Personality Disorders

What Are Personality Disorders?

Personality disorders can have a serious detrimental effect on a person's life. They can affect a patient's working life, family life and social life. Personality disorders can range in severity and regularity meaning that sufferers may experience mild to severe symptoms and they may experience these symptoms all the time or intermittently when placed under unusual amounts of stress or in particular circumstances. This broad range of potential symptoms means that personality disorders can be difficult to diagnose quickly.

The Causes

The causes of personality disorders are also just as widespread. Anything from upbringing to development or genetic problems can cause any of a number of personality disorders. There are ten personality disorders that are recognised by the medical profession and each one is different to the next in its symptoms, its diagnosis and its treatment. The initial stage in any road to recovery should be the identification of the disorder and then the determination of exactly which personality disorder a patient has.

Forms Of Treatment For Personality Disorders

It is difficult to give an accurate assessment of the best form of treatment for personality disorders because of the complexity of the topic itself. Generally speaking though, there are two different forms of treatment available.

Physical Treatment

Physical treatment includes prescribed medication and herbal remedies. A physician or other medical professional will be able to advise on and prescribe the most relevant treatment for personality disorders and will base their eventual decision on the type of disorder a patient has as well as its severity.

Psychotherapeutic Treatment

Psychotherapy is often used in the treatment of personality disorders. A physician or doctor usually advises consultation with a psychologist or other psychotherapy practitioner. Most psychotherapy techniques require a course of visits in order to ascertain the problem, the cause of the problem and the potential resolution. It is important that a patient continues these visits as long as necessary.