but this is a decision usually left to and taken by the doctors and psychotherapists who are handling the case. Cognitive therapy is the next round of therapeutic help that can be given to the patient. Once again, the limitations and boundaries of the patient’s treatment need to be set up by the person treating them. Apart from the patient receiving psychological guidance and assistance, the family and people close to the patient may also be required to pitch in with time and assistance. This would make the person not feel isolated and singled out, which becomes an important thing during the course of the treatment. You also need to allow for the fact that this kind of treatment and therapy will take a lot of time and patience on part of all involved parties.