March 24, 2010

Causes of Personality Disorders | Types of Personality Disorders

Posted in Category : Common Ailments

What is a Personality Disorder?

Personality disorders span a whole range of diseases that start from the mundane eccentricities and go all the way to being full blown mental disorders. What constitutes a personality disorder is defined as any repetitive behavior that has existed for a long period and is contrary to what constitutes normal behavior within the person’s cultural context. There are many categorizations of personality disorders and the treatments for such disorders are as equally wide – starting from psychotherapy all the way to the use of antipsychotic drugs.

Types of Personality Disorders

There are four categories of personalities. In the first group of disorders come disorders that signify eccentricities like paranoid personality disorder, schizotypal personality disorder, and schizoid personality disorder. These disorders are treated with drugs like antidepressants and antipsychotics to bring a sense of calm to the patient. The next category of disorders includes emotional disorders that are more dramatic in manifestation like antisocial personality disorder, borderline personality disorder, histrionic personality disorder, and narcissistic personality disorder. These disorders are treated with a combination of antidepressants, antipsychotics, and atypical antipsychotics and also treated with elaborate psychotherapy and behavioral therapy. The next category of disorders is disorders of anxiety like avoidant personality disorder, dependent personality disorder, and obsessive compulsive personality disorder. These are treated with a combination of drugs, like the ones mentioned previously and the use of elaborate psychotherapy.

Treatment for Personality Disorders

In most diseases of the mind, there is very little that can be offered, in terms of help, from home remedies or for that matter from the permanent use of medications. Most disorders dissipate over a period of time with better social interactions within a family or a similar support unit. It is important to understand that the root of nearly all personality disorders lie in the fact that most patients have developed some kind of belief system that they feel is so correct that deviating from these beliefs is a sacrilegious. There is increasing evidence that has arisen that states that most people that suffer from personality disorders also have a history of child abuse – whether physical or sexual. This causes them to develop the personality disorder as a method of coping with the trauma of abuse. Psychotherapy aims at trying to bring these skeletons out of the closet and eventually to try and change the belief systems that fortify the personality disorders. It is worth noting that sometimes a personality disorder that is not address with end up in full blown mental disease.