Abnormal Psychology: Personality Disorders

The scientific study of psychological disorders is known as 'Abnormal Psychology'. When one deviates from a norm, or the accepted behavior in a society or culture, people term it as abnormal behavior. Abnormal psychology is studied, researched and treated by clinical psychologist, psychiatrists and social workers. Personality disorders are similar to physical illness. There are different types of psychology which can affect an individual. The many myths pertain to the term 'mental', as one can't see the chemical imbalance in the brain. The person suffering from such psychological imbalances himself doesn't realize, what is going wrong with him. History shows how people misunderstood the abnormal personality disorders and imprisoned or banished patients from the main society.

History of Abnormal Psychology
People have been suffering from abnormal psychology personality disorders since the Stone Age. These abnormal psychology personality disorders were not understood as clinical manifestations, but the work of demons, ghosts and evil spirits. This gave rise to stories of witches and wizards, witch-crafts and magic. These personality disorders were treated using a method known as 'Trepanation'. Trepanation was practiced in the prehistoric era, classical and Renaissance periods. The procedure for this spine chilling procedure was to drill a hole in the skull exposing the dura mater for treating the personality disorder. This process was used for treating seizures and many more mental illnesses.

Hippocrates was the first to point out brain as the root cause for these abnormal psychological personality disorders. Mentally ill patients were treated as outcasts and were socially abolished. They were kept under inhumane conditions and were treated with demonological methods. Patients died or were permanently disabled due to the cruel methods adopted for treating personality disorders. The Salem Witch Trial in 1692, is the proof of many innocent people with or without mental disorders being sentenced to prison or death. Bethlehem Hospital in London was the first hospital to be converted into a mental asylum. Philippe Pinet (1745-1826), a Frenchman who was then the chief physician at La Bicetre asylum in Paris, believed the metal disorder patients as sick who needed kindness and care. He is one of the great humanitarians who ordered to remove chains from patients at the Paris asylum for insane women. The other humanistic psychotherapist were Carl Jung, Alfred Adler, Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers, Ivan Pavlov, J.B Watson and B.F. Skinner.

What is Personality Disorder?
The fourth (1994) edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) defines personality disorder as "'enduring pattern(s) of inner experience and behavior that are sufficiently rigid and deep-seated to bring a person into repeated conflicts with his or her social and occupational environment."

Each and every person has a personality. The way a person thinks, behaves and expresses emotions are specific to each individual. These traits, specific to an individual mindset get converted into personality disorders, when the behavior becomes extreme and inflexible. Most of the personality disorders take birth in childhood and develop into a full-blown personality disorder in adulthood. Any trauma- emotion or mental, suffered during childhood, may lead to personality disorder. People with personality disorders are affected by their own thinking about themselves and the world around them. They experience emotions different from the normal pattern and function differently in society. They cannot control their impulses at times and become a danger to themselves and others around them.

Types of Personality Disorders
There are 10 types of personality disorders that are arranged in three clusters.
Cluster A: The personality disorders that are odd or eccentric are grouped in Cluster A.

Cluster B: The personality disorders that are related to emotional or erratic disorders are grouped under Cluster B.

Cluster C: Anxious or fearful disorders are clubbed together under Cluster C.

The various personality disorders are:

Paranoid personality disorder: People categorized under paranoid personality disorder show distrust and are suspicious of people around them.

Schizoid personality disorder: The person with schizoid personality disorder becomes detached from social interactions and relationships. The emotional expression of these people is restricted.

Schizotypical personality disorder: This behavior is marked by pervasive pattern of interpersonal behavior. The person faces discomfort in social settings and has reduced capacity for close relationships. Their thinking and perception power becomes distorted and exhibit eccentric behavior.

Antisocial personality disorder: Patients with antisocial personality disorder have little or no regards for others and violate the rights of people around them. They are generally referred as psychopaths or sociopaths.

Histrionic personality disorder: Patients with histrionic personality disorder are hungry for attention, over emotional and over dramatic. They draw people towards them by their flirtatious or seductive nature. But, they themselves are emotionally shallow. They are easily bored and live in their own romantic, sweet world.

Narcissistic personality disorder: In this disorder patients are craving for admiration, self-importance and show lack of empathy. They cannot stand criticism or losing to someone.

Avoidant personality disorder: Such patients with avoidant personality disorder have feelings of social inhibitions and fear rejections. They shy away from developing close relationships. They fear criticism and humiliation.

Dependent personality disorder : Patients suffering from dependent personality disorder are afraid of being on their own. They develop submissive behavior as they do not want to displease or hurt people. They have separation anxiety and often ask guidance from people and do not take decisions on their own.

Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder: These patients are preoccupied with keeping order, attaining perfection, cleanliness, mental and interpersonal control. They spend their time following a strict schedule, rule or plans and will not be flexible or open to change. They face problems in their personal and professional lives as they want things to be done their way.

Borderline personality disorder: Patients show instability in interpersonal relationships, self image, moods and controlling of impulses. Borderline personality disorder patients are often confused about their career goals, personal values and even their sexual orientation. These people often threaten to attempt suicide.

Cause of Personality Disorder
Most of the causes of personality disorders of a patient lies in his or her childhood. Parental upbringing, social pressures, one's personality and physical, mental or sexual abuse germinate personality disorders in childhood. The other causes of personality disorders may include hereditary traits passed on by parents like shyness or anger. Antisocial personality disorder, which generally has a biological cause is more common in men. Women tend to suffer from dependent personality disorder. Certain biochemical imbalances in the brain also lead to personality disorders. Environmental factors and family background also contribute towards the causes of personality disorders.

Symptoms of Personality Disorder
Personality disorder symptoms are specific to each type of abnormal psychological personality disorders. The general personality disorder symptoms are classified as:

• Frequent mood swings
  
• Instable relationships
  
• Isolating oneself from social interactions
  
• Anger outburst
  
• Mistrust and suspicion of family and friends
  
• Difficulty in making friends
  
• Alcohol or drug abuse
  
• Poor impulse control
  
• Suicidal tendency
  
• Inflicting harm on others without provocation

Treatment of Personality Disorders
Treatment of personality disorders have drastically changed over the years. Patients are no longer treated inhumanely. Treatments available today, aim to control the disorder and introduce the patient back into the society. As personality disorders are mostly chronic disorders, a patient may require life-long treatment. The treatment includes

• Psychotherapy: Psychotherapy involves talking to the patient regarding the condition and issues related to the disorder. The patient learns about his moods, feelings and behavior during the psychotherapy sessions. The different types of psychotherapy includes cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, psychodynamic psychotherapy and psychoeducation. Psychotherapy may be group session or individual sessions.
  
• Drug Therapy: Medications like antidepressants, mood stabilizing medications, anti-anxiety medications and anti-psychotic medications are prescribed by doctors to help treat and control personality disorders.
  
• Hospitalization and Rehabilitation: Some extreme conditions may require psychiatric hospitalization. When a patient becomes extremely violent or is unable to take care of himself, hospitalization is recommended. Many times people who get treated for psychological disorders need rehabilitation before entering the social structure.

Controlling Personality Disorder
It is a very difficult task to control personality disorder. One needs to improve the coping skills in order to overcome personality disorder. The patient needs to set reasonable goals to achieve in life. Speak to the therapist, family and friends for coping with the changes. Maintaining a daily diary where one can write all the pain, anger, ill-will and negative emotions can also help in controlling personalty disorders. Participation in social gatherings and friends get-together will help a person overcome social anxiety and keep away from feelings of social isolation. Support groups help connect with people with similar disorder and help one another to overcome similar challenges. Following a healthy diet and giving up on alcohol and other substance use are among the other things that the person can do to improve his condition. With a little determination and self-belief one can overcome abnormal psychological personality disorder. If someone you know is suffering from personality disorder, get over all the myths and fiction and help the person seek medical attention. With love, support and understanding one can help patients of personality disorder overcome their abnormality.