Each of us has a unique way of thinking, behaving, and feeling. The resulting thoughts, behaviors, and feelings are what make up our personality. Our personalities are both shaped by our experiences and relationships and shape how we experience the world and relate to others. Unfortunately, sometimes people experience extreme feelings, thoughts, and impulse behaviors that impact how they relate to the world and others, thereby cause issues with their personality. This is called a personality disorder, and it often requires the specialized help of a personality disorder therapist near Cedar Brook, NJ, to resolve.

3 Signs You Need a Personality Disorder Therapist Now

1. You feel like you’re always being attacked or under threat of attack. If you feel like you have to be constantly wary of others, cannot trust friends or family members, and that you have to watch out for threats in everyday situations, then what might be the problem is a personality disorder. Being suspicious of strangers is okay; not performing your regular errands without being suspicious of everyone you encounter is not okay. Being in a heightened state of paranoia is not good for your mental or emotional health. The good news is finding a personality disorder therapist can help you overcome this type of extreme paranoia.
2. You struggle with controlling your emotions and have been called unpredictable. There are several personality disorders that are best characterized by being unable to control one’s emotions. For some, this means being easily frustrated to the point that they act recklessly on that frustration with aggressive words or even physical violence. For other people, this inability to control emotions results in them being lively, overly dramatic, and otherwise aim to capture attention. If you constantly get into fights or competitions with your friends and cannot relate to their emotions, then undergoing personality disorder therapy can help.
3. You have behaviors that you cannot control, and those behaviors are a response to irrational anxiety. Another broad group of personality disorders arises from strong feelings of anxiety and fear. People with these personality disorders have fallen onto certain behaviors to cope with that anxiety or fear. For example, if you must plan every outing you take with your family and feel anxious, leaving anything up to chance, then you might have an obsessive-compulsive personality disorder. Or if you avoid social situations in which you have to meet new people because you have a fear of criticism or judgment, then you may have another type of personality disorder known as an avoidant personality disorder. Both obsessive-compulsive and avoidant personality disorders fall under what personality disorder psychiatry call Cluster C personality disorders ad those with it should seek professional help.

Treatment for a Personality Disorder

Personality disorders of all types are most generally treated with group or individual therapies, with some cases also requiring the use of personality disorder medication. Personality disorder medication helps to mute those extreme feelings of fear, anxiety, and paranoia, while therapy sessions can help the impacted individual learn more positive behaviors and ways of thinking.

When you meet with a personality disorder psychiatrist, they will start with a consultation and likely request your general physician’s information. They will then take that information to diagnose what type of personality disorder you suffer from and make the recommended treatment protocols for your situation. Treatments for personality disorders include cognitive behavior therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, mentalization-based therapy, cognitive analytical therapy, and psychoanalytic therapy. Which of these therapy techniques is right for you will depend upon your diagnosis and other factors.

Get Help Today

Are you ready to make a change and experience the world without your personality disorder clouding your thoughts and emotions? If so, then we would love to hear from you. Contact our team at Harmony Bay Wellness by calling [Direct] to learn more.