A personality disorder is characterized by inflexible and harmful patterns of thinking, functioning, and behavior. If you struggle with a personality disorder, you’ve most likely had trouble identifying and connecting to situations and other people. In turn, this causes problems spanning from your relationships to your professional life. ¹

Even if you’ve never been diagnosed with a personality disorder, there’s a chance you’re living with one and don’t realize it. Many with these conditions consider their thought and behavior patterns as normal.

To better understand how personality disorders affect people, it helps to be aware of each. Throughout this article, we’ll look into each and provide an overview.

Suspicious

The first criteria for personality disorders are known as “suspicious.” These conditions create unrelenting mistrust and suspicion of other people.

Paranoid Personality Disorder (PPD)

Paranoid personality disorder (PPD) results in these feelings and experiences: ²

• Difficulty confiding in people, including friends and family
• Discovering threats and danger in everyday situations, innocent remarks, and/or causal looks from others (especially when other people don’t see these threats).
• Inability to trust other people (getting the sense that they will take advantage of you)
• Trouble relaxing

PPD is more common in men than women. If you struggle with this condition, you may find it difficult to develop friendships and relationships, maintain connections, and perform simple day-to-day activities.

Schizoid Personality Disorder

Schizoid personality disorder shouldn’t be confused with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. These two conditions present difficulties in time management and daily tasks. Someone with schizoid personality disorder is able to go about their life and blend in with the rest of society.

You may experience schizoid personality disorder if you have: ³

• Difficulty developing close relationships with others (sometimes, to the point where they choose to live life without interference from others)
• Don’t experience pleasure from a variety of activities
• Hold little to no interest in sex or intimacy
• Prefer social isolation with their own thoughts
• Trouble relating to others on an emotional basis (usually, come off as cold)

If you do have schizoid personality disorder, you won’t psychotic symptoms. You simply have a lack of interest in interpersonal relationships and an inability to emotionally express yourself.

Schizotypal Personality Disorder

Just like our above condition, schizoptypal personality disorder shouldn’t be confused with schizophrenia. Instead, schizotypical presents eccentricities or awkward behaviors that make it difficult to relate to others. ⁴ Of course, these personality traits can be found in many people. You won’t be diagnosed with the condition unless it severely inhibits your daily life.

Some other aspects of schizotypal personality disorder include:

• Difficulty developing close relationships
• Distorted thoughts and perceptions
• Expressing oneself in a way that considered “odd,” using unusual words/phrases
• Feeling severe anxiety or paranoia in social situations
• Holding the belief that one can read minds or has special powers
• Struggling with anxiety and/or tenseness when others don’t share these beliefs

Antisocial Personality Disorder

Antisocial personality disorder causes you to put your own needs before others. You may do so in a manner that makes their lives unstable. Much of the time, you act out impulsively (perhaps out of anger) and lack the ability to consider others emotions. ⁵

Some other aspects of an antisocial personality disorder include:

• Behaving aggressively (i.e. gets into fights easily)
• Conducting oneself in ways that are unpleasant to others
• Dangerous behavior (often illegal, you may have a criminal record)
• Easily bored, acting upon impulse
• Lack of empathy
• Placing oneself in dangerous/risky situations, usually without thinking about the consequences it can have on oneself or others
• Putting one’s own needs and desires before others in order to gain what one wants

Under the Mental Health Act, terms like “psychopathy” and “sociopathy” are no longer used. However, in order to receive an antisocial personality disorder diagnosis, you may have to take a “psychopathy checklist” questionnaire.

Emotional and Impulsive

The second criteria for personality disorders is sometimes referred to as “emotional and impulsive.” These conditions are characterized by your inability to handle day-to-day feelings, often resulting in compulsive behaviors.

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is sometimes referred to as emotionally unstable personality disorder (EUPD). You may experience instabilities in your life, especially with relationships, self-image, and emotions. ⁶

On top of that, you may experience the following:

• Acting impulsively and participating in activities that can harm you
• Difficulty maintaining relationships
• Feelings of emptiness and loneliness
• Intense emotions that can change rapidly
• Inability to control anger
• Not knowing what you want out of life
• Other mental health conditions, such as anxiety, depression, or an eating disorder
• Over worrying about people abandoning you and doing things to prevent this from happening
• Self-harm
• Suicidal ideation
• Trust issues

Sometimes, people with BPD develop other symptoms when stress is apparent. These include:

• Feeling numb
• Paranoia
• Psychotic experiences (hearing or seeing things that aren’t really there)

Out of all personality disorders, BPD is the most common.

Histrionic Personality Disorder

Histrionic personality disorder is marked by the constant of approval. While it’s normal for everyone to enjoy receiving compliments, histrionics require this approval to function daily. ⁷

You may also be susceptible to:

• Always seeking approval from others (feeling dependent on approval)
• Being dramatic or overemotional
• Discomforted when you’re not the center of attention
• Dressing provocatively or flirting frequently to remain the center of attention
• Easily influenced by others
• Feeling the need to entertain people
• Making impulsive decisions

Narcissistic Personality Disorder

It’s natural if you desire to meet your needs, express yourself, and have others aware of your accomplishments. However, if these traits become extreme and cause problems in your relationships, you may struggle with a narcissistic personality disorder. ⁸

Other aspects of this condition include:

• Begrudge other people’s success
• Believing that you are special, better, and more deserving than others
• Feeling upset if you’re ignored by others (or if they don’t give you what you believe you deserve)
• Having delicate self-esteem (to the point where you rely on other’s recognition of your worth and needs)
• Placing your own needs before other people’s and asserting they must do the same
• Selfishness and being viewed by others as dismissive (often unaware of other people’s needs)

Anxious

The third criteria for personality disorders is referred to as “anxious.” These conditions are characterized by an extreme sense of worry.

Avoidant Personality Disorder

If you struggle with things, places, or people that cause you anxiety – so much so that you avoid these situations – you may have an avoidant personality disorder. Some characteristics of this condition include the inability to maintain relationships and commit to responsibilities (i.e. work or school). ⁹

Some other ways in which avoidant personality disorder may affect you include:

• Avoiding friendships and relationships out of fear of rejection
• Feeling isolated and lonely (often inferior to others)
• Having the expectation of disapproval and criticism (extreme sensitivity)
• Holding reluctance to try new activities (worry of embarrassment)
• Worry of rejection and ridicule from others

Dependent Personality Disorder

Dependent personality disorder is marked by the need for reassurance. So much so, it can overwhelm your daily life and relationships. ¹⁰

Some aspects of a dependent personality disorder include:

• Agreeing to things you believe to be wrong or dislike (simply to avoid being alone)
• Allowing others to develop responsibility for various areas of your life
• Fear of being left behind
• Feeling clingy and unable to make decisions of your own
• Low self-confidence
• Visualizing others as more capable than yourself

Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD)

Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD) is often confused with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). However, the two are distinct in their own manners.

While OCPD does involve complications with perfectionism, the desire for control, and difficulty in flexibility, it goes beyond just behavior. Other aspects of OCPD include:

• Holding the belief that your way of doing things is the best
• Feeling anxiety through your or other’s mistakes
• The necessity to keep everything in order and under control
• Setting unrealistic expectations for yourself and others

Final Word

While personality disorders deeply affect day-to-day life, they can be treated. Through psychotherapies and medication, you can readjust the way your mind thinks and overcome the symptoms associated with these conditions.

References

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² Lee R. Mistrustful and Misunderstood: A Review of Paranoid Personality Disorder. Curr Behav Neurosci Rep. 2017 Jun;4(2):151-165. doi: 10.1007/s40473-017-0116-7. Epub 2017 May 18. PMID: 29399432; PMCID: PMC5793931.

³ Fariba KA, Madhanagopal N, Gupta V. Schizoid Personality Disorder. 2022 Jun 9. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2024 Jan–. PMID: 32644660.

⁴ Rosell DR, Futterman SE, McMaster A, Siever LJ. Schizotypal personality disorder: a current review. Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2014 Jul;16(7):452. doi: 10.1007/s11920-014-0452-1. PMID: 24828284; PMCID: PMC4182925.

⁵ Fisher KA, Hany M. Antisocial Personality Disorder. 2023 May 8. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2024 Jan–. PMID: 31536279.

⁶ Chapman J, Jamil RT, Fleisher C. Borderline Personality Disorder. 2023 Jun 2. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2024 Jan–. PMID: 28613633.

⁷ French JH, Torrico TJ, Shrestha S. Histrionic Personality Disorder. 2024 Jan 31. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2024 Jan–. PMID: 31194465.

⁸ Kacel EL, Ennis N, Pereira DB. Narcissistic Personality Disorder in Clinical Health Psychology Practice: Case Studies of Comorbid Psychological Distress and Life-Limiting Illness. Behav Med. 2017 Jul-Sep;43(3):156-164. doi: 10.1080/08964289.2017.1301875. PMID: 28767013; PMCID: PMC5819598.

⁹ Lampe L, Malhi GS. Avoidant personality disorder: current insights. Psychol Res Behav Manag. 2018 Mar 8;11:55-66. doi: 10.2147/PRBM.S121073. PMID: 29563846; PMCID: PMC5848673.

¹⁰ Disney KL. Dependent personality disorder: a critical review. Clin Psychol Rev. 2013 Dec;33(8):1184-96. doi: 10.1016/j.cpr.2013.10.001. Epub 2013 Oct 8. PMID: 24185092.