The DSM 1V Criteria For Histrionic Personality Disorder

Individuals with this disorder do not simply drift in and out of friendships, but instead show abrupt, frequent and dramatic changes between "intense love and equally intense hate" (Durand 334) in any one relationship. The fluctuations in their mood, involved with their anger; involved with their thought disturbances, and mixed with their paranoid thoughts about betrayal and abandonment by others; as well as their impulsiveness make it difficult to maintain relationships with others.

People with Histrionic Personality Disorder do not limit their seduction to people with whom they have romantic interest, but it extends to a variety of social, occupational and professional relationships beyond what is appropriate for the social context.10

This paper will aim to define narcissistic personality disorder as a whole. The document will cover the topics of symptoms, prevalence, and contributing factor. In addition to covering the general description of the disorder the paper will present a case study to provide a clearer image of the parameters of NPD. 2 scientific studies will be presented in order to offer empirical data regarding NPD and to add knowledge recently acquired through experimentation.

There are ten different personality disorders, each having specific symptoms, but all of them share certain characteristics. The first of these characteristics is that an

Personality refers to a distinctive set of traits, behavior styles and patterns that constitute our character or individuality. How we see the world or attitudes, thoughts, and feelings are all part of our personality. Individuals with healthy personalities are able to manage with average pressures and have no difficulty establishing connections with family, friends, and co-workers. A personality disorder is a form of mental disorder in which you have an unbending and unhealthy way of thinking, functioning, and behaving.

Personality disorders are included as mental disorders on Axis II of the diagnostic manual of the American Psychiatric Association and in the mental and behavioral disorders section of the ICD manual of the World Health Organization Personality disorders are conditions in which an individual differs significantly from an average person, in terms of how they think, perceive, feel or relate to others. Changes in how a person feels and distorted beliefs about other people can lead to odd behavior, which can be distressing and may upset others There are three recognized personality disorder clusters, cluster A odd and eccentric, Paranoid Personality Disorder Schizoid Personality Disorder Schizotypal Personality Disorder dramatic and emotional, Borderline Personality Disorder Histrionic Personality Disorder Narcissistic Personality Disorder and anxious and fearful Avoidant Personality Disorder Dependent Personality Disorder Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder Personality Disorders: Management

These disorders focus on the evaluation which is to identify the psychological disorder that the client

Psychologists place personality disorders into three clusters. There is Cluster A which share psychotic symptoms similar in Schizophrenia, these include: Paranoid, Schizoid and Schizotypal personality disorders. The second cluster focuses more on emotion, these include Antisocial, Borderline, Histrionic and Narcissistic personality disorders. The final cluster includes Avoidant, Dependent and Obsessive-Compulsive personality disorders, which focus on factors similar in anxiety disorders. Each of these cluster require a minimum amount of symptoms shown the diagnostic charts, in order to be diagnosed with one of them. However it takes a trained professionally to truly diagnose a patient. This is because people who look in their life will see many of their family and friends with symptoms of a personality disorder.

Today, the histrionic personality can be thought of as ranging from acceptable, mildly dramatic behavior, to unhealthy, potentially risky behaviors or characteristics. Individuals who display a few histrionic characteristics but function in generally healthy interactions with others are characterized as having a Histrionic Personality Style. Individuals who exhibit serious dysfunctional characteristics are clinically diagnosed as having Histrionic Personality Disorder.” Although there is no distinct cause to HPD, there might factors that aid a person to behave in such manner. These factors are most likely to develop from childhood, environment, and or social factors. Symptoms of Histrionic Personality Disorder usually develop from the ages of the late-teens to early 20s, and its most emotional rollercoaster peak is during the mid 40s to late 50s. According to Bressert (2014) “Treatment of histrionic personality disorder typically involves long-term psychotherapy with a therapist that has experience in treating this kind of personality disorder. Medications may also be prescribed to help with specific troubling and debilitating symptoms.” There is more information about seeking help and treatment through the use of online resources and support groups for Histrionic Personality

While handling the symptoms of the illness, it becomes difficult to establish and maintain successful relationships with others. Shafran explained that this side effect is also affected by the “fragile person in a scary world” mentality, because they are prone to taking passive roles within relationships, neglecting to have the confidence to communication their standing in the relationship, including their needs and emotions. Overall, the ability to form relationships is severely hindered seeing as the patients have a tendency for avoidance and withdrawal from potentially harmful (whether physical or emotional) situation, and reduced interest in and energy for pursuing activities; therefore maintaining a “safe” distance from others out of fear of being harmed. They deem the closeness and intimacy of close relationships, whether platonic or romantic, to be threatening and see it necessary to avoid

Histrionic personality disorder (HPD) or other wised called colorful personality disorders is often described as the way a person acts, muses and is perceived in relation to the opinion of another. They regularly express themselves with extreme emotion. When one might feel that they are losing the attention of others, they habitually behave in outlandish behavior in which they dramatize their actions, flirt, perform sexual movements, and other inappropriate actions (Novas, Aruijo, & Godinho, 2015). HPD is frequently onset in adolescence and young adults. Other personalities that

This is one of the very rare kinds of personality disorders that can be traced within the contemporary society. Indeed Philip W. Long (2011) pegs the prevalence to 1% of the total population. He further notes that the disorder is more prevalent in males than in females.

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.; DSM-5, American Psychiatric Association, 2013) defines personality disorders as a pattern of internal experience and behavior that greatly differs from what is normally expected in the person’s culture. They are also considered omnipresent and inflexible that is stable and causes both distress and impairment. Antisocial personality disorder is a severe disorder of personality. It is a disorder that helps compromise the dramatic, emotional, or erratic disorders, also known as the Cluster B disorders. The Cluster B disorders are also composed of borderline personality disorder, narcissistic personality disorder, and histrionic personality disorder. The

In the first cluster of disorders, Cluster A, there are three disorders: Paranoid personality disorder (PD), Schizoid personality disorder (PD), and Schizotypal personality disorder (PD). These disorders are classified as odd, bizarre, or eccentric. A person with Paranoid PD has absolutely no trust in others, they are suspicious of everyone and everything, looking for something that would confirm why they feel this distrust for everything in their lives.

DPD is a commonly diagnosed cluster C personality disorder in which ones dependence on others becomes impairing to their everyday life. According to the DSM-5 DPD is defined as “a pervasive and excessive need to be taken care o that leads to submissive and clinging behavior and fears of separation, beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts” (Durand, 2013). Unfortunately, DPD, like many personality disorders still requires much further research regarding its causes and treatment options, however thanks to past research we do have enough information to formally diagnose patients with it and help them target skills to increase independence.