"the meeting of two personalities is like...."

Our personality is what makes us who we are and what makes us interact the way we do, and see the world as we do.  It is one of our very unique characteristics, and is very hard to define precisely.  I came across these a few weeks ago when starting Psychiatry.  It was interesting to read the clinical criteria for narcissistic personality disorder (which is in Cluster B) as I had drafted a blog post about this PD (personality disorder), and wrote about how I could see it in some of my friends.  (It was inspired by the Evening Standard Friday magazine, ES, which I get mostly for the fashion)


So here they are: (courtesy of Wikipedia)


Cluster A (odd or eccentric disorders)
Paranoid personality disorder : characterized by irrational suspicions and mistrust of others.
Schizoid personality disorder : lack of interest in social relationships, seeing no point in sharing time with others, anhedonia, introspection.
Schizotypal personality disorder : characterized by odd behaviour or thinking.


Cluster B (dramatic, emotional or erratic disorders)
Antisocial personality disorder : a pervasive disregard for the law and the rights of others.
Borderline personality disorder : extreme "black and white" thinking, instability in relationships, self-image, identity and behaviour.
Histrionic personality disorder : pervasive attention-seeking behavior including inappropriate sexual seductiveness and shallow or exaggerated emotions.
Narcissistic personality disorder : a pervasive pattern of grandiosity, need for admiration, and a lack of empathy.


Cluster C (anxious or fearful disorders)
Avoidant personality disorder : social inhibition, feelings of inadequacy, extreme sensitivity to negative evaluation and avoidance of social interaction.
Dependent personality disorder : pervasive psychological dependence on other people.
Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder : characterized by rigid conformity to rules, moral codes and excessive orderliness.




Without referring to anyone in particular, I recognise a lot of these things in people I know. It could be argued that PD is just the end of the spectrum of personality.  Just as it is hard to define, there are many facets to one's personality, such that we each have a little bit of some traits, a lot of some and none of others.  Personality is a spectrum, and so PD can be seen as just the extreme.

Do you see aspects of the above in people you know, or even in yourself?


Carol
xo

".... the contact of two chemical substances.  If there is any reaction, both are transformed."

Carl Gustav Jung