User:Mr. Ibrahem/Personality disorder

Personality disorders (PD) are a group of mental disorders characterized by a long-term pattern of behavior, thinking, and feeling that is maladaptive. This occurs across many contexts and is not accepted by the person's culture. Symptoms are to a degree that functioning is impaired or significant distress occurs. Onset is generally in the later part of childhood or early adulthood.

The underlying cause is unclear. Genetics and cultural factors may be involved. Personality disorders are divided into three clusters A (eccentric), B (dramatic), and C (anxious). Cluster A includes paranoid, schizoid, and schizotypal; cluster B includes antisocial, histrionic, narcissistic, and borderline; and cluster C includes avoidant, dependent, and obsessive-compulsive personality disorder. Diagnosis may involve collecting information from people who know the person.

Treatment involved teaching a person to develop new behavior. This may involved social skills training, group therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, or psychodynamic psychotherapy. While specific medications have not been approved, occasionally antipsychotics, lithium, or SSRIs may be used. Treatment can be difficult as most people do not see themselves as having a problem. The condition often alternates between improving and worsening over time, though some become less affected as they age.

A least one personality disorder occur in about 6 to 15% of the population. Cluster A affects about 3 to 6%, cluster B about 1.5%, and cluster C about 3 to 9%. Males are more commonly affected than females. From the 5th century BC until the 20th century personality was attributed to the four humors as proposed by Hippocrates. In 1952 the DSM-I listed 7 personality disturbances which increased to 11 in the DSM-IV and 10 in the DSM5.