Personality Disorders

Personality disorders are disorders that create negative feelings, thoughts and behaviors. These usually appear in social situations, but may show up in day-to-day skills. Some personality disorders are antisocial personality disorder, avoidant personality disorder, borderline personality disorder, dependent personality disorder, histrionic personality disorder, narcissistic personality disorder, obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCD), paranoid personality disorder, schizoid personality disorder and schizotypical personality disorder.

Antisocial personality disorder usually shows up in the early teenage years, usually before the age of fifteen. With this disorder, there is little to no sympathy to other beings, including animals and other humans. They don't really care about other people's emotions. They will often act on a whim and not think about the consequences. They are usually grouchy and moody, quick to explode. They also have difficulty feeling regret from their actions.

Avoidant personality disorder is a common disorder that includes low self-esteem, extreme shyness, avoiding social situations, being overly sensitive emotionally and a want to be close to others, but not being able to be comfortable outside of their family. It is thought to be in at least 1% of the adult population in the United States. People with this disorder are more likely to get anxiety disorders.

Borderline personality disorder is characterized by extreme mood swings and is often referred to as bipolarity. However, borderline personality is not just a one second switch. The emotions are mostly on the negative side, where the individual feels depressed, anxious or grumpy for hours or days. After, the individual will feel angry, taking this anger out in various forms - physical aggression, drug abuse, eating disorders and suicidal tendencies. These can also be used to control and manipulate others. The relationships formed with a borderline person are intense. The relationship is filled with arguments and conflict, while the person with borderline can go from kissing the ground you walk on, to kicking you mercilessly.

Narcissistic personality disorder is where an individual has an extremely high self-esteem. They are obsessed with themselves, feeling little empathy for others. Like the others, it is estimated to affect 1% of the population in the United States, but more commonly found in men. Many people may seem to fit this category, but there are a few symptoms that separate the self-centered from the actual personality disorder. For the personality disorder, there is a constant need of praise, fantasies about being powerful and successful, exaggerated sense of achievements, using other people for personal gain, expecting a special treatment, being focused mainly on power and success, and a general lack of empathy. 


http://psychology.about.com/od/personalitydisorders/a/personalitydis.htm
http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/personality-disorders-directory?catid=1006
http://psychology.about.com/od/personalitydisorders/a/avoidant.htm
http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/avoidant-personality-disorders
http://psychology.about.com/od/personalitydisorders/a/borderline.htm
http://psychology.about.com/od/personalitydisorders/a/narcissisticpd.htm