Symptoms may be mild and interfere little with the individual's home or work life, or may be severe and cause great disruption in all aspects of life.
• Difficulty getting along with people. May be irritable, demanding, hostile, fearful, or manipulative
• Patterns of behaviour consistently differ noticeably from society's expectations
• Thought, emotion, interpersonal relationships, and impulse control are affected
• The pattern is inflexible and occurs across a broad range of situations
The 2 most common types of personality disorder are ‘borderline personality disorder' and ‘paranoid personality disorder'.
Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)
• Highly unstable patterns of social relationships. Although someone with BPD can develop intense but stormy attachments, their attitudes towards family, friends, and loved ones may suddenly shift from idealization (great admiration and love) to devaluation (intense anger and dislike).
• May experience intense bouts of anger, depression, and anxiety that may last only hours, or at most, a day. These may be associated with episodes of impulsive aggression, self-injury, and drug or alcohol abuse.
• Highly sensitive to rejection with a fear of abandonment
• Other impulsive behaviours, such as excessive spending, binge eating, and risky sex
Paranoid Personality Disorder
• Involves a great deal of distrust and suspiciousness of others such that other people's motives are interpreted as malevolent.
