Personality conditions

Signs and symptoms

There are many different sub-types of personality disorders. Common sub-types are borderline, narcissistic, antisocial, obsessive-compulsive, paranoid, or schizotypal personality disorder. Many different sub-types have features that overlap with each other.

Here’s a list summarising each personality disorder:

• Paranoid Personality Disorder: People living with paranoid personality disorder (PPD) often feel constant distrust and suspiciousness towards others. They may think that others will exploit, harm, or trick them, even when there is no evidence. They may also respond to praise or support with disbelief or intense suspicion. If left untreated, PPD can seriously effect someone’s day-to-day wellbeing, as they risk being consumed by paranoid thoughts and feelings. Paranoid personality disorder is a behaviour pattern that develops in early adulthood and is persistent across a variety of contexts.
• Schizoid Personality Disorder: Someone living with schizoid personality disorder may appear detached from relationships and have limited emotional expression when interacting with others. Signs of schizoid personality disorder are living in isolation, avoiding social interaction, limited close relationships, and an indifference to other people’s emotions. People experiencing schizoid personality disorder often prefer to be away from others, and function better on their own. Schizoid personality disorder is a behaviour pattern that develops in early adulthood and is present in a variety of contexts.
• Schizotypal Personality Disorder: Signs of schizotypal personality disorder are discomfort around other people, lack of close relationships, social anxiety, eccentric behaviour, and strange worldviews (often called ‘magical thinking’). Someone living with schizotypal personality disorder may interpret events or interactions in unusual ways (i.e. certain occurrences are linked to people or ideas that appear unrelated and illogical). They may engage in unique ritualistic behaviour, display unusual mannerisms and speech, and believe they have a magical control over other people. They can also struggle to relate to others, and this often leads to suspicion and paranoia in social situations. Schizotypal personality disorder is not the same as schizophrenia, as its symptoms do not include psychotic episodes. Schizotypal personality disorder is a behaviour pattern that develops in early adulthood and is persistent across a variety of contexts.
• Antisocial Personality Disorder: People living with antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) may repeatedly disregard their own and others’ safety, use people for personal gain, make impulsive and reckless decisions, and struggle to conform with lawful behaviour and societal norms. To be diagnosed with ASPD, someone must have a history of persistent rule-breaking behaviour from early adolescence. ASPD diagnosis occurs if the individual is 18 years or older. Child abuse or unstable parenting increases the chance that a child will develop ‘conduct disorder’, which can lead to ASPD when they become an adult. ASPD is three times more common in men than in women.
• Borderline Personality Disorder: Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a mental health condition which causes someone’s feelings towards themselves and others to fluctuate between emotional extremes. Living with BPD can make it hard for someone to trust others, to have a deep understanding of self, and to control their emotions during interpersonal conflict. BPD can lead to relationship breakdown, impulsive decision making, and a constant feeling of abandonment. People living with BPD are statistically at a greater risk of suicide and suicide attempt. Borderline personality disorder is a behaviour pattern that develops in early adulthood and is persistent across a variety of contexts.
• Narcissistic Personality Disorder: When someone is so self-focussed that their relationships and working life begin to deteriorate, they may be experiencing something called narcissistic personality disorder (NPD). NPD is a mental health condition that effects someone’s feeling of self-worth, their ability to control their emotional state, and their relationships with others. People living with NPD often feel excessively self-important and superior to those around them. They rely on praise and admiration to feel good, belittle those who challenge their sense of superiority, and struggle to empathise other peoples’ experiences. Narcissistic personality disorder is a behaviour patter that develops in early adulthood and is persistent across a variety of contexts.
• Avoidant Personality Disorder: Avoidant personality disorder (AVPD) is a mental health condition that effects someone’s trust and understanding of others. People living with AVPD may avoid social interaction because they fear criticism, rejection, or disapproval. They may also think other people are mocking or criticising them, when in reality this is not the case. They are intensely self-aware, and rarely share their own thoughts or feelings because they don’t want to appear wrong. Due to their anxieties, people living with AVPD may avoid social contact. However, although they find it difficult, they still desire relationships with others. Signs of AVPD may begin in childhood, but shouldn’t be confused with normal developmental behaviour (i.e. shyness). Avoidant personality disorder is a behaviour pattern that develops in early adulthood and is persistent across a variety of contexts.
• Dependent Personality Disorder: People living with dependant personality disorder (DPD) believe that they can’t function without the help of others. They feel a need to be taken care of, which can lead to clinging behaviour and a deep separation anxiety. They may struggle to make everyday decisions and rely on a family member or spouse to tell them how to live. It is normal for adults to require some assistance day-to-day; however, a sign of DPD is when the help is no longer age-appropriate (like choosing what to wear). People living with DPD rarely disagree with others, especially people they are close to, because they fear losing support and approval. Dependent personality disorder is a behaviour pattern that develops in early adulthood and is persistent across a variety of contexts.
• Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder: Signs of obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD) are perfectionism, close attention to ‘the rules’ and the ‘correct’ ways of doing things, and a need to control every aspect of day-to-day life. To avoid feeling anxious and stressed, they may focus only on work and productivity. However, this behaviour can also occur across all areas of life. For example, someone with OCPD may use the same perfectionist approach with household chores, leisure activities, or their relationships with other people. Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder is a behaviour pattern that develops in early adulthood and is persistent across a variety of contexts.

The sooner the person seeks help from a mental health professional, the sooner they can manage their symptoms.