Is there any cure to avoidant personality disorder?
AvPD (avoidant personality disorder, not to be confused with anti-social personality disorder) is scarcely researched in the literature and not well understood, especially among the mental-health community, where it is often confused with narcissism and depression. The cause of this confusion is partly because AvPD and NPD are in some ways on opposite ends of a continuum of personality types, and for that reason it has been hypothesized by some authorities, that they may be somehow functionally related.I have lived with AvPD for my entire life. It is a rare disorder, sometimes characterized as severe social-phobia. Unlike shyness or social awkwardness, we're talking about debilitating, paralyzing social-anxiety; and this is not something you can ever just "grow out of".The sad reality is that professional advocates are likely to believe that your doctor and your pharmacist are the authorities on your mental illnesses, and hence your treatments. Sorry, that's their problem, not mine (I am only an "amateur" psychiatrist).The first thing I would advise you to consider is, given the choice, would you choose to be cured of AvPD? Personally, I would not. I am however interested in treating the disabling physical symptoms of social phobia, and in understanding and learning ways to cope and adapt to the counter-productive behavioral manifestations of the disorder.Finally, although certainly not a cure for AvPD, anti-depressants are sometimes helpful for people with mood-disorders. Of course personality disorders are a completely different class of mental-illness from mood or anxiety disorders, but even unrelated mental illnesses are often diagnosed in co-morbid clusters. And there is really no reason not to try anti-depressants. They may help to address your complaints in unexpected ways.
How is avoidant personality disorder treated?
“Cure” might not be the right way to look at it. But I would say you could take the following steps:Accept that you might be a bit more scared of people getting close to you than the average person, and that’s OK. There’s nothing wrong with you, it’s just your internal workings. The only problem is when you let it run your life 100%.Focus on liking yourself FIRST, before trying to go outside to others. Sometimes we look to outside relationships and people for acceptance. But as the old adage goes, “If you can’t love yourself, nobody else can either.” Nobody else can make you feel happy or bring you up if you aren’t fundamentally happy yourself. Relationships don’t “fix” you.Build up your own life, confidence, and self-esteem so that YOU are happy before thinking about dating.Get help in therapy to go over why you might have AvPD - Note: just using therapy as a blanket solution isn’t helpful. But, it can be a great and necessary tool to keep you going on the right path.Focus then on finding healthy people to date, and also not trying to pursue a bunch of casual relationships. If you have AvPD, going through a bunch of one-night-stands can be a form of avoidance. What you need is a good, healthy, normal relationship with someone who cares for you and accepts you.As someone who used to suffer BAD from AvPD, this is the approach I took and would recommend.Back when it was REALLY bad and I couldn’t tell my girlfriend how I felt about her, I wrote a blog post talking about AvPD and the avoider mentality where tons of people started writing in with their own stories.You can check it out over here.
What is the difference between the INTJ/P personality and Asperger's Syndrome?
Well I think I might have Aspergers but am still trying to get around to getting the funds for an evaluation, however it might be just INJT as well. I am 39, am straight, never had a girlfriend want a relationship to a certain degree but can't stand the thought of spending prolonged periods of time with someone to actually make an intimate relationship work. I will be blunt and say to some degree your fears might be founded and you could possibly end up like me before 40, some people might think that is a cold thing to say but I hate the thought of sugar coating something. What are the differences to the two? Well, with a lot of people with Aspergers, there is an inherent need to flap hands or fingers in front of the face (stemming) or rock back and forth to relieve stress or excess of energy. This trait appears early as it did with me from early childhood and the desire to do so is lifelong but you learn to hide it as you get older. Many INJT types find themselves alone a lot of the time because of their painful shyness. Many people with Aspergers can display social anxiety and come off as shy but even when the comfort level around people increases, the need to be by themselves does not diminish. Many people with Aspergers have a flat out desire to spend most of the day by themselves, doing their own thing, without being the part of a group. It doesn't necessarily mean a sense of superiority on the sense of the Aspie, instead, many Aspies just don't see the group socializing thing as interesting and much of the small talk as boring. Many Aspies are prolific daydreamers who would rather pursue their own agendas and find interacting for even half the day to be stressful, (the extra demand on the brain) and draining because it overwhelms the senses (sensory integration). If you want a girlfriend, would you fret the many hours of interaction it would take or the change it would cause in your routine? Many Aspies would. BTW, I might have missed some other aspects but I hope that gives you somewhat of the gist of it.
Zodiac Sign's Personality/Mental Disorders?
What do you all think about these disorders each zodiac sign is most likely to have. Aries- Histrionic disorder (pervasive attention-seeking behavior including inappropriate sexual seductiveness and shallow or exaggerated emotions.) Taurus- Binge disorder (characterized as going through periods of excessive amounts of eating, rest, sex, drinking, other indulgences, and focusing on physical pleasures to cope with stress) Gemini- Multiple personality disorder (Relying on various separate and unaffiliated personalities to protect oneself) Cancer- Borderline personality disorder (characterized by depth and variability of moods extreme "black and white" thinking, instability in relationships, self-image, identity and behavior, prone to anxiety and depression) Leo- Narcissistic disorder (a pervasive pattern of grandiosity, need for admiration, and a lack of empathy) Virgo- Obsessive Compulsive disorder (involves an obsession with ideas, perfection, cleanliness, and organization) Libra- Passive-aggressive personality disorder (condition in which a person seems to actively comply with the desires and needs of others, but actually passively resists them, these people tend to have procrastination issues, unexpressed furry and fear of authority) Scorpio- Bi-Polar Disorder (episodes of abnormally elevated energy levels, and features of both mania and depression, can be extremely sexually promiscuous and violent) Sagittarius- Attention Deficit hyperactivity disorder (problem with inattentiveness, over-activity, impulsiveness, and a lack of commitment) Capricorn- Workaholic personality disorder (addicted to work and advancing in ones career, problems with showing deep emotion and high levels of stress) Aquarius- Schitzotypal (characterized by odd appearance, behavior that is odd, eccentric, or peculiar, emotionally distant, people with it attempt to shock others with radical topics or actions) Pisces- Avoidant Personality disorder (social inhibition, feelings of inadequacy, extreme sensitivity to negative evaluation, relying on others opinions for guidance or co-dependency, avoiding stressful situations)