Personality Disorders

Personality disorders cause immense disruption and heartache to people struggling to manage their condition. Talk to the Heath Counseling and Consultation Services team in Jacksonville, Florida, if you have personality disorder symptoms. The highly skilled counselors provide therapy tailored to your needs to help you manage the distressing problems personality disorders cause. To learn how you could benefit from counseling, call the office or schedule an in-person or telehealth appointment online today.

What are personality disorders?

Your personality forms from the genes you inherit from your parents, the environment you grow up in, and your experiences. It’s a combination of behaviors, feelings, thoughts, and attitudes that’s unique to you. When your personality forms, it usually stays much the same throughout your life.

Personality disorders are mental health conditions that destabilize the process, so you experience shifts in your personality. These disorders alter your emotional responses, how you view yourself, and your relationships with others.

When you have a personality disorder, you’re likely to develop flawed thought processes, believe things that aren’t true, and behave unpredictably. These problems typically develop in late adolescence or early adulthood.

Personality disorders are highly disruptive. They affect your ability to succeed at school or work and often cause severe relationship difficulties.

What symptoms do personality disorders cause?

Personality disorders can cause varying symptoms. Common ones include:

• Frequent bouts of anger
• Intense resentment
• Attention-seeking behavior
• Rapidly shifting values and opinions
• Feelings of worthlessness
• Feelings of self-importance
• Impulsive or risk-taking behavior
• Self-centeredness
• Disregard for other people’s feelings
• Feeling you deserve more
• Chronic dissatisfaction

Depending on which personality disorder you have, you might experience some or many of these symptoms and others.

How many personality disorders are there?

There are ten distinct personality disorders, each of which has particular symptoms that require expert treatment. Personality disorders sharing similar qualities fit into the same groups.

Cluster A personality disorders (paranoid, schizotypal, and schizoid) cause odd or unusual thinking and behavior.

Cluster B personality disorders (antisocial, borderline, narcissistic, and histrionic) share unpredictable, dramatic, and emotional thoughts and behaviors.

Cluster C personality disorders (obsessive-compulsive, avoidant, and dependent) typically cause anxious, fearful thinking and behavior.

How are personality disorders treated?

Patients with personality disorders may benefit from medication that reduces symptom severity and helps manage problems like depression and anxiety. However, they’re not enough on their own.  

The Heath Counseling and Consultation Services team uses psychotherapy to help people with personality disorders. Approaches that are often effective for these patients include:

• Psychoanalytic therapy to process bad memories and trauma
• Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) to teach you coping skills
• Dialectical behavior therapy, a specialized form of CBT
• Psychoeducation to help you understand your personality disorder
• Group therapy, where you work with other patients

Your therapist recommends the most suitable therapy after performing a comprehensive assessment.

Call Heath Counseling and Consultation Services or book an appointment online today to receive expert treatment for your personality disorder symptoms.