"A personality disorder is an enduring pattern of inner experience and behavior that deviates markedly from the expectations of the individual's culture, is often pervasive and inflexible, has an onset in adolescence or early adulthood, is often stable over time, and leads to distress or impairment". (American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.)
About 9% of the population has at least one personality disorder.[1]
Types of personality disorders
- • Paranoid personality disorder is a pattern of distrust and suspiciousness such that others' motives are interpreted as malevolent.
- • Schizoid personality disorder is a pattern of detachment from social relationships and a restricted range of emotional expression.
- • Schizotypal personality disorder is a pattern of acute discomfort in close relationships, cognitive or perceptual distortions, and eccentricities of behavior.
- • Antisocial personality disorder is a pattern of disregard for, and violation of, the rights of others.
- • Borderline personality disorder is a pattern of instability in interpersonal relationships, self-image, and affects, and marked impulsivity.
- • Histrionic personality disorder is a pattern of excessive emotionality and attention seeking.
- • Narcissistic personality disorder is a pattern of grandiosity, need for admiration, and lack of empathy.
- • Avoidant personality disorder is a pattern of social inhibition, feelings of inadequacy, and hypersensitivity to negative evaluation.
- • Dependent personality disorder is a pattern of submissive and clinging behavior related to an excessive need to be taken care of.
- • Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder is a pattern of preoccupation with orderliness, perfectionism, and control." [ibid.]
Individuals with more than one personality disorder
According to the American Psychiatry Association: "Technically, according to DSM-5*, a person can receive more than one personality disorder diagnosis. People who are diagnosed with a personality disorder most often qualify for more than one diagnosis. A person with a severe personality disorder might meet the criteria for four, five or even more disorders! In practice, clinicians usually recognize that meeting more criteria for personality disorders means more severe disorder."[3]
Anthony D. Smith LMHC indicates:
| “ | It's no secret that some personality disorders (PDO) have significant similarities. The Narcissistic and Antisocial share a lack of empathy and tendency for rage; Borderlines and Dependents have profound fears of abandonment and clingy behavior; the Schizoid and Avoidant are socially anxious and unassertive.
Despite the glaring similarities, careful differential diagnosis can yield one "pure" personality disorder. However, it's most common that patients exhibit a mixed presentation (APA, 2013) such as Antisocial with some Paranoid PDO characteristics, or in fact meet full criteria for two or more PDOs (e.g., Grant et al., 2005; Millon, 2011; Skewes et al., 2015). Readers familiar with PDOs may notice that the above examples are both intra-cluster and inter-cluster (see below regarding personality disorder organization). Indeed, the PDO cluster boundaries are permeable. Grant (2005) noted that this is common, with both inter- and intra-cluster PDO combinations being "... pervasive in the general U.S. population." Personality Disorder Organization Generally, personality disorders are categorized under three different umbrellas, or themes, and the collection of disorders under each umbrella is called a cluster. They are arranged in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) as follows:
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Neoroplasticity and the ability of individuals to change their personality
See also: Neoroplasticity and the ability of individuals to change their personality
Personality is the way people think, feel, and behave.[5]
According to the National Institute of Health, "Neuroplasticity, also known as neural plasticity or brain plasticity, is a process that involves adaptive structural and functional changes to the brain."[6]
UC Davis researchers indicate:
| “ | It has long been believed that people can’t change their personalities, which are largely stable and inherited. But a review of recent research in personality science points to the possibility that personality traits can change through persistent intervention and major life events.
Personality traits, identified as neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness and conscientiousness, can predict a wide range of important outcomes such as health, happiness and income. Because of this, these traits might represent an important target for policy interventions designed to improve human welfare. The research, published in the December issue of American Psychologist, is the product of the Personality Change Consortium, an international group of researchers committed to advancing understanding of personality change. The consortium was initiated by Wiebke Bleidorn and Christopher Hopwood, University of California, Davis, professors of psychology who are also co-authors of the latest paper, “The Policy Relevance of Personality Traits.” The paper has 13 other co-authors.[7] |
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The article How to Become a New Person Through Neuroplasticity states:
| “ | In Atomic Habits, James Clear expands on this idea and suggests that changing your habits requires not only changing your thought patterns, but your underlying beliefs about yourself. If you want to change yourself to be more assertive, for example, but deep down you still believe you are a timid person, the changes you make toward being assertive will not last.)
According to Dispenza, when an emotion lasts more than a few hours, it becomes a mood. When it lasts more than a few days, it becomes a temperament. When it lasts years, it becomes a personality trait. Replacing a negative personality trait with a positive one, then, requires changing the emotions that eventually build to that trait.[8] |
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Some of the key ways an individual can change their personality is through improving:[9][10]
- Listening skills
- Expanding one's interests
- Empathy and increasing praise of others
- Self-confidence
- Communication skills
- Positive/constructive thinking ability
- Level of integrity
- Assertiveness skills
- Stepping out of one's comfort zone
- Creativity and intellectual curiosity
- Journaling to increase self-awareness
- Teamwork skills though team activities and social networking
- Level of feedback from others (Mentors, coaching, asking others for feedback such as church members and clergy)
See also
References
- ↑ Histrionic Personality Disorder, National Library of Medicine
- ↑ What Is Narcissistic Rage, and What’s the Best Way to Deal with It?, Healthline.com
- ↑ Expert Q&A: Personality Disorders, American Psychiatry Association
- ↑ Can a Person Have More Than One Personality Disorder? by Anthony D. Smith
- ↑ Great Ideas in Personality
- ↑ Neuroplasticity
- ↑ Can you change your personality?
- ↑ How to Become a New Person Through Neuroplasticity
- ↑ 9 Tips to improve your personality, Personality Labs website]
- ↑ Activities for personality development: 15 ways to grow by By Erin Eatough, PhD