What is avoidant personality disorder?
The avoidant personality disorder is a personality disorder characterized by inhibitions and feeling inferior. Also, people with avoidant personality disorder more than normal sensitivity to criticism or a negative opinion.
Avoidant personality disorder definition
People with this disorder see themselves as socially inferior or unappealing. They need social contact, but avoid it for fear of being rejected. The disorder usually manifests in early adulthood. Believed to be the cause rejection by parents or peers (eg. Bullying) in early childhood. Whether the condition is a result of strong social control in childhood, is still under investigation.
Research
Research shows that people with avoidant personality disorder, just like people with social phobia have a lot of attention to their own reactions in social intercourse. Unlike people with social phobia, however, they look strong on the reactions of their environment and the problems a more generalized character. The chronic stress to which one will it is exposed may explain the hesitant language and the silence of avoidant personality disorder sufferers. It would be so busy roads and assessing social interactions that verbal part it is to be neglected. Not all scientists are also convinced that a distinction should be made between avoidant personality disorder and social phobia. For example, a 2005 study concluded that the two disorders are essentially gradation different manifestations of a single disorder.
Feature
People with avoidant personality disorder are preoccupied with their own shortcomings. They only form relationships with others as they are convinced that they will not be rejected. Abandonment and rejection is for people with avoidant personality disorder often so painful that they would rather choose to be lonely than to try to go to contacts. People with avoidant personality disorder may exhibit the following characteristics:
- Hypersensitivity to rejection / criticism
- Self-Imposed social isolation
- Extreme shyness or anxiety in social situations, though they have a strong desire for close relationships
- Avoiding physical contact because it has been associated with unpleasant or painful stimuli
- Feelings of incompetence
- Extremely low self-esteem
- Self-hatred
- Suspicious to others
- Emotionally distant regard intimacy
- Extremely self-conscious
- Self-critical about their problems relating to others
- Problems in occupational functioning
- Themselves as lonely, though others think the relationship with the avoidant personality disorder-sufferer might be useful
- Feelings of inferiority to others
- The use of fantasy as a form of escapism to stop so painful thoughts
- In extreme cases, agoraphobia
Avoidant personality disorder causes
There are so far no obvious causes yet been established. One suspects that an avoidant personality disorder results from a combination of social, genetic and psychological factors. There may be a connection between avoidant personality and temperament hereditary factors. In particular, various anxiety disorders that can be manifest in connection during childhood and youth with a temperament characterized by behavioral inhibition (behavioral disinhibition), embarrassment, anxiety, and restraint in new situations. This inherited characteristics are possibly a genetic predisposition to avoidant personality disorder. Emotional neglect at a young age and peer rejection is also associated with an increased risk for the development of avoidant personality disorder.
Avoidant personality disorder treatment
The avoidant personality disorder is treated with various techniques, including social skills training, cognitive behavioral therapy, exposure therapy to gradually build up social contacts, group therapy for practicing social skills, and sometimes medication. Gain the trust of the patient and maintain is essential, since people with avoidant personality disorder tend to avoid his therapy sessions when they are not the therapist trust or are afraid rejected. The main purpose of both individual and group therapy therapy is to challenge and correction of the negative thoughts (patterns) of the patient.