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Mental Health
Personality Disorders
Overview

We all have feelings and emotions and we all have to deal with problems that arise in the course of our daily lives and, for the most part we do this in a reasoned calm and practical way we might get angry, sad, worried or stressed from time to time but generally we get over it and get on with it, so it comes as a complete surprise when a reasonable request to fix the fence or the stop the dog from barking all night, evolves into having your neighbour threaten, stalk and abuse you whenever you step outside your door.

It doesn?t occur to most people to go out of their way to make problems, to harass and intimidate somebody because they don't like them or the way they live. Normal people don't make it their business to make somebody else?s life a misery or go out of their way to intimidate and frighten another individual. You may (or may not) have thought that your neighbour was pretty normal and you managed to get on OK, up to the moment ?the issue? came up and now you find that you are living next door to an individual who seems to be making a career out of trying to destroy your life.

Welcome to the world of the personality disorder, the world of the individual, who for much of the time, can function within social norms but under a given set of conditions looses the ability to reason and becomes overwhelmed with their own dysfunctional emotional state of mind to the point where they may be completely unaware of their actions. When the trigger is pulled an individual with a personality disorder can become manic and you may find yourself on the receiving end of a verbal or physical assault.

Everybody has a personality, thoughts, behaviours and feelings, that combine to make a person who he or she is and dictate how he or she interacts with the world, some people are confident some are shy some are serious and others are cheerful, the various combinations of character traits that affect how an individual interacts in different situations. A personality disorder exists 'when traits become states', when an aspect of an individuals behaviour disproportionately defines how that individual relates to themselves and those around them, when their personality causes distress and dysfunction for them, their loved ones and their colleges. Personality disorders affect every aspect of an individuals life, relationships with themselves and others are difficult and troubled and their ability to be truly healthy and happy is seriously limit.

Personality disorders have been categorised into ten different types and divided into three distinct groups:

Group A: Paranoid, Schizoid, and Schizotypal personality disorders are signified by odd or eccentric behaviour.

Group B: Antisocial, Borderline, Histrionic, and Narcissistic personality disorders display dramatic, emotional or erratic behaviour.

Group C: Avoidant, Dependent, and Obsessive-Compulsive personality disorders are characterised by anxious or fearful behaviours.

See also this information from the now defunct U.S. website thebitchnextdoor ? borderline personality disorder - narcissistic personality disorder - Antisocial Personality Disorder (Sociopathy) unfortunately the website is no longer available however the information is worth reading.

 

Helpful Links

Personality Disorders - Fact Sheet

 

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