Symptoms Avoiding Personality Disorder

Definition

Avoidant personality disorder is a psychiatric condition characterized by excessive fear of people or situations where rejection, criticism, failure or conflict may occur. People affected by this disorder are afraid of engaging in relationships or any new experience due to the risk that this may result in disappointment or failure.

The causes of the avoidant personality disorder are not clearly and unambiguously defined; often, this picture results from the combination of multiple social and biological factors.

In particular, the development of the avoidant personality disorder can be fostered by growth in a disabling family environment, characterized by behavioral inhibition by demanding or overly protective parents. The condition can also be affected by various anxiety disorders in childhood and adolescence, introverted temperament and extreme shyness.

Most common symptoms and signs *

• anguish
• Anticipatory Anxiety
• Suicidal behavior
• Depression
• derealization
• dysphoria
• Mood disorders
• Avoidance
• Social isolation
• Nervousness

Further indications

The avoidant personality disorder manifests itself with social inhibition, a sense of inadequacy and inferiority, hypersensitivity towards other people's judgment and a poor ability to adapt.

Patients clearly suffer from their isolation and have a strong desire to establish relationships with other people, but at the same time they are constantly afraid of being criticized, disapproved or rejected. For those with an avoidant disorder, this perspective is so unacceptable that they prefer to keep their distance from people, as they could discover their possible negative aspects by approaching them. It follows the tendency to avoid relationships with others (relationships are rare or linked to specific objectives), especially if these involve a certain emotional involvement, and the tendency to carry out a routine life that protects them from the potential new risks interpersonal situations. Often, these manifestations can be confused with those of social phobia. Unlike the latter, however, the avoidance of personality disorder involves a generalized feeling of anxiety about all interactions with others and a strong sense of extraneousness with respect to the outside world.

On the one hand, the avoidance of people or situations in which a refusal, a failure or a conflict could occur protects from interpersonal contact and alleviates negative moods; on the other hand this attitude leads to a solitude lived with sadness and a sense of emptiness.

Often, the subject with avoidant personality disorder suffers from depression and panic attacks. In the most severe cases, patients may abuse substances (alcohol, drugs, psychotropic drugs, etc.) or develop suicidal ideation.