It is estimated that one in 20 people in Europe suffers from one, but many never get diagnosed
By Dr Vasilios Silivistris
Personality disorders are a group of psychiatric conditions in which a person’s long-term (chronic) behaviours, emotions and thoughts are very different from their culture’s expectations and can cause serious problems with relationships and or work.
In Europe, it is estimated that around one in every 20 people has a personality disorder. However, many people have only mild conditions so they only need help at times of stress (such as grief).
Other people with more moderate conditions may need specialist help for longer periods.
Causes
The causes of personality disorders are unknown, however; many genetic and environmental factors are thought to play a role.
Symptoms vary widely depending on the type of personality disorder. In general, personality disorders involve feelings, thoughts, and behaviours that do not adapt to a wide range of settings.
These patterns usually begin in adolescence and may lead to problems in social and work situations.
Some Personality Disorders
Eccentric Personality Disorders
Paranoid Personality Disorders
Schizoid Personality Disorders
Schizotypal Personality Disorders
Dramatic Personality Disorders
Antisocial Personality Disorders
Borderline Personality Disorders
Histrionic Personality Disorders
Narcissistic Personality Disorders
Anxious Personality Disorders
Avoidance Personality Disorders
Dependent Personality Disorders
Initially, individuals with these disorders usually do not seek treatment on their own. They tend to seek help once their behaviour has caused severe problems in their relationships and or work, or when they are diagnosed with another psychiatric problem.
Although personality disorders take time to treat, there is increasing evidence that certain forms of talk therapy can help many people.
Outlook
The outlook varies. Some personality disorders go away during middle age without any treatment, whereas, others may only improve slowly throughout life, even with treatment.
Personality disorders are often difficult to treat and may require long-term attention to change inappropriate behaviour and thought patterns.
Most people recover from personality disorders with time and proper treatment nevertheless, this depends on the severity of the disorder and whether there are other ongoing problems such as stress.
Most mild or moderate personality disorders can be successfully treated with a course of psychological therapy and different types of psychological therapies have been shown to help people with personality disorders.
It is important to get the right therapy.
Dr Vasilios Silivistris (Vasos) is a psychotherapist, counselling practitioner psychotherapycounselling.uk/
