Avoidant Personality Disorder: Symptoms, Causes, Characteristics and Treatment

The avoidant personality disorder prevents the normal development of the life of the sufferer. If it is detected, there is the possibility of treating it with the help of a psychologist, so from Psychology-Online we want to update you on this disorder so that you learn to identify it and know your treatment.

Index

1. DSM V Avoidant Personality Disorder Symptoms
2. Characteristics of avoidant personality disorder
3. Causes of avoidant personality disorder
4. Avoidant Personality Disorder Treatment
5. How to Treat an Avoidant Personality Disorder

Dominant pattern of social inhibition, feelings of incompetence, and oversensitivity to negative evaluation, beginning in the early stages of adulthood and is present in various contexts, and manifested by four (or more) of the facts following:

1. Avoid work activities that involve interpersonal contact meaningful for fear of criticism, disapproval or rejection.
2. It shows unwilling to establish relationships with others unless you are sure you are appreciated.
3. It shows withdrawn in relationships narrow because you fear you will be embarrassed or ridiculed.
4. You worry about being criticized or rejected in social situations.
5. It shows inhibited in new interpersonal situations due to the feeling of lack of adaptation.
6. Sees himself as socially inept, with little personal attractiveness or inferior to the others.
7. It shows extremely reluctant to take risks personal or to get involved in new activities because they can be embarrassing.

Do I have avoidant personality disorder?

If after reading the symptoms of avoidant personality disorder you have doubts about whether you have it, go to a qualified professional (psychologist or psychiatrist) for a correct evaluation and possible diagnosis and treatment.

People with this disorder have the belief that others criticize and judge themFor this reason, they avoid interacting, except with their closest family and a trusted person by whom they think they will not be rejected.

They fear being considered inferior others and negatively evaluate any behavior towards them. For example, if they see someone smiling they think they are laughing at them or if they see several talking they think they speak ill of him or her. The following article explains the causes of feeling of inferiority.

They are distrustful for fear of being harmed. When they meet someone, they constantly test them for confirmation of their suspicions.

By avoiding being related, their work activity is considerably affected.

Avoidant Personality Disorder Traits

According to five major personality traits or factors, people with avoidant personality disorder have:

• High neuroticism
• Low extraversion
• High openness to experience
• Cordiality
• Conscientiousness

Difference between social phobia and avoidant personality disorder

The fundamental difference between those who suffer social phobia and those that present the disorder that concerns us is that the former are aware of irrationality of their phobia but they cannot control it.

Those with Avoidant Personality Disorder they don't realize or even deny let your fear be excessive. They think that they really are inferior people and that they do not deserve to be accepted or loved.

The causes of the disorder are not clearly defined, but are continually associated with traumatic experiences of rejection by their parents in childhood or adolescence, bullying, psychological abuse Y social rejection.

It is also related to anxiety, the shyness, the low self-esteem Y poor social skills.

The recommended treatment for this disorder is cognitive-behavioral. It is important that a trusting relationship with the therapist to get good results. It is possible to combine it with psychotropic drugs such as those used in social phobia.

• Social skills training to improve interactions. Group therapy is indicated in later phases to improve social interactions. Here you will find more information about the social skills training.
• Self-image modification.
• Work self acceptance Y self-esteem.
• Systematic desensitization.
• Exhibition in imagination and live.
• Rational emotive therapy: identification and change of irrational thoughts.
• Relaxation training. To reduce the appearance of physical symptoms in social interactions.

With little social contact, people with an avoidant personality disorder can be intense for those in their circle of trust, so it is convenient set limits and explain to them in case it is necessary that we need time for ourselves. The following tips to help a person with avoidant personality disorder will be interesting:

• Understand the disorder it's going to be crucial in our relationship. We must bear in mind that it is not simply that they are shy or somewhat insecure, but that they have a really bad time.
• Suggest them search support groups and / or psychological therapy and participating in their treatment can help.
• Offer them plans to do together. Pleasant activities and your company will pay off.
• Comment your positive qualitiesas they have a negative view of themselves.
• Be patient and understand that it is not in your hands to change him but to help him and support him in his process.

This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

If you want to read more articles similar to Avoidant Personality Disorder: Symptoms, Causes, Features, and Treatment, we recommend that you enter our category of Personality.

• American Psychiatric Association (2014). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). Madrid: Editorial Médica Panamericana.