Personality Disorders

Dedicated care for personality disorders

Your personality defines how you think, feel, behave, and interact with the world around you. Personality traits, like your level of self-confidence and ability to empathize with your loved ones, allow you to maintain satisfying relationships and manage general daily challenges.  

Personality disorders affect many of these traits, creating long-lasting changes that cause people to struggle with relationships, prevent them from functioning well at work or school, and affect their social interactions. Personality disorders can be challenging to identify, but an accurate diagnosis can help you understand your symptoms and find a path back to meaningful relationships and success with daily living. 

Personality disorders care at Reid Health

At Reid Health, we’re dedicated to offering comprehensive, personalized care for personality disorders close to home. We offer inpatient treatment for people having a mental health crisis related to their condition, and our ongoing outpatient care is available from behavioral health specialists located throughout East Central Indiana and West Central Ohio.  

We’re deeply committed to helping people with personality disorders better relate to their friends and loved ones and lead fulfilling lives in the communities they call home. 

What are personality disorders?

A personality disorder is a mental health condition that causes negative, long-term changes in thoughts and behaviors. These thoughts and behavior patterns can become so rigid and confining they affect interactions with other people, whether family and friends or at work or school. The conditions can prevent you from understanding emotions, making it hard to relate to other people, or from handling the daily stresses of life. They can also lead to impulsive, sometimes risky, actions.  

Researchers don’t know what causes personality disorders. Genes might play a role, and your environment can, as well. These conditions tend to be diagnosed at age 18 or older because personalities are still developing during childhood and the teenage years. 

Types of personality disorders

There are many different elements of personality, and because of that, there are also many different personality disorders. Someone might have personality traits associated with only one disorder, but it’s also possible to have traits of multiple disorders.

Providers classify personality disorders based on the traits they impact, such as how you relate to others or how you feel about yourself. Those personality disorders are further categorized into three clusters. 

Cluster A  

Cluster A personality disorders cause unusual, odd thoughts and behaviors. These disorders include:

• Paranoid personality disorder: An extreme fear and distrust of other people and concern that others might be trying to hurt you
• Schizoid personality disorder: A preference for being alone and not having relationships with other people
• Schizotypal personality disorder: A disorder marked by eccentric ways of speaking, thinking, or acting and discomfort with close relationships 

Cluster B  

Cluster B personality disorders cause dramatic and emotional thoughts and behaviors. These disorders include:

• Antisocial personality disorder: A pattern of manipulating and exploiting other people
• Borderline personality disorder: A disorder causing someone to have difficulty managing emotions
• Histrionic personality disorder: A disorder causing strong emotions and a tendency to seek attention from others
• Narcissistic personality disorder: A lack of empathy and a need for admiration from others 

Cluster C  

Cluster C personality disorders cause anxious and fearful thoughts and behaviors. These disorders include:

• Avoidant personality disorder: A disorder causing a person to be shy and fear rejection
• Dependent personality disorder: An extreme dependency on others in which a person might be more willing to tolerate mistreatment out of fear of losing a relationship
• Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder: A disorder marked by an extreme need for control and order, perfectionism, and inflexible thinking 

Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder is a different condition than obsessive-compulsive disorder, which causes obsessive thoughts that don’t go away. 

Personality disorders diagnosis and treatment

It’s not always easy to recognize the signs of a personality disorder in yourself, but if you do, help is available at Reid Health. Our behavioral health specialists can also talk with people who think a loved one has a personality disorder and help them navigate their options.  

Whether you’re seeking help for yourself or a loved one, know you have options. A primary care provider can review symptoms and order tests to see if underlying health conditions, such as a hormonal imbalance, are causing symptoms affecting your mental health. Your provider might need blood, urine, or imaging tests to rule out other conditions. They can also refer you to a behavioral health specialist for a diagnosis and treatment. 

Diagnosing personality disorders

Personality disorders share symptoms with many other psychiatric conditions, but getting an accurate diagnosis is the first step toward improving your relationship with the world around you.

To determine whether what you’re experiencing is related to a personality disorder, a mental health professional will conduct a thorough exam, including a psychiatric or psychological evaluation. This isn’t a pass-fail situation — during this appointment, your provider will simply be asking questions to get a good understanding of how you’re thinking and feeling and how it affects your daily life and relationships.

Your provider will also ask questions about your symptoms, experiences, and personal and family medical history. In some cases, your family members or friends might also be asked questions about your thought patterns and behaviors.

Treating personality disorders

If you’re diagnosed with a personality disorder, your provider will create a treatment plan that’s personalized for you based on the specific disorder you have and the symptoms you’re experiencing.

Personality disorders are most often treated using psychotherapy, including cognitive behavioral therapy. During therapy sessions, you’ll be encouraged to talk through your thoughts and feelings, as well as how those thoughts affect your behavior toward others. You’ll also learn ways to manage your symptoms and tools that can help you improve your behaviors and interactions.

In some cases, medication management might also be used to treat personality disorders. While there are no specific medications approved to treat personality disorders themselves, your provider might prescribe medications such as antidepressants and anti-anxiety drugs to treat specific symptoms.

Your care team might also recommend lifestyle changes that can help you cope with the symptoms of personality disorder, such as

• Getting regular exercise
• Prioritizing getting enough quality sleep
• Writing in a journal
• Being socially active
• Practicing stress management techniques

Many people who have personality disorders also have other mental health conditions. If you have a co-existing mental health issue, your treatment plan might also include other therapies to treat that condition.