Personality disorders Articles
Uncertain modern times can leave us all feeling a little paranoid now and then. But when does paranoia shift from moments of uncertainty to a real psychological concern? What is paranoia? As a general term, paranoia is the belief you are being threatened or secretly persecuted by something or someone, even if you have no...
According to social media and the internet, it would seem that nowadays, everyone’s boss and ex is a sociopath. But what is a sociopath, really? Are you using the term correctly? What is a sociopath, really? Sociopathy is not an illness you can find under a microscope. Like all mental health labels, it is a...
“Grand” in French means ‘big’, a hint to what grandiosity is all about. It involves thinking you are the ‘big fish’ and everyone else is just a tadpole. If you suffer from grandiosity, the following will sound familiar: You feel better than others, regardless of facts that prove otherwise You think you are special and...
“He is such a narcissist”. It’s a common insult these days. But what is a narcissist, really? What is a narcissist? The term has become rather muddied. Originally, it came from the Greek myth of Narcissus, a beautiful young Greek man who rejected the love of a nymph in favour of his own reflection in...
An occasional visit to a casino or betting house, or a casual game of online poker, can be harmless fun for some. For others, it can turn into a life-destroying habit. And research shows that if you have a personality disorder, you are far more likely to fall into the latter category, with compulsive gambling and...
A relatively new kind of psychotherapy, schema therapy was originally designed to help those who had personality disorders or found that other forms of psychotherapy just weren’t working for them. But its focus on understanding what drives our ways of being has also been found to help with depression, relationship problems, and general self-awareness. What is schema...
First, what are personality disorders? Personality disorders are labels created by mental health professionals to describe groups of people with ways of thinking, behaving, and seeing the world that do not fit the societal norm. A person seen as having a personality disorder has longstanding challenges with relating to other people and can find it...
Dissociative disorders are a collection of mental health issues which involve an altered sense of reality where you feel disconnected from yourself and the world in general. It’s thought that this tendency to disassociate starts as a defence mechanism when there is a need to cope with an overwhelming event, such as abuse or some...
A personality disorder is a consistent and long-term pattern of thinking, behaving, and relating that leaves someone unable to match or manage the norms of the culture they are in. Histrionic personality disorder (HPD) sees an individual living with an overwhelming need to constantly be the centre of attention, often using seductive and manipulative behaviour to achieve this. With their sense...
What is autism spectrum disorder (ASD)? Also called ‘autism spectrum condition’, it is a group of lifelong conditions that result from atypical brain development. Included are Asperger syndrome, pervasive developmental disorder, and pathological demand avoidance syndrome. An individual with ASD thinks and behaves in ways that can be perceived by others as unusual, especially when...
