Histrionic Personality Disorder
What is histrionic personality disorder?
Someone with histrionic personality disorder likes being the centre of attention and needs to be noticed, they get anxious when they are ignored. It is more common in females than males and occurs in about 1.8% of the general population.
Symptoms
Symptoms include:
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acting theatrically, excessive emotional reactions and appearing very emotional but it is not sincere
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inappropriate flirting, being seductive and dressing provocatively or unusually
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moving from one emotion to another very quickly
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being so self-centred that little care is given for others
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wanting reassurance and approval from other people constantly
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this behaviour affects their relationships and they are uncomfortable being alone
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may try to control their relationships with emotional manipulation or seduction
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easily influenced by other's suggestions and opinions
Causes
The causes of histrionic personality are likely to be a combination of genetic, social and environmental factors.
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Family history of histrionic personality disorder could be cause by genes being passed from parent to child or the child could be copying behaviour of their parent.
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Children learn from reward and punishment so a lack of criticism as a child, and positive reinforcement only given when they complete certain behaviours, or unpredictable attention, could lead to confusion about what types of behaviour earn parental approval.
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Individual temperament and techniques to cope with stress while growing up can also impact the development of histrionic personality disorder.
Outlook
Generally people with histrionic personality disorder don’t see any problems with their behaviour so don’t seek out treatment. However, if another condition like depression caused by relationship problems occurs they may ask for help. Many people do function well though and don’t need any help from therapy, but some find it does significantly affect their lives negatively.
Treatment
Psychotherapy is recommended for this condition as with many other personality disorders. The aim is to find out what motivates certain behaviours or thoughts and to learn to think about and interact with others more positively.
Medication might be used if they are experiencing other distressing conditions such as depression and anxiety.
Access the Treatments page for more information
Personality Disorders Plymouth