Therapist Unlimited Blog

Avoidant Personality Disorder is defined as the long-standing and complex pattern of feelings of inadequacy, extreme sensitivity to what other people think about them, and social inhibition.

It typically manifests itself by early adulthood and is associated with perceived or actual rejection by parents or peers during childhood.

Whether the feeling of rejection is due to the extreme interpersonal monitoring attributed to people with the disorder is still disputed.

Persons suffering from this type of personality disorder are usually loners and report feeling a sense of alienation from society.

Common Symptoms

A.  Avoids occupational activities that involve significant interpersonal contact, because of fears of criticism, disapproval, or rejection.

B.  Unwilling to get involved with people unless certain of being liked.

C. Shows restraint within intimate relationships because of the fear of being shamed or ridiculed.

D. Preoccupied with being criticized or rejected in social situations.

E. Inhibited new interpersonal situations because of feelings of inadequacy.

F. Views self as socially inept, personally unappealing, or inferior to others.

G. Unusually reluctant to take personal risks or to engage in any new activities because they may prove embarrassing.

 Persons who are usually a loner or someone who love to be alone are probably suffering from Avoidant Personality Disorder.

Treatment

It is said that personality disorders are typically some of the most challenging mental disorders to treat, since they are, by definition, an integral part of what defines an individual and their self-perceptions.

Treatment most often focuses on increasing coping skills and interpersonal relationship skills through psychotherapy.

Psychotherapy

As with most personality disorders, the treatment of choice is psychotherapy. While individual therapy is usually the preferred modality, group therapy can be useful if the client can agree to attend enough sessions.

 Because of the basic components of this disorder, though, it is often difficult to have the individual attend group therapy early on in the therapeutic process.

It is a modality to consider as the patient approaches termination of individual treatment, if additional therapy seems necessary and beneficial to the client.

Individuals who suffer from this disorder typically have poor self-esteem and issues surrounding any type of social interactions.

They often see only the negative in life and have difficulty in looking at situations and interactions in an objective manner.

This can also interfere with their self-report when they present for an initial evaluation, which can lead to important life history and medical information being missed (because the patient deems it and him or herself too unimportant to bother).

It is necessary to take a more detailed evaluation than usual, while doing so in a relatively unobtrusive fashion.

The clinician should be sensitive to nonverbal cues of the client during this session, to evaluate when information is being withheld.

This is essential to making a differential diagnosis with similar-looking but vitally different disorders, such as someone who suffers from schizoid or borderline personality disorder.

As with other personality disorders, the individual is not likely to present him or herself to therapy unless something has gone wrong in their life with which their dysfunctional personality style cannot adequately cope.

As with other personality disorders, psychotherapy is usually most effective when it is relatively short-term and oriented toward finding solutions to specific life problems.

While self-esteem issues will undoubtedly present themselves in treatment, serious self-enhancement is unlikely.

 The negative self-valuation is a life-long, pervasive cognition not conducive to regular methods of increasing one’s self-esteem.

As with all therapy, a solid therapeutic relationship founded with good rapport and listening to the client is important to the therapist’s effectiveness.

 The therapeutic relationship in itself is used as a place where the client learns how to feel comfortable and safe in other social relationships. Forming initial rapport is likely to be more difficult with someone who has this disorder, since early termination is often an issue. Once rapport is formed, though, therapy is usually quite stable, unless issues are brought up that are extremely difficult for the client to deal with. Therefore, the clinician in exploring new material during the session should use care.

Termination of therapy is an important issue as well because a successful ending to therapy and the therapeutic relationship reinforces the possibility of new relationships.

Medications

As with all personality disorders medications should only be prescribed for specific and acute Axis I diagnoses or problems suffered by the individual.

Anti-anxiety agents and antidepressants should be prescribed only when there is a clear Axis I diagnosis in conjunction with the personality disorder.

Physicians should resist the temptation to over-prescribe to someone with this disorder, because they often present with complaints of anxiety in social situations or a feeling of disconnectedness with their feelings.

The anxiety in this instance is clearly situationally related and medication may actually interfere with effective psychotherapeutic treatment.

Self-Help

There are not any self-help support groups or communities that we are aware of that would be conducive to someone suffering from this disorder.

 Such approaches would likely not be very effective because a person with this disorder is likely to avoid attending such sessions, due to increased anxiety and difficulty interacting socially.

However, learning relaxation and stress management techniques, especially stress inoculation techniques would be helpful for someone with Avoidant personality disorder.

 By learning relaxation and other stress reducing tools, the person is more able to cope during times of stress and manage one’s own anxiety levels.

Source: http://www.mentalhelp.net

There are a lot of reasons why people engage in psychotherapy. The most common reason for this is extreme depression. While it is true that every person encounters different problems of their own, there are people who are having difficulties handling the problems that hound them. This just means that from time to time, there are people who would be needing professional help to get them back on the right track.

There are a couple of formats that psychotherapists follow and a patient has the right to choose which one may possibly be the best choice.

Individual Therapy is a type of therapy wherein there is a one-on-one conversation between the patient and the therapist. This allows the patient to have the full attention of the therapist but it does not allow the therapist to assess the patient based on his social or family relationships.

Family therapy is a type of therapy that involves the family as a group.

Group therapy involves around 3- 15 patients. It gives the patients the opportunity to receive support from people with particular issues. The good thing about this type of therapy is that it may be less expensive and it gives the patients the feeling of belongingness.

Couple’s Therapy is geared towards the betterment of married couples or those who are in a significant other type of relationship who wants to improve their relationship and functioning as a couple.

As suicide possess the ability to make the grieving loved ones broken and miserable, the pain and the burden of asking one’s self about the reason for it is immeasurable. But what makes it harder is when this person manifested suicidal tendencies but got ignored for not taking him seriously…..

Regret will definitely pierce your wounded spirit when this happens, but before it gets worse, things can still be stopped as hope comes into your way. This means that you can stop your loved one from committing suicide by doing the best things.

1. When someone tells about the idea of committing suicide, take him/her seriously. You’ll never know when someone is actually serious with such a warning. But even when it seems like a joke to you, be sure that you take that as a necessary precaution.

2. Always be there. This is a cliché usually uttered by friends and other concerned individuals. Though this is an old and tired saying, be sure that you actually mean this especially during times of trouble; you may not know what your significant other might think when he/she is in pain – especially when pain is capable of triggering an individual to act foolishly.

3. Help them. Help can be done through various means that will eventually give them a way to move on. It can be good and effective piece of advice, a motivation, or even a support to their psychotherapy.

Okay. You are depressed. You are willing to take prozac if your doctor prescribes it and you determined to undergo a psychotherapy for the betterment of your well-being. You have your wallet ready for spending some bucks and arrange your schedule for your sessions. But wait, those are not the kind of preparations that you should really do…. because there are more important things that you should prepare….

1. Opening yourself up. Once you decide that you will undergo such therapy, you should consider that you are going to open up to someone you don’t know. Your shrink, despite his/her profession, is still a stranger, and if you have “trust issues,” you better let go of them, for it will be pointless if you are not letting out all of your burden.

2. Getting back to those moments. Once you and your psychologist starts to talk about your life, you are going to look back some of the painful days that you once had – even the most devastating ones. There can be tears and anger, but you need to release it too by telling your shrink everything about it.

3. Cooperation. Your shrink might give you a series of tasks that you need to do. When this takes place, you have to follow his/her instructions and cooperate.

Once the essence of these things have sunk in, it means that you really are ready for psychotherapy. However, bear in mind that it may take time for recovery and healing process. And when this is all done, you’d be someone you never thought you’d be.

Though people are quite conscious of their depressed condition, they tend to deprive themselves with therapy because of stereotypical matter. Those who ado not understand the real purpose of therapy think that those who undergo it are already schizophrenics. It’s a lame judgment, but surprisingly, it affects depressed individuals.

First off, it is never shameful to undergo a psychotherapy. Even though the mentally-individuals go through such therapy, it never means that you are one of them when you decide to see a professional. There are some psychological problems that need to be solved, and definitely, that is something normal.

On the other hand, if, in case, you are not convinced with simple yet straight statements, here are some things you ought to know when psychotherapy is being conducted…. just to let you know that it is something you shouldn’t be doubting….

1. A confidential talk between you and your psychologist. What you discuss inside the room is strictly between you and your shrink. It will never be revealed to anyone else – even to your most trusted loved-one – because it is against their code of ethics. Confidentiality is a major matter among the psychologists, vowing to keep everything between them and their patients.

2. An overview of your personal background. Once you start giving them your trust and begin your psychotherapy, your shrink will start to ask you series of questions, some things about you – certain points in your past like childhood and adolescence, major events in life, devastating arguments, accomplishments, and the like. When these are answered, you psychologist will deduce your condition and later, will focus on the things you should work on.

3. Continuous session. Just a day of talk between you and your doctor will definitely not finish your issues. It takes time in order to discuss your problems one by one and provide cures for them. Furthermore, you shrink needs to keep track on your current state – to see if improvements are already taking place.

Since Prozac has been a significant matter in depression, and since it has been mentioned in my previous write-up, I think this is the perfect time to discuss how these small capsules can affect one’s depressed condition big time.

Prozac (as what was mentioned on my previous blog) is a serotonin neurotransmitter under the drug group called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors or SSRI. It is an anti-depressant used to complement psychotherapy of those who are detected to have clinical depression.

It has been introduced by Eli Lilly a global pharmaceutical company back in the 80’s. Since it reduces depressing factors in the body (like drugs that can affect one’s depressing mood), it produces serotonin to make someone feel better. For people who are already accustomed to this, their sleeping and eating patterns start to get regular. On the other hand, as effective as these drugs are, there are side effects that can be experienced through the period of medication. Headache, fever, diarrhea, nausea, sweating, seizures, and heartburn are some of its side effects.

On the other hand, prozac has strict rules. Just because it gives happy moods to the depressed patient doesn’t mean that you, a non-clinically depressed person, can use it. Prozac is forbidden to those who have liver disease, and of course, to those who are allergic to it. Pregnant women should also be careful of it because of the possibility that it may affect the child inside the womb.

Determining that you have depression can be a great help to solve your issues, but that won’t take away the fact that it won’t be easy in doing so. Clearly, that feeling of worthlessness might pull you down until you find yourself more depressed. It’s time to take actions – effective ways to get save you from being more psychologically crashed….. But how? Well, here are some tips….

1. Always remind yourself that you are also special. The feeling of being useless or a piece of failure has a large effect on depressed person. If your situation is similar to this, then always think yourself as someone who is also important, a person of significance – and you have to think this way - always.

2. Express your thoughts. Keeping it to yourself can only burden you more. Have a journal as a medium to release your emotions if you can’t talk to someone. Better yet, tell the person you trust about your problems. He/she might not be a big help, but the gesture you just made creates a difference.

3. Have a therapy. Undergoing a psychotherapy with the guidance of a professional is one of the best ways to heal those wounds. Since they are experts on this field, they can handle your situation with a vast knowledge about your depression, thus, helping you to do get through your healing process.

It is in the nature of human beings to feel sad in different times. Loss, break-up, nostalgia, failure, among other things are the reasons for sadness. But, if it lingers in you for a long time, then, it is no longer considered normal. And worse, it may something that you should be worried of – for it might be a psychological disorder that we can just call “depression.”

Clearly, “depression” is something people wrongly use in several conversations. It’s a psychological state where a person experiences deep sadness or has very low self-esteem. There are times when people have no idea that they are already manifesting signs of depression, thinking that it is normal to feel such way. But, as I said, it is a psychological disorder and needs to be healed, before it gets worse.

But before you get anxious with your psychological condition, you need to know the signs of depression first before jumping into conclusion that you might be clinically depressed….

1. Low self-esteem. One of the strongest factor of having depression is lack of self-worth and low self-esteem. You think that you are a failure and a worthless individual who cannot do anything good.

2. Abnormal eating and sleeping patterns. You got such a good sleep last week but now, you are having trouble to have one. Irregular sleeping habit can imply that you are having some disturbances deep inside you which causes you to lose sleep or have a smooth one. Same thing applies to irregular eating patterns, where it can become an outlet for a strong emotion or the loss of appetite can indicate that something deeply affects it.

3. Lack of concentration. Difficulty in focusing on something can suggest an emotional disturbance.

4. Suicidal tendencies. A very dangerous factor than can cause the life of the depressed. Because of extreme feeling of worthlessness, guilt, or anxiety, the person thinks that the only way to escape pain is death.

There are also biological factor in acquiring depression like an insufficient amount of serotonin, or the “happy hormone,” in the body. On the other hand, once these factors are all present in your situation, then it’s best to treat it right away, with psychotherapy and a professional helping you out.

Huge drops of sweat fall your face. Your mouth is dry, and you are not feeling well because of your headache. Much to your dismay, your muscles tense, your back pain gets worse, and you can no longer sleep because you are afraid something might happen. When you are in this condition, you are without a doubt, experiencing anxiety. Though these physical manifestations don’t necessarily reflect anxiety, there are high possibilities that you are anxious when you are experiencing such for several times. And when this happens, it’s time to make an action before it develops to something worse. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Panic Attacks are two of the possible things that may happen if you don’t take action.

If self-help can no longer treat your anxiety, psychotherapy can be the best solution. Since professionals know how to deal with such problems, they can offer help through various methods. And sometimes, group therapy is establish as a treatment. Medication can also be given to help you cope with anxiety.

This is a blog for people who are hiding in the shadows, depriving themselves from this “silver lining” and scared from the inner-monsters that kept them extremely down. The words written here might be speaking your feeling…. because my existence used to be a phantom. However, my words are not meant to bury your flesh deeper, but to share the changes I already started.

I understand why I denied myself a psychological therapy even when I knew I really needed one. People had a way of jumping into conclusions in the most foolish way, thinking that you’ve gone mad or have become a complete psychopath once once you start seeing a shrink. I, being one of these idiots, thought of the same way. I also had this burden of believing that my situation was shameful, so I kept on concealing it myself even if I knew it would hurt me more. Thus, I deprived myself for getting a help from a professional, making my depression even worse.

As I expected, things have become worse. I didn’t know how to stand up, because my self-worth has stopped me from doing so. I guess this was the result of being abused by the person who used to be the dearest for you. Believing in every word he said was only natural, especially when you valued him in the most overwhelming way. It was a wonderful feeling at first, but little by little it became poignant. But because I valued him with every inch of my flesh, I remained silent just to keep him, even though it hurt me – sexually, physically, emotionally. And so, here I was, a person who no longer had a self-worth.

But something happened. On that day, my mother found out about this burden. I had a self-journal as the only medium to somehow ease this pain and she had read about everything. I guess it was more painful for her, knowing her daughter, the girl she had hopes for, was crashed by a guy who didn’t seem to have a soul. She was open-minded, unlike us who thought that psychological therapy only belonged for the psychopaths. Understanding my needs, she encouraged me to undergo a therapy with a professional. And it was then…. it was then when I finally gathered my courage to face my inner-demons that had been haunting me for a long time.

It wasn’t easy at first. Opening yourself to a stranger, even if she’s a psychiatrist was difficult. But I knew I had to speak, otherwise, everything would turn pointless. As I went on with my story, my doctor realized that I had chronic depression, meaning I have been clinically depressed for a years. She then gave me several assignments aimed for the betterment of my condition and prescribed me a medicine called Zoloft, an anti-depressant.

I am still undergoing to this therapy. I would be a complete fool if I said that I am healed. This sadness, lack of self-worth, low self-esteem, and a feeling of solitude are still here. Nevertheless, there are changes. Thinking that it’s not shameful to undergo a psychological therapy is one. That it is alright to feel this way. And that changes can still be done, even in the people felt hopeless and lost.