Abnormal Psychology revised

Personality Disorders
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Giving a concrete definition of the term abnormal psychology can be quite a task. This is because it is dependent on an individual’s consideration of what is normal. The term normal solely depends on the context, that is, the place, time and the person involved. However, with all the diverse limitations, abnormal psychology can be defined as a deviation from that which a group of people considers acceptable or right (Cloninger& Svrakic, 2016). Abnormal psychology is a wide subject but in this paper mainly focuses on the various personality disorders and limitations associated with their management as well as their treatment.
A personality disorder can be defined as a form of mental disorder characterized by unhealthy and rigid patterns of behavior, functioning and thinking manifest in a person (Cloninger & Svrakic, 2016). These quite often disrupt a person’s normal way of life and, eventually, social ties, academic progress as well as work (Nolen-Hoeksema & Rector, 2015). It would be very hard for an individual to know that he or she suffers from a personality disorder and for this reason then they often tend to blame other people for the challenges they face. Personality disorders are often detected during teenage years and early adulthood. Some of the disorders may become less apparent as individuals become middle aged.
There are a total of ten disorders subdivided into three major categories; categories A, B, and C.

Category A is comprised of schizotypal, paranoid and schizoid personality disorders. These disorders are collectively characterized by eccentric and odd mannerisms. Category B is inclusive of antisocial, histrionic, borderline, and narcissistic personality disorders. The characteristic signs of these are individuals being overly emotional, dramatic and with unpredictable behavior. Finally, in C, there is avoidant, dependent and obsessive-compulsive personality disorders. These are characterized by a fearful and anxious conduct (Polanczyk, Salum, Sugaya, Caye& Rohde, 2015). It is worthwhile noting that personality disorders do not assume full textbook descriptions. Instead, they manifest themselves in distortion as they tend to co-occur with other disorders within the same cluster. They can, however, be managed and treated through psychotherapy. The following is a discussion of the personality disorders aforementioned, individually.
According to Triebwasser, Chemerinski, Roussos, & Siever, (2013) people suffering from paranoid personality disorder exhibit a configuration of distrust and constant suspicion of others citing ulterior motives. They live in the consciousness that others are out to harm or deceive them. The result of this is living begrudgingly. They also have a very strong sense of their rights and are majorly concerned with their setbacks. As a result, they are pre-disposed to feelings of humiliation and shame. In addition, people suffering from paranoid personality disorder have a particularly hard time building close relationships, and they often opt to withdraw from already existing ones. The main ego defense of such a person is the projection which they achieve by attributing their unacceptable emotional state and thoughts to others around them. Research shows that this type of personality disorder can be inherited (Triebwasser, Chemerinski, Roussos, & Siever, 2013). The other type of personality disorder is schizoid.
Most often a schizoid personality disorder is characterized by an absence of interest in both personal and social relationship (Bateman, Gunderson & Mulder, 2015). Individuals tend always to prefer being alone taking little pleasure in life. Emotionally, they exhibit detachment, whilst being cold and aloof. People diagnosed with this disorder have a shallow range of emotions. Usually, they never reciprocate facial expressions or gestures, such as a nod as a show of agreement. This brings them out as inattentive, dull and bland. However, they have a very rich inner life with a longing for intimacy. Though this is true, they have a very hard time establishing and maintaining close relationships. Also, they rarely exhibit a need for medical attention since they seem to function well despite by their oddness. Other than schizoid disorder there are disorders that are genetic such as schizotypal disorder.
Schizotypal personality disorder often manifests in people whose families have a history of schizophrenia. These have a higher chance being diagnosed positively. The symptoms of this disorder include oddness in behavioral appearances, especially dressing, and speech. They exhibit glitches in thinking and rare perceptual experiences. People suffering from this disorder are usually in constant fear of social gatherings and see others as harmful to them. This is a leading factor in their belief that all happenings and events are related to them. As such, they opt to avoid social interactions due to their fears, contrary to those with the schizoid disorder who simply lack the desire to interact with other people (Bateman, Gunderson & Mulder, 2015). On the other hand, group B has several disorders such include antisocial personality disorder.
An antisocial personality disorder can be seen to manifest in people who make it a part of their life to disregard and violate other people’s rights. They never put into consideration how other people may feel. Also, they tend to be pathological liars. As such, they frequently con others and steal using aliases. Persons with antisocial personality disorder are aggressive and very violent. This is going in line with the fact that they disregard other people’s safety and even their own. The disorder is also associated with constant law breaking and even after apprehension, for correction purposes, they do not show any form of remorse. Actually, their release from custody never deters them from repeating the same mistakes, regardless of the known consequences. Borderline is another disorder in category B.
In regards to the borderline personality disorder, a person suffering from this disorder have low self-esteem and therefore, feelings of emptiness persist, also such a person lives in constant fear of abandonment (Linehan, Comtois, Murray, Brown, Gallop, Heard, & Lindenboim, 2006). The affected party is usually involved in intense but highly unstable relationships. This disorder is also characterized by an outburst of anger and violence, especially when critically confronted, positively or negatively. People with borderline personality disorder tend to seek medical attention as they are constantly harming themselves and suicidal attempts are very rampant. Suggestions have been made that people who develop this disorder are often victims of sexual harassment. Besides, women have a high likelihood of contracting this disorder as compared to men. This is because they fall victim often, and the probability of dealing with such circumstances is higher than that of men. The third personality disorder in category B is histrionic.
A histrionic personality disorder is an array of attention seeking and excessive emotion. People with the histrionic disorder may seem uncomfortable if they are not getting enough attention from other people. For such reasons people suffering from this disorder often try to draw attention to themselves through their physical appearances. To successfully attain this they tend to be seductive and flirtatious individuals. As they desire for excitement usually acting on impulses, they quite often end up exposing themselves to dangerous situations and risking exploitation. The form of interaction they have with other people may seem superficially insincere. Due to this, the persons may be negatively impacted by their romantic and social relationships as they attempt to keep. This is problematic for such people as they are very sensitive to criticism and cannot handle rejection or loss very well. The more the rejection they experience, the more histrionic they turn out to be, and the more histrionic they turn out to be, the more excluded they tend to feel. It is a vicious cycle. A histrionic personality disorder is also concerned with feelings that the relationships that one keeps with others are more heightened than it actually is. Thus, this only pushes them to be more histrionic due to rejection. The last disorder in category B discussed in this paper is narcissistic.
People with a narcissistic personality disorder often feel more important than others, and this comes from the aspect of entitlement that they feel. They believe that they deserve special treatment, hence their arrogance (Bateman, Gunderson& Mulder, 2015). In addition, they believe that they are extremely attractive and brilliant as compared to other people. The narcissistic disorder is also associated with indulging in actions that potentially disrespect and disregard the people around the affected person. This personality is also characterized by indulgence in fantasies of indefinite power and success, and they may be too much into the fantasies that they forget to put in the work to make it attainable. They, therefore, may invest more in their beauty and intelligence forever forfeiting the possibility of them attaining what they fantasize. Narcissistic people are envious of other people, and they derive satisfaction when others do the same for them. They may steal, lie and exploit others just to achieve their goals as they lack a sense of empathy. To others, narcissistic people appear to be intolerant, controlling, self-absorbed, insensitive and selfish. If a person with this personality disorder feels ridiculed or obstructed, they blow up in anger and plot revenge. Such a reaction is referred to as narcissistic rage, and it may have destructive outcomes for the involved individuals. Category C has several disorders as well, such include, avoidant personality disorder.
According to Herbert (2007), the avoidant personality disorder is described as a prevalent pattern of feeling inadequate, socially inhibited as well as being hypersensitive to negative assessment. People with this personality disorder live in the constant fear that other people will reject, ridicule or criticize them. This causes them to avoid social gatherings and interpersonal interactions with other people. This is entirely harmful to social skills development. People with avoidant personality disorder maintain a very small circle of confidants and their involvement in social life is almost negligible. Such people’s interpretation and thinking of the world revolves around the feelings that they are not good enough and other people do not like them. They deem themselves as people who are unfit live in the world where other people live. These thoughts create a lot of anxiety. With this being an uncomfortable situation for them, they go to any lengths in order to avoid such. The easiest way is to avoid interpersonal interactions. Thus, they avoid parties and other forms of social gatherings as they may have a hard time making presentations at their place of work. To other people, they may appear as shy and distant. This inhibits their social life and also growth professionally. The second personality disorder in category C is the dependent personality disorder.
Bornstein (2010) highlights the main characteristics of a person suffering from a dependent personality disorder such include lack of self-confidence and an unending requisite to be looked after by other people. People with this disorder seldom make their own decisions regardless of how important it may be to them. Rather, they leave the decision in the hands of their caregivers. Such people fear abandonment and can do anything to maintain relationships. Often, they see themselves as helpless and inadequate. Overall, people with dependent personality disorder tend to exhibit a child-like and naïve perspective, and their dependency makes them prone to exploitation and abuse. Obsessive-compulsive disorder is the last discussed under this category.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder is common in people who are perfectionists. They give excess attention to details, lists, order, rules, schedules or organization. Their perfectionism is such that it slows down the work that at times it may not get to completion as they trade-off relationships and leisure with an emphasis on productivity and devotion to their work (Nolen-Hoeksema, & Rector, 2015). Among other characteristics, people with this personality disorder are humorless, controlling, inflexible, cautious and always doubting, and are huge misers. Their anxiety is accredited to the fact that such people cannot control the world. To them, it strays from their understanding and every time they try to control it, they feel more without control. For such reasons such people are always under distress usually having very low tolerance for the complexity of things and they, therefore, simplify either terming them as bad or good. The relationships they keep and share with other people are strained by the rather odd demands they make on them in regards to different subjects.
However, hope is not lost on people struggling with personality disorders. The diagnosis of a personality disorder requires an assessment of the patterns of symptoms and functioning of the victim (Morey, 2015). For a minor, the symptoms must have been persistent for over a year. Most people with a personality disorder may not find any problem with how they handle they handle their own affairs. Different types of psychotherapies can be administered to treat personality disorders. During a therapy session, a person is in a position to learn more about the disorder and the contributing symptoms they have as well as their behaviors, feelings, and thoughts. It also helps people understand the impact that their actions have on other people in order to minimize on the mannerisms that potentially harm their functioning and the relationships they have with other people. The treatment given is dependent on the type of personality disorder, the circumstances of the individual and the severity of the disorder.
The commonly used therapies are psychoanalytic or psychodynamic therapy, psychoeducation (to both the family and the individual in regards to the illness), dialectical behavior therapy, group therapy and cognitive behavior therapy (Nolen-Hoeksema, & Rector, 2015). There is no specific medication for these disorders, but some drugs are used to treat some of the symptoms such as antidepressants, mood stabilizing medication, and anti-anxiety medication. For adverse conditions, a group approach is taken which involves a primary care doctor, a psychologist, a psychiatrist, family members and a social worker. In addition to the treatment plan, coping and self-care strategies can be of massive help to individuals. These strategies include avoiding isolation, writing journals for the purposes of expressing emotion, avoiding drugs and alcohol as they may elevate the symptoms, exercise, attending frequent checkups without a miss, stress management through yoga and meditation, and joining a support group for people living with the same condition.
For diagnosis of the above disorders, medical practitioners must rule out the possibility of any other disease having similar manifestations. Initially, they are required to analyze a patient’s history and conduct physical examinations. These laboratory tests, alongside brain imaging via CT scans or MRI, lead to a conclusive finding (Frith, 2014). This could be a positive presence of any of the neurological disorders. Additionally, psychological testing follows. The primary focus of these is usually personality, cognitive and projective tests. Disorder management is also key.
Recovering from a mental health issue is an ongoing process. Beyond the pharmacological care, a patient needs access to counseling facilities and rehabilitative therapy (Buckley & Gaughran, 2014). Following the prescribed treatment and a healthier nutrition works towards enhancing an efficient recovery with minimal relapses. Joining support groups is an essential step in this timely endeavor. In addition, there is also a role played by family and close ones. Their support brings an aspect of positivity boosting the patient’s esteem.
The ten personality disorders manifest themselves in people differently, and each of them has its distinct characteristic. Knowledge of personality disorders can help us understand what people suffering from them go through, and, therefore, it becomes easy to deal with them altogether. It also helps us to identify situations that make them feel awkward and what we can possibly do to lift them out of their plight into a healthy and lasting relationship with the people who surround them.
 
References
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Bornstein, R. F. (2010). Dependent personality disorder. Corsini Encyclopedia of Psychology.
Buckley P. F., & Gaughran, F. (Eds.). (2014). Treatment–Refractory Schizophrenia: A Clinical Conundrum. Springer Science & Business Media.
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Frith, C. D. (2014). The cognitive neuropsychology of schizophrenia. Psychology Press.
Herbert, J. D. (2007). Avoidant personality disorder.
Linehan, M. M., Comtois, K. A., Murray, A. M., Brown, M. Z., Gallop, R. J., Heard, H. L., … & Lindenboim, N. (2006). Two-year randomized controlled trial and follow-up of dialectical behavior therapy vs. therapy by experts for suicidal behaviors and borderline personality disorder. Archives of general psychiatry, 63(7), 757-766.
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Polanczyk, G. V., Salum, G. A., Sugaya, L. S., Caye, A., & Rohde, L. A. (2015). Annual Research Review: A meta‐analysis of the worldwide prevalence of mental disorders in children and adolescents. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 56(3), 345-365.
Triebwasser, J., Chemerinski, E., Roussos, P., & Siever, L. J. (2013). Paranoid personality disorder. Journal of personality disorders, 27(6), 795-805.