Exploring Histrionic Personality Disorder
A lot of people living with histrionic personality disorder assume that putting together a personal development plan is beyond them. That assumption is wrong. Yes, it takes some extra effort, but you can still work on yourself no matter what gets in the way. And the work itself tends to help. Building a plan can be part of how you manage the condition and go on to live a full life.
Plenty of people have never heard the term. If you happen to have the disorder, though, a clear definition gives you something to build your plan around. It typically shows up in late adolescence or during the early adult years, and it tends to produce a cluster of recognizable traits. One of them is coming across as more seductive than most people do.
Specialists usually describe the condition loosely, centering it on attention-seeking behavior. Someone with the disorder may reach for attention in several ways: stirring up drama when they feel overlooked, telling stories that are inflated or exaggerated, breaking into conversations for no real reason, speaking loudly and flirting too much, or casting themselves as the victim and even engineering situations where they get to play that part.
What sets it off is still an open question. No firm cause has been pinned down. Several theories exist, one being that some people carry a genetic predisposition toward it. In the United States, roughly two to three percent of the population is thought to have histrionic personality disorder, though a large share of cases go undiagnosed. Among people who do receive a diagnosis, women get one far more often than men. Many men who live with the disorder, experts suspect, simply never go looking for one.
During an evaluation, a clinician watches for a combination of signs rather than any single thing. Among them: an outsized preoccupation with physical appearance, a habit of pinning personal failures on other people, little patience when a reward or pleasure is delayed, and a tendency to read far more closeness into relationships than is actually there.
Mental health professionals weigh those symptoms against the criteria laid out in the DSM-5 to arrive at a diagnosis. This one can be tricky to confirm, and it often takes more than a single appointment. Patience matters here, because an accurate diagnosis is the thing that makes proper treatment and a workable plan possible.
If you are drawing up a personal development plan, it should be built around whatever treatment a professional prescribes. Therapy is the main approach, and a clinician might point you toward one of three kinds. Some people respond well to a single type; others need a mix.
Talk therapy is the common starting point, and it covers a wide range of approaches under one heading. You sit with a professional and talk, and the more honest and candid you are, the better your therapist can understand what you actually need.
Cognitive behavioral therapy is among the most popular choices for this disorder. It helps you examine the feelings, experiences and thoughts steering your behavior. It usually begins as short-term work, and when it proves useful, people often continue it over a longer stretch.
Group therapy is used far less often here, precisely because of the attention-seeking element. For some, it can make things worse. When it is used at all, it tends to come later in recovery, as a way to rehearse social situations in a controlled setting.
None of this has to keep you from reaching your goals unless you let it. The disorder can be hard to live with, no question. With real drive, a solid treatment plan and the right attitude, though, a full life is within reach. Make following your prescribed treatments part of the plan so you have what you need.
References: http://www.healthyplace.com/personality-disorders/histrionic-personality-disorder/what-is-histrionic-personality-disorder/ and http://mental-health-matters.com/what-is-histrionic-personality-disorder/