Introducing Personality Disorders to add to one of your characters I

Do you think of writing a novel with a “disturbed” agonist? Do you have a victim in your novel with a “mental disorder”? Do you know which kind of mental disturbance your character has?

I have done some research to make it easier for you and to list a few of the most common and defined Personality disorders for you to use.

 

According to “Psychology Today” DM-5  lists ten personality disorders and allocates each to one of three groups or ‘clusters’: A, B, or C

 

Let’s have a look at them:

 

Cluster A (Odd, bizarre, eccentric)

Paranoid PD, Schizoid PD, Schizotypal PD

 

Cluster B (Dramatic, erratic)

Antisocial PD, Borderline PD, Histrionic PD, Narcissistic PD

 

Cluster C (Anxious, fearful)

Avoidant PD, Dependent PD, Obsessive-compulsive PD

 

Cluster A types:

 

Cluster A personality disorders are characterized by odd, eccentric thinking or behavior. They include paranoid personality disorder, schizoid personality disorder, and schizotypal personality disorder. It’s not necessary to exhibit all the signs and symptoms listed for a disorder to be diagnosed.

 

To make it easier, we’ll leave a detailed description aside and will simply show the symptoms as listed by the Mayo Clinic:

 

Paranoid personality disorder

• Pervasive distrust and suspicion of others and their motives
• Unjustified belief that others are trying to harm or deceive you
• Unjustified suspicion of the loyalty or trustworthiness of others
• Hesitant to confide in others due to unreasonable fear that others will use the information against you
• Perception of innocent remarks or nonthreatening situations as personal insults or attacks
• Angry or hostile reaction to perceived slights or insults
• Tendency to hold grudges
• Unjustified, recurrent suspicion that spouse or sexual partner is unfaithful

 

Schizoid personality disorder

• Lack of interest in social or personal relationships, preferring to be alone
• Limited range of emotional expression
• Inability to take pleasure in most activities
• Inability to pick up normal social cues
• Appearance of being cold or indifferent to others
• Little or no interest in having sex with another person

 

Schizotypal personality disorder

• Peculiar dress, thinking, beliefs, speech or behavior
• Odd perceptual experiences, such as hearing a voice whisper your name
• Flat emotions or inappropriate emotional responses
• Social anxiety and a lack of or discomfort with close relationships
• Indifferent, inappropriate or suspicious response to others
• “Magical thinking” — believing you can influence people and events with your thoughts
• Belief that certain casual incidents or events have hidden messages meant specifically for you

 

Or, if some infographic might help you: here it is:

 

To give each one of the clusters plenty of attention, I will provide you with the cluster B personality disorders in my next blog post.

If you like to read more about these particular mental health disabilities, please use the “sources links.”

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Sources :

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/hide-and-seek/201205/the-10-personality-disorders

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/personality-disorders/basics/symptoms/con-20030111