Histrionic personality disorder (HPD) is a psychiatric condition characterized by highly dramatic and/or emotional attention-seeking conduct that disrupts a person’s ability to participate fully in everyday life. It belongs to a larger group of conditions commonly referred to as Cluster B personality disorders. Women develop histrionic personality disorder roughly four times more frequently than men. …
Sometimes mental health acronyms can seem like a bowl of alphabet soup. OCD and ADHD. BPD and PTSD. It can be difficult to keep them all straight. Many mental health disorders have long, complicated names that are much easier to refer to once shortened, but this can cause difficulties for those who aren’t sure exactly …
Avoidant personality disorder (AvPD) is a psychiatric disorder characterized by a persistent pattern of excessive shyness, sensitivity, or sense of inadequacy that hinders full involvement in social and/or interpersonal aspects of everyday life. Avoidant personality disorder in women develops at roughly the same rate as men, and it affects people from both genders in essentially …
You can’t always control your circumstances. You can’t control the bills or how others act. And, you can’t control certain things that happen. You can, however, control how you react. More importantly, you have the power to control your level of stress. With the right stress management techniques, you have the ability to navigate through …
Anger disorders can lead to aggressive, angry or violent behavior. While anger is a normal human emotion that happens to everyone sooner or later, it can sometimes get completely out of control. If the frequency and severity of angry episodes you are having make you feel like you have lost control of your life, you …
Dysthymia is a psychiatric condition that belongs to a larger group of conditions known as depressive disorders. People with the disorder have somewhat less severe forms of some of the symptoms found in people with major depressive disorder (major depression). However, by its very nature, dysthymia lasts for extended periods of time, and its overall …
Adjustment disorder is a general term used to describe several related forms of mental illness that can occur when people don’t recover from the effects of traumatic or stressful events within a certain amount of time. The specific symptoms of these conditions vary according to the severity of a person’s adjustment difficulties and the particular …
The personality disposition called perfectionism comes with pluses and minuses. Coupled with the right combination of other character traits, work habits, and values, it can help in achieving goals. What experts sometimes call “maladaptive” perfectionism, though, can actually hinder accomplishments and working relationships. It can be at this point where perfectionism becomes dysfunctional. How Perfectionism …
Co-occurring disorders are common in drug or alcohol addiction. Often, a person who has severe anxiety or depression is more likely to self-medicate by turning to alcohol or drugs to ease the symptoms. As such, both conditions can turn into a disorder if left untreated. Furthermore, they can feed into each other and intensify the …
According to statistics, nearly 15 million adults in the U.S. struggle with depression. While that number alone is staggering, it doesn’t even tell us half the story when it comes to the condition’s actual impact. You see, the depression that directly afflicts millions also has a significant effect on those around them – their spouses, …