Worldwide, about 6% of the population has at least one personality disorder. Despite this large group, people with this mental illness still face a lot of misunderstanding and stigma. But what exactly is a personality disorder?
Breaking stigma around personality disorders
There is still a clear stigma about personality disorders. Not only people outside the healthcare industry, but also healthcare professionals may have a false perception of certain personality disorders. This often makes it difficult to be open about a personality disorder, which also prevents diagnosis. It also complicates recognizing and acknowledging a personality disorder in yourself and others. Someone with a personality disorder can therefore be seen as a difficult person, because the cause is not easily discussed and you often have to deal with misunderstanding and ignorance. It is therefore very important to break the stigmas surrounding personality disorders and make this topic openly discussable.
What is a personality disorder?
Everyone has a unique set of personal characteristics that greatly influence how you do, think, feel. Your personality is further influenced by your environment, experiences and hereditary traits. We speak of a disorder when your behavior clearly deviates from expectations. A personality disorder is a general term for a rigid pattern of personality traits that makes you insufficiently able to adapt behavior to changing circumstances.
This manifests itself in at least two or more of the following areas:
- Your perceptions and thoughts of yourself, other people and events;
- Your emotional reactions are too strong, too weak, often the same or inappropriate;
- Your connection and intimacy with others;
- Your impulse control manifests as too little control or just too rigid.
People with personality disorders tend to have problems with their identity, achieving personal goals and connecting with others. Your way of thinking and perceiving are often strongly colored, allowing you to look at yourself and the environment in a distorted way. The perception and expression of feelings is often disturbed, such as highly fluctuating or overly intense emotions.
Types of personality disorders
We distinguish several personality disorders, each with a different set of characteristics:
Paranoid-personality disorder
Deep mistrust and suspicion of other people.
Schizoid personality disorder
Distant in social relationships, limited range of emotional expressions.
Schizotypal-Personality Disorder
Discomfort in intimate relationships, distortions in thinking and perception, eccentric behavior.
Antisocial personality disorder
Lack of respect for and violation of the rights of others.
Borderline personality disorder
Instability in interpersonal relationships, self-image and emotions, marked impulsivity.
Histrionic or theatrical personality disorder
Excessive emotionality and attention-seeking behavior.
Narcissistic-Personality Disorder
Grandiosity, need for admiration and lack of empathy.
Avoidant or avoidant personality disorder
Social inhibition, feelings of inadequacy and hypersensitivity to possible negative judgment.
Dependent-personality disorder
Submissive and accosting behavior associated with an excessive need to be cared for.
Compulsive- or obsessive-compulsive personality disorder
Preoccupied with orderliness, perfectionism and control.
Causes of personality disorder & comorbidity
How does a personality disorder arise?
The underlying causes of a personality disorder can vary from person to person. Usually there is a combination of biological, psychological and sociological factors. The combination of hereditary vulnerability, your existing personality and a negative experience or negative influence from your environment can cause you to develop a personality disorder.
The influence of the environment you grow up in can either strengthen or inhibit your personality. Are you growing up in a culture where modesty is valued? Then you will run into problems more often with an impulsive personality than someone who is shy. Negative experiences in your childhood also play a major role in the development of a personality disorder. For example, mistreatment, abuse, insecure attachment, poverty, the loss of parents or emotional neglect.
Personality disorders & comorbidity
A personality disorder can cause recurring problems within your personal or work life. It is also often related to other symptoms, such as addictions, anxiety and depression. When a person has two or more mental health problems at the same time we speak of comorbidity. As experts on comorbidity, we therefore always treat personality disorders in combination with additional problems and underlying factors.
U-center treatment personality disorders
During treatment at U-center, together with the treatment team, you learn to change your behavioral patterns and investigate what other factors are influencing them. So that you can achieve lasting change.
We always start with psycho-education: what is a personality disorder, what does the specific problem mean for you and how does it affect your life and interaction with others? Schematherapy then helps you become more aware of your patterns (schemas). You gain insight into the origins of those patterns and of situations in which they are activated. This therapy is usually offered in individual sessions. We also have you read books on how to recognize and change these schemas and patterns of behavior.
Whenever possible, loved ones are also involved on the Friends & Family day. U-center offers help and information for partners and family members who want to know how best to interact with their loved ones, without forgetting themselves.