Histrionic Personality Disorder Symptoms, Causes

The Histrionic personality disorder it is a pattern characterized by excessive attention seeking, inappropriate seduction, and excessive need for approval. People with this disorder are dramatic, enthusiastic, and conceited..

It affects more women than men and has a prevalence in the general population of 3.2% and 10-15% in mental health institutions. Other characteristic behaviors are self-centeredness, self-demand and manipulations. It is usually diagnosed in early adulthood.

Article index

• 1 Causes
• 2 Symptoms and main characteristics
• 3 Diagnosis
• 4 Forecast
• 5 Treatment
• 6 Medication
• 7 Comorbidity
• 8 Diagnosis according to DSM IV
• 9 References

Causes

The exact cause of this personality disorder is unknown, although it is believed to be a result of environmental and genetic factors. There are families that have a history of this disorder, which leads to think that it is caused by genetic factors.

In fact, according to research, if a person has this personality disorder, they have a slight risk of passing it on to their children. However, the histrionic children may be displaying behaviors that they have learned from their parents..

Also, it can be a consequence of a lack of discipline or a learned way of getting attention. Most professionals support a psychosocial model in which the causes are biological, genetic, social and psychological.

Therefore, there would not be a single factor responsible, but it would be a result of the four factors.

Symptoms and main characteristics

Most people with histrionic disorder function well in society and have good social skills, although they tend to use them to manipulate or attract attention. 

Where they tend to have more problems is in personal or couple relationships, in addition to facing losses or failures. They often have difficulty seeing their personal situation realistically, dramatizing and exaggerating their difficulties.

They may go through frequent job changes as they get bored easily and would rather quit than face frustration.

The most frequent symptoms are:

• According to the cognitive paradigm of Psychology, they are people with diffuse, simple, general and partial thoughts
• Their vision of the world is too inaccurate and they are hyper-emotional
• They lack structured schemes to understand and cope with a complex world, due to their limited attention
• They make it a priority to attract the attention of others
• They frequently adopt the role of victim or protagonist in couple or group relationships.
• Their behavior is often described as dramatic, self-centered, manipulative, immature, or exaggerated
• Theatricality and the need for attention and affection
• Manipulation can be shown through suicide attempts, threats or blackmail
• They react quickly to situations in which you need to reflect
• They are exhibitionists, seductive, demanding and conceited
• Your emotions fluctuate greatly; They may go from being in high spirits to over-excited, from sad to crying excessively, or from pissed off to furious
• Show little attention to detail
• They consider themselves to be charming, sociable and personable
• They have a propensity for fleeting love affairs
• Because they don't feel loved, they try to make up for it by trying to be sexually irresistible.
• They behave "sparsely." Although it is easy to get your attention, it is also easy for your attention to shift in the opposite direction.
• They actively ask for praise and may manipulate others to gain attention and approval
• They give importance to hunches
• They are easily distracted and easily influenced by other people's opinions
• If asked to describe something, they usually respond with their impressions, not through objective analysis.

Diagnosis

There is no specific test to diagnose this personality disorder. There are also no genetic tests or blood tests for its diagnosis..

If no physical cause is found for the symptoms, the person should see a psychiatrist or psychologist for a proper evaluation.

However, most people with this condition believe that they do not need therapy, which makes diagnosis difficult..

Most are diagnosed when they come in for treatment for depression, anxiety, or having failed in various relationships..

Forecast

They can have serious problems in the labor, social and emotional fields. On the other hand, they are at a high risk of developing depression, since they are usually affected by failures and losses, not being able to cope with frustration when they do not get what they want.

Treatment

Histrionic people may seek treatment for problems of depression, anxiety, stress, or problems in other fields; relational and work. In the event that they do not have any of these problems, they tend to think that they do not need treatment.

Psychotherapy is the most effective treatment for this disorder. In it, the feelings and experiences of the person are specially treated, in order to determine the reasons for the behaviors.

In addition, you will learn to relate to others in a positive way, instead of attracting attention.

Other existing therapies are:

• Group therapy: it is suggested for the person to work on social skills and interpersonal relationships
• Family therapy: to teach assertiveness, conflict management, and problem-solving skills
• Meditation: to relax and get to know your feelings better. See here more of its benefits.
• Relaxation techniques

Medication

Psychotropic drugs are only recommended if the person has other symptoms such as depression or anxiety.

Due to their tendency to abuse drugs and suicidal tendencies, the administration period should be short..

Comorbidity

Other conditions and disorders that can occur in histrionic people are:

• Borderline, antisocial, dependent
• Narcissist
• Depression, anxiety, panic
• Anorexia nervosa
• Substance abuse

Diagnosis according to DSM IV

DSM IV defines histrionic personality disorder as:

A persistent pattern of excessive emotionality and attention seeking, beginning in early adulthood and occurring in a variety of contexts, as indicated by five or more of the following:

• is uncomfortable in situations where he is not the center of attention
• interaction with others is characterized as inappropriately seductive or provocative
• shows great changes of emotions
• consistently uses physical appearance to gain attention
• has a speaking style that is overly impressionistic and lacking in detail
• shows dramatization, theatricality, and exaggerated emotional expressions
• easily influenced by others or by circumstances
• consider relationships more intimate than they really are.

References

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Histrionic_personality_disorder
2. http://inprf.bi-digital.com:8080/handle/123456789/1747
3. http://www.researchgate.net/profile/Vicente_Caballo/
4. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/
5. Image source.