Each one of us have distinctive traits that differentiate us from one another and make us unique. These distinctive behaviors, attitudes and thoughts make up one’s individuality, and are important facets of a person’s personality, an important human attribute allowing one to interact with other people and build healthy relationships with family, friends, and colleagues.
Our personality determines how we process and understand our thoughts and feelings, allowing us to adjust accordingly when faced with the stresses we encounter every day. For people with healthy personalities, reacting to situations appropriately comes naturally, but for those who are suffering from personality disorders, it isn’t quite as simple. People who struggle with personality disorders find it hard to cope with life and interact with others, unaware that their behavior patterns differ from the people around them. Since they feel that they are acting “normally” to situations, they tend to be inflexible, which often leads to them being socially withdrawn.
Mental health experts have identified a number of disorder types, each with its own characteristic symptoms that, when deeply ingrained, can cause distress or impaired functioning in a person suffering from it.
Read on and learn about the different types of personality disorders
