Avoidant Personality Disorder

Question: What is the difference between Social Phobia and Avoidant Personality Disorder? How can you tell if you have Avoidant Personality Disorder or a severe case of Social Phobia?

Answer: Research suggests that people with avoidant personality disorder, in common with social phobics, excessively monitor their own internal reactions when they are involved in social interaction. However, unlike social phobics they also excessively monitor the reactions of the people with whom they are interacting. The extreme tension created by this monitoring may account for the hesitant speech and taciturnity of many people with avoidant personality disorder. They are so preoccupied with monitoring themselves and others that producing fluent speech is difficult. Avoidant personality disorder is reported to be especially prevalent in people with anxiety disorders, although estimates of comorbidity vary widely due to differences in (among others) diagnostic instruments. Research suggests that approximately 10–50% of the people who have a panic disorder with agoraphobia have APD, as well as about 20–40% of the people who have a social phobia (social anxiety disorder). Some studies report prevalence rates of up to 45% among the people with generalized anxiety disorder and up to 56% of the people with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Although it is not mentioned in the DSM-IV, earlier theorists have proposed a personality disorder which has a combination of features from borderline personality disorder and avoidant personality disorder, called "avoidant-borderline mixed personality"

Question: What would be some good jobs to have if you have been diagnosed with Avoidant Personality Disorder? Avoidant personality disorder (APD or AvPD) is a personality disorder characterized by a pervasive pattern of social inhibition, feelings of inadequacy, extreme sensitivity to negative evaluation and avoidance of social interaction. People with avoidant personality disorder often consider themselves to be socially inept or personally unappealing, and avoid social interaction for fear of being ridiculed, humiliated, or disliked. They typically present themselves as loners and report feeling a sense of alienation from society. Any ideas? Thanks!

Answer: I think that if someone had avoidant personality disorder, carrers that require little social interaction and a lot of alone time would be fitting. Something in computers or possibley something that entailed working late in the evening until early in the morning.

Question: How can I overcome Avoidant personality disorder? I'm not diagnosed, but I'm pretty sure I have Avoidant personality disorder. I have most of the symptoms of it. I'm not really anti-social, but It seems like I should be. I have many friends, which amazes me. I have no idea how I did that, but despite it I still have extremely low self-esteem. I also get very depressed often and I want to know how to stop feeling this way WITHOUT going to therapy, taking drugs, or anything involving telling my family about it.

Answer: Practice, practice, practice. Think about joining some activity groups, or a Saturday high fun art class, or debate club. Anything that will actually get you out and with people. Volunteer with one of the food distribution groups. Do something for someone else, and the next thing you know, you'll be showing yourself how to avoid having an avoidant personality disorder, and not talking about it.

Question: Is it possible to have both Avoidant Personality Disorder and Dependent Personality Disorder? I have severe anxiety and OCD. And when I was tested for any other disorders, the psychologist said I have "Avoidant/Dependent Personality Disorder." I never heard of this. And when I researched it, I found out that it's really two different disorders that basically contradict each other. How can someone have this?

Answer: Its actually relatively common that those with avoidant personality disorder are also co morbid with dependent personality disorder. It works like this; Being avoidant you are terrified of other people due to severe low self worth and feelings of being socially inept. You avoid almost everyone. People with avoidant pd can however have close relationships with those few people they perceive as being "safe". Because they have so few social relationships they cling to and hide behind the few "safe" people that they have to the point of dependency. They require constant reassurances, availability, special treatment, and protection from the few people they do have in their lives. This coupled with fears of rejection and social ineptness means that they also look to these few people for constant direction and reassurance or even assistance "hand holding" through many if not all major decisions and activities they make in their own lives. They feel they are too inadequte and inept to funciton socially without this other person, they become dependent to get all their relational needs filled via this one other person, and because they feel they are inadequate overall they question everything they do as being potentially stupid, wrong, or not good enough and so look to these few "safe" people in their lives for reassurance and dictation about nearly everything they think, want, do etc. Hence -dependency. If you are comorbid this means that overall you are avoidant pd. But to those who you do deam as safe and let into your life you can become extremely dependent upon them. Oh and a ps. It is NOT passive aggressive or codependency. They are both personality disorders. Often dependent pd results from avoidant pd. A person may be passive aggressive too or they may not. And some relationships may be codependent some may not.

Question: What's the prognosis like for avoidant personality disorder? Recently a close family member told me she believes she has avoidant personality disorder. I've looked into it and from what I've seen I agree it seems to fit her very well. But, in supporting her, should I be expecting this to get better? Does anyone have experience with this disorder, and know if it improves over time, or not?

Answer: I believe that I have something like this. It's at the extreme end of the spectrum of social anxiety/phobias. As you might have guessed, personality disorders are notoriously difficult to treat, and I would have to say in all honesty that the prognosis is not good. I would say though, that it's not helpful for a sufferer to label themselves, or be labelled with such a disorder, indeed many so-called "personality disorders" are questioned by many mental health professionals. A sufferer is likely to have this condition throughout their life..Certainly, that has been my experience. Medication can help alleviate the worst of the symptoms, usually an SSRI or Venlafaxine. As for providing support, I would suggest that it's best to be realistic about the prospects of your relative getting "better" What would help the most though, is to try and understand the nature of the problem, which you already seem to have done. There may be minor improvements over time with very gradual exposure to feared situations, but it's important to realise that your relative will most likely find the majority of social settings almost impossible to cope with.

Question: Difference between social anxiety and avoidant personality disorder? What is the MAIN difference between social anxiety and avoidant personality disorder? I'm not looking for definitions - I know what they are and I have read the definitions but they sound the same to me. Thanks in advance. So far I haven't seen a right answer. A person with avoidant disorder DOES want to be part of the group - that is the difference between avoidance disorder and schizoid disorder. A schizoid is a loner and prefers to be alone - not avoidant. Both avoidant and social anxiety want to be a part of the group - they don't like being loners. Anyone else?

Answer: Avoidant personality disorder: avoid social interaction for fear of being ridiculed, humiliated, or disliked. They typically present themselves as loners and report feeling a sense of alienation from society. Social Anxiety Disorder: The experience is commonly described as having physiological components (e.g. sweating, blushing), cognitive/perceptual components (e.g. belief that one may be judged negatively; looking for signs of disapproval) and behavioral components (e.g. avoiding a situation).

Question: What professional to validate Avoidant Personality Disorder? I never really knew what was wrong with me through out my life til I came to a conclusion that I might have avoidant personality disorder. I fall under most of the descriptions but I wonder who should I go to validate my possible disorder. I've been to a psychiatrist once when I was seventeen but he never made any dialogue with me to figure out why was I overly shy even to my own family, pretty much $2000 down the drain.

Answer: Hello there, Please do not give up due to the disappointment you had with the psychiatrist. I highly suggest that you consult a therapist or psychologist. Whether one is dealing with Avoidant Personality Disorder or Narcissistic Personality Disorder, as long as it is a Personality Disorder, it must be linked with the person's past. Psychiatrists usually prescribe medication while therapists and psychologists carry out the therapy by talking with you and identifying why you are overly shy. Even the psychiatrist I have seen once said to let my psychologist handle the abuse I had been through. He did not want to go into it but as a psychiatrist, he mainly deals with prescribing clients with medications for mental illnesses. Google the area where you live for a mental health professional or look up the phone book. Remember to ask for his or her qualifications. A person must possess either a Ph.D. or Psy.D. in order to claim the status as a psychologist. It is also alright if the professional you have consulted did not hit off well with you. Sometimes it takes time for the client to find the right psychologist, someone whom he or she feels comfortable with. Naturally, your intuition would tell you whether you are going to make progresses with the psychologist. Also, because you are shy and probably avoidant, chances are you will think of retreating from therapy. However, please do not. I am very sure you are well aware how this extreme shyness you are dealing with is crippling your life. All the best and take care.

Question: do you or anyone you know have a avoidant personality disorder? It's a personality disorder characterized by a pervasive pattern of social inhibition, feelings of inadequacy, extreme sensitivity to negative evaluation and avoidance of social interaction. People with avoidant personality disorder often consider themselves to be socially inept or personally unappealing, and avoid social interaction for fear of being ridiculed, humiliated, or disliked. They typically present themselves as loners and report feeling a sense of alienation from society.

Answer: I suffer from this. My life is hell because i am too afraid of rejection and i'm afraid of making a fool of myself. That's how i feel....Alienated

Question: Can Avoidant Personality Disorder be cured? I have APD. I have been treated with Systemic Therapy for 9 months (without medication) and I still have anxiety episodes but I'm now able to control myself in anxious situations. What's the prognosis for people with Avoidant Personality Disorder? Will I always suffer from anxiety? I have looked it up and most sites and some say personality disorders can't be completely cured: people have to learn to live with them and learn to control their anxiety. Others say anxiety disappears in adulthood.

Answer: I wouldn't say it can be "cured", but you can probably learn to work through it. Is there anyone you feel like you can talk to, someone you really trust? Try talking to them. Let them know what you're going through. Talk about the disorder, but also talk about other things. The more you talk to the person, the more comfortable and confident you will become. You'll feel like, "If I can talk to this person, I can talk to another person too." Over time, you may be able to feel more confident, more outgoing, and more able to trust people. Good luck! I hope everything goes well for you. Remember that you're not alone, and you CAN work past this. <3 Ashley

Question: How many people are familiar with AvP(D) (Avoidant personality disorder)? I have spent the past year researching SA (social anxiety) and AvPD (Avoidant personality disorder) as they are part of my personality make up.. I think people may be familiar with social anxiety, also known as social phobia, but i am not sure how many people are familiar with AvPD. So just a quick poll: Who has heard of it and what do you know about it. I am just interested in knowing how many people are aware/knowledgable about this particular personality trait.

Answer: I don't know anything about it, but am answering so that you'll know the general population is ignorant.

Question: Does Avoidant personality disorder doom someone to a life alone? I am suffering from the pain of loss due to yet another failed relationship. MY FAULT. I can not trust and my insecurities drive everyone away or I leave because I am terrified that my lover will leave me and I can not handle that loss. Either way I lose and the pain is unbearable. I have researched on line and i fit the profile of the Avoidant Personality Disorder. This is terrifiying! Can one ever recover from this disorder? Is it possible to have a normal healthy loving relationship?

Answer: You should go to therapy since they can help you deal with your disorder. It's don't like you are doom forever. Therapy can help you if you only it and keep going to it.

Question: Has anyone here been diagnosed with Avoidant Personality Disorder? How are you dealing with it? I really am just interested in people who have been offically diagnosed with this disorder - not people who read about it on a website and think they might have it. Are you in therapy? What kind of therapy? Has it helped? Was it difficult for you to form a relationship with your therapist? Has anyone read the book "Distancing" by Martin Kantor? I was just diagnosed and I'm having difficulty deciding how to progress with therapy and treatment. I just want to hear what others who have this personality disorder have to say about it.

Answer: yes, i have it. No i'm not in therapy....gave up on it a long time ago because i could not form a rapport with the therapist. They had ideas which really didn't get to the core issue at all but i was too scared to tell them how off the mark they were.....so i would not go very deep. It was unproductive. You really need someone who is brave and not touchy....someone who will not feel threatened if challenged repeatedly. You would probably not work well with someone who is squeamish or afraid to veer from a narrowly defined treatment plan. i would have needed a strong person to deal with my APD issues.....someone who could really understand how hard it is to open up and is not threatened by weirdness. They also need knowledge of anxiety disorders - even though APD is technically a 'personality disorder', it is very similar to social phobia. Social phobia would have an exposure plan as at least part of the treatment. They need knowledge of why we avoid certain situations......they need to know that we may not be upfront (for fear of rejection). Many of us APDers are attuned to body language.......rapport and a warm and open personality (with a sense of humor) is paramount. Hope this helps.

Question: Avoidant Personality Disorder and frequent crying? 1) Do others of you with Avoidant Personality Disorder have a problem with frequent crying? It's pretty tricky to keep a job when you have this problem. Employers tend to frown on their employees crying at random times while working. 2) Does anyone know of a way to keep from crying once you feel that big lump in your throat? I've struggled with this problem for years. Anti-anxiety meds are not helping with this problem. Kind answers only please.

Answer: Don't know that there is a connection between the two, but I do know that frequent crying spells can be a symptom of a chemical imbalance in the brain. There are several brain chemicals (known as neurotransmitters) that play a role in our emotional state(s) and our emotional stability. Serotonin is most often the chemical that is lacking in a depressive state. Serotonin is also the neurotransmitter that, when deplete, cause sadness and excessive crying spells. Mental disorders are helped immensely by orthomolecular interventions. I know...big words. Orthomolecular medicine is simply using nutrition to restore balance in the brain. Lots of books out there on the subject. A good one that is written in easy to understand lingo is "Optimum Nutrition for the Mind" by Patrick Holford. Do a little reading and make a few adjustments to your diet and supplementation practices and you just might find your worse mental symptoms fading away.

Question: Famous People with Avoidant Personality Disorder? Please let me know of any famous or well known people you know of suffering from Avoidant Personality Disorder.

Answer: http://www.fitsugar.com/1916426 http://ask.metafilter.com/83417/Hollywoo…

Question: Are there any good san diego psychiatrists that specialize in treating avoidant personality disorder? I'm looking for a psychiatrist/psycologist/counselor who specializes in this type of mood disorder that accepts insurance (PacifiCare). Depression, anxiety, isolation, alcoholism, sexual issues, are my symptoms. Looking for somebody who uses CBT.

Answer: Skilled professionals-medical doctors, licensed therapists, and certified substance abuse counselors-work with clients in an attractive, professional atmosphere that offers non-traditional surroundings where individuals can begin to regain their health.

Question: If you have avoidant personality disorder should you avoid the fantasy world you've created in your mind? I self-diagnosed myself with this disorder,I really have all the symptoms to fit it.The fantasy world I've created is controlled by me so it's not like I don't have any control over it because I do.It's like I have an "on" & "off" switch to it.& the "on" switch is on like all the time.When I switch it to "off" I find myself being very sad.I was wondering if I stop fantasizing is that a step to recovery from this disorder?

Answer: Your best bet is to ask a Dr.and stop diagnosing yourself.