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Pandemic Stress May Exacerbate Personality Disorders

sharon sanders

sharon sanders

Editor-in-Chief & President
Personality disorders

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Definition

Personality disorder is a general term for a type of mental illness in which your ways of thinking, perceiving situations and relating to others are dysfunctional. There are many specific types of personality disorders.

In general, having a personality disorder means you have a rigid and potentially self-destructive or self-denigrating pattern of thinking and behaving no matter what the situation. This leads to distress in your life or impairment of your ability to go about routine functions at work, school or social situations. In some cases, you may not realize that you have a personality disorder because your way of thinking and behaving seems natural to you, and you may blame others for your circumstances.

Symptoms

General symptoms of a personality disorder
General signs and symptoms that may indicate a personality disorder include:

  • Frequent mood swings
  • Stormy relationships
  • Social isolation
  • Angry outbursts
  • Suspicion and mistrust of others
  • Difficulty making friends
  • A need for instant gratification
  • Poor impulse control
  • Alcohol or substance abuse
Specific types of personality disorders
The specific types of personality disorders are grouped into three clusters based on similar characteristics and symptoms.


Cluster A. These are personality disorders characterized by odd, eccentric thinking or behavior and include:
Paranoid personality disorder

  • Distrust and suspicion of others
  • Believing that others are trying to harm you
  • Emotional detachment
  • Hostility
Schizoid personality disorder

  • Lack of interest in social relationships
  • Limited range of emotional expression
  • Inability to pick up normal social cues
  • Appearing dull or indifferent to others
Schizotypal personality disorder

  • Peculiar dress, thinking, beliefs or behavior
  • Perceptual alterations, such as those affecting touch
  • Discomfort in close relationships
  • Flat emotions or inappropriate emotional responses
  • Indifference to others
  • "Magical thinking" — believing you can influence people and events with your thoughts
  • Believing that messages are hidden for you in public speeches or displays
Cluster B. These are personality disorders characterized by dramatic, overly emotional thinking or behavior and include:
Antisocial (formerly, sociopathic) personality disorder

  • Disregard for others
  • Persistent lying or stealing
  • Recurring difficulties with the law
  • Repeatedly violating the rights of others
  • Aggressive, often violent behavior
  • Disregard for the safety of self or others
Borderline personality disorder

  • Impulsive and risky behavior
  • Volatile relationships
  • Unstable mood
  • Suicidal behavior
  • Fear of being alone
Histrionic personality disorder

  • Constantly seeking attention
  • Excessively emotional
  • Extreme sensitivity to others' approval
  • Unstable mood
  • Excessive concern with physical appearance
Narcissistic personality disorder

  • Believing that you're better than others
  • Fantasizing about power, success and attractiveness
  • Exaggerating your achievements or talents
  • Expecting constant praise and admiration
  • Failing to recognize other people's emotions and feelings
Cluster C. These are personality disorders characterized by anxious, fearful thinking or behavior and include:


Avoidant personality disorder

  • Hypersensitivity to criticism or rejection
  • Feeling inadequate
  • Social isolation
  • Extreme shyness in social situations
  • Timidity
Dependent personality disorder

  • Excessive dependence on others
  • Submissiveness toward others
  • A desire to be taken care of
  • Tolerance of poor or abusive treatment
  • Urgent need to start a new relationship when one has ended
Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder

  • Preoccupation with orderliness and rules
  • Extreme perfectionism
  • Desire to be in control of situations
  • Inability to discard broken or worthless objects
  • Inflexibility
Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder isn't the same as obsessive-compulsive disorder, a type of anxiety disorder.


When to see a doctor
If you have any signs or symptoms of a personality disorder, see your doctor, mental health provider or other health care professional. If untreated, personality disorders can cause significant problems in your life, and they may get worse.


Helping a loved one
If you have a loved one who you think may have symptoms of a personality disorder, have an open and honest discussion about your concerns. You may not be able to force someone to seek professional care, but you can offer encouragement and support. You can also help your loved one find a qualified doctor or mental health provider and make an appointment. You may even be able to go to an appointment with him or her. If you have a loved one who has harmed himself or herself, or is seriously considering doing so, take him or her to the hospital or call for emergency help.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/personality-disorders/DS00562
 
Re: Pandemic Stress May Exacerbate Personality Disorders

En fran?ais

<TABLE class=style20 style="WIDTH: 100%"><TBODY><TR><TD class=style21 style="WIDTH: 4%" vAlign=top></TD><TD class=style22 style="WIDTH: 93%" vAlign=top>Fiche 9 Identification des r?actions de d?tresse psychologique

Fiche 10 Pand?mie, source de stress ?
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=style22 style="WIDTH: 3%"> </TD><TD class=style21 style="WIDTH: 4%" vAlign=top></TD><TD class=style22 style="WIDTH: 93%" vAlign=top>http://www.opiq.qc.ca/pdf/Pandemie/Coffre/COG-Fiche 10.pdf</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
 
Re: Pandemic Stress May Exacerbate Personality Disorders

One of the favorite adage of an experienced psychiatrist was: when bad times come, fools suddenly will disappear...

It was noted in the past how incidence of psychiatric disorders fell below expected threshold when people was in critical social, economical or environmental situations, such as widespread destruction in WWII.

Disorders may be expected BEFORE and AFTER a disaster, but when it is happening, people are fighting for life, the strongest purpose for human mind... perhaps.
 
Re: Pandemic Stress May Exacerbate Personality Disorders

IOH - "Disorders may be expected BEFORE and AFTER a disaster,"

Thanks for mentioning this. Exactly. Pandemic stress can be the anticipation of a pandemic.
 
Re: Pandemic Stress May Exacerbate Personality Disorders

Generally, psychiatric and psychological disorders happen in the ''mean'' population.

Since diseased people haven't ''precognitive'' capabilities, there is not mean to have a burden of disorder in the immediate time preceding a disaster, because nobody knows that the same disaster is going to happen.

Disorders are more common in times where no disaster is ongoing...

...but when the disaster is evolving people tends to fight for life.

This is one possible explanation of the adage I cited above.

I notice in the last week a spike in FT members' ''reactivity'', but I think this nervous attitude toward facts per se not so important is reconducible to other factors, such as uncertainty, lack of leadership, and - last but not least - bad journalism.
 
Re: Pandemic Stress May Exacerbate Personality Disorders

So a treatment for personality disorder would be to keep the person's life in a constant life-or-death status? Would that be possible in this modern world?

Our ancestors, who faced daily life-and-death threats, must have had fewer personality disorders than the modern population. Interesting.

.
 
Re: Pandemic Stress May Exacerbate Personality Disorders

They had acquired since always the concept that all can arrive, all can finish tomorrow?.
For them, the risk was everywhere and always.

It is this loss of reference mark which weakens us, can be .......
 
Re: Pandemic Stress May Exacerbate Personality Disorders

#6, #7

it is our kind of civilization with its hyperstudy lecturers at one side, and its chaotic characteristics on the other, that is producing the continuous stress syndrome which spread than into more other health disorders ...
 
Re: Pandemic Stress May Exacerbate Personality Disorders

Narcissistic Personality Disorder

SYMPTOMS

​


A pervasive pattern of grandiosity (in fantasy or behavior), need for admiration, and lack of empathy, beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by five (or more) of the following:

(1) has a grandiose sense of self-importance (e.g., exaggerates achievements and talents, expects to be recognized as superior without commensurate achievements)

(2) is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love


(3) believes that he or she is "special" and unique and can only be understood by, or should associate with, other special or high-status people (or institutions)


(4) requires excessive admiration


(5) has a sense of entitlement, i.e., unreasonable expectations of especially favorable treatment or automatic compliance with his or her expectations


(6) is interpersonally exploitative, i.e., takes advantage of others to achieve his or her own ends


(7) lacks empathy: is unwilling to recognize or identify with the feelings and needs of others


(8) is often envious of others or believes that others are envious of him or her


(9) shows arrogant, haughty behaviors or attitudes


http://psychcentral.com/disorders/sx36.htm
 
Re: Pandemic Stress May Exacerbate Personality Disorders

I think that in an deadly pandemic it would be very less the number of narcissistic (#9 displayed) personalities in the masses.

Maybe such posture would be more present between the armed ones assuring quarantines on the fields ...

The great majority of people would probbaly be in an "real scarried" personality disorder ...
 
Re: Pandemic Stress May Exacerbate Personality Disorders

The great majority of people would probbaly be in an "real scarried" personality disorder ...
Click to expand...
17428.gif
....I don't think that one made the list.....
045.gif
 
Re: Pandemic Stress May Exacerbate Personality Disorders

Commonground said:
17428.gif
....I don't think that one made the list.....
045.gif
Click to expand...
:)

with the new machines data modelling potentials don't be so sure ... :)


Apart the jokes,
lists detailing more the various behaviours maybe exists from other massive deadly epidemic episodes in recent history.

Maybe from those various Xfiles ...
 
Re: Pandemic Stress May Exacerbate Personality Disorders

The great majority of people would probbaly be in an "real scarried" personality disorder ...
Click to expand...

aka survival mode?

I would expect most to make that mental shift. Whether they have the necessary means to be successful is the issue.

Who will not make the shift, ie., be in denial or completely loose it?

Hopefully modern mental health professionals will be able to minimize the number of "walking dead" and help people return to "normal" functioning reasonably quickly.

.
 
Re: Pandemic Stress May Exacerbate Personality Disorders

AlaskaDenise said:
aka survival mode?

I would expect most to make that mental shift. Whether they have the necessary means to be successful is the issue.

Who will not make the shift, ie., be in denial or completely loose it?

Hopefully modern mental health professionals will be able to minimize the number of "walking dead" and help people return to "normal" functioning reasonably quickly.

.
Click to expand...
Precisely AD.,

but without matched vacc. and meds,
they will have not necessary means to be successfull.

So, if it would come a realy deadly pandemic as the ancient plagues, they would re-switch to an denial state, or completely loose their minds or the power to make any survival efforts, as you wrote.
Only an extremely strong minded minority would probably fight it to death, or to life.

The above it could reveal itself to be the mental shape especialy for the modern developed societies, which mostly don't cope now with serious infectious illnesses.

The other under-developed places which are permanently wiped with many serious infections even in today's world, would have probably an more fatalistic and more adapted state of mind.

I doubt it can be rely on so much on the "modern mental health professionals" to resolve the issue because even them would be mentaly overwhelmed by the destruction and fears, apart that they would be an esigue minority in an turmoiled plagued society ...

Looking at this Market money dissapearance without many scapegoats which leads to an global real economy actual world catastrophe, what we can aspect in an deadly pandemic environment ...
 
Re: Pandemic Stress May Exacerbate Personality Disorders

The struggle is life long and without treatment lives are continuously interrupted forever.


"We wish the sun could make us young and beautiful, we wish our clothes could glisten and ripple against our skins, most of all, we wish that everyone we knew could be brightened simply by our looking at them, as are the maid with the letter and the soldier with the hat."

from Girl Interrupted
by Susanna Kaysen
 
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