Personality Disorders - Causes, Symptoms & Treatment

Personality disorders are pervasive chronic psychological disorders, which can greatly affect a person's life. It is a class of mental illness characterized by rigid and on-going patterns of thought and action. People with personality disorders have traits that cause them to feel and behave in socially distressing ways, which often limit their ability to function in relationships and at work. Among the 10 conditions that are considered personality disorders, some have very little in common. Child abuse and neglect consistently evidence themselves as antecedent risks to the development of personality disorders in adulthood. Most people with a personality disorder are distressed about their life and have problems with relationships at work or in social situations. Personality disorders is characteristics three clusters. Cluster A includes personality disorders marked by odd, eccentric behavior, including paranoid, schizoid and schizotypal personality disorders. Cluster B personality disorders are those defined by dramatic, emotional behavior, including histrionic, narcissistic, antisocial and borderline personality disorders. Cluster C personality disorders are characterized by anxious, fearful behavior and include obsessive-compulsive, avoidant and dependent personality disorders.