Personality Disorders
The Personality Disorders
We cannot have a website devoted to personalities without spending some time understanding the personality disorders. Personality disorders are listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association (DSM IV TR). The DSM is used by mental health and general health professionals to diagnose various disorders and conditions. Whereas Schizophrenia and Bi-Polar Disorder are serious conditions caused by a chemical imbalance and require medication and treatment, the personality disorders are characterized by:
As always, a diagnosis is quite elastic; two people with the same diagnosis may have very diverse experiences ranging from grave to relatively mild.An enduring pattern of inner experience and behavior that deviates markedly from the expectations of the individual's culture, is pervasive and inflexible, has an onset in adolescence or early adulthood, is stable over time and leads to distress or impairment. -- DSM, 1996, p. 629
To be diagnosed with a personality disorder the symptomatic behavior must cause distress or impairment. In other words, the disorder must limit the person's quality of life in some significant way. Although we may find someone's behavior terribly annoying, that alone does not meet the criteria.
The Personality Disorders
- Schizoid
- Borderline
- Paranoid
- Histrionic
- Narcissistic
- Avoidant
- Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder (not the same as Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder)
- Delusional
- Anti-Social
Personality Disorders Series
Watch for our personality disorders series.
- Schizoid Personality Disorder
- Borderline Personality Disorder
- Paranoid Personality Disorder
- Histrionic Personality Disorder
- Narcissistic Personality Disorder
- Avoidant Personality Disorder
- Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder
- More coming soon.
Tell A Friend • Comment • Print • Feedback
Personality Disorders
Dr.Dorothy Personality Books
Options
Personality Quizzes
- Emotive Personality
- Shyness
- Emotional Maturity Test
- Borderline Personality Disorder
- View All Personality Quizzes
Love Quizzes
- Love at First Sight
- Dating Psychopath
- Sensuality Quotient
- Are You Snow White or Have You Drifted?
- View All Love Quizzes
Fun Quizzes
- Can You See Things That Go Bump in the Night?
- Jason Bourne and Your Personality
- The Soul of a Poet
- Are you a 'Now' Hottie in 1950's Styles?
- View All Fun Quizzes
Wellness Tests
Career Tests
Newsletter Subscription
Be better informed and receive Personality One updates by subscribing to our Newsletter.