Treatment of Personality Disorder

A person’s personality consists of a unique combination of traits, like thoughts, attitudes, moods, behavior, and how they express these traits with other people. A disorder of personality can arise when specific personality traits become too inflexible. People who have such disorders have thinking and acting patterns that are different from what’s considered normal.

This difference can create significant distress for them. Such people find it hard to form healthy relationships with other people. A multimodal treatment for personality disorder that combines multiple professionals like psychiatrists, counselors, and psychologists is most effective in treating the condition.

How Personality Disorders Get Treated

People having this disorder don’t actively seek treatment, because of which many go undiagnosed and untreated. A reason for the refusal to seek treatment is that these people can generally function like everyone in society. But many of the disorders are constant and very challenging to cure. A good treatment can relieve the mentally painful symptoms of different personality disorders. 

Ideally, you should seek personality disorder treatment from a facility with specialties like rehabilitation, in-patient services, and OPD consultations. Treatment will differ according to the kind of disorder you have. But the main form of treatment that the experts use is psychotherapy. In certain cases, medication will be used to treat disabling symptoms that might happen. Medications include anti-depressants, anti-anxiety drugs, anti-psychotics, and impulse-stabilizing medications. 

Psychotherapy 

In psychotherapy, the individual gets to know about their disorder. They can also talk to their mental health professional about their thoughts, feelings, moods, and behavior. It also helps them find ways to cope with stress and deal with their disorder. 

Patients can get psychotherapy in individual or group therapy sessions. Even their friends and family members can come to these sessions. Psychotherapy has various types. But only a mental health professional can decide the most suitable one for a particular individual. In these sessions, patients can also get social skills training. It helps them to find healthy ways to handle their symptoms and minimize behaviors that disturb their functioning and relationships. Family therapy under psychotherapy imparts education and support to families who have a member having such a disorder.

Medications 

 The Food and Drug Administration hasn’t yet approved any medications to treat personality disorders. But some drugs are effective in treating anxiety or depression. Medications are used along with psychotherapy for the best treatment. 

There are various kinds of anti-depressants that people dealing with this disorder are prescribed. They include:

  • Nardil 
  • Prozac 
  • Effexor
  • Zoloft
  • Wellbutrin 

Anti-psychotic drugs also positively impact different non-psychotic disorders like borderline personality disorders. Common anti-psychotics consists of the following:

  • Abilify 
  • Geodon
  • Risperdal 
  • Zyprexa

There are also mood stabilizers and anti-convulsants that doctors use to treat personality disorders. These include:

  • Lithobid 
  • Depakote
  • Lamictal 

Lifestyle modifications

Along with professional treatment, patients should also make specific lifestyle changes. They will enhance the treatment plan they are following. 

  • Actively participate in your care. Don’t miss any session even when you don’t feel up to it.
  • Take medications as directed by your doctor. Don’t skip them even when you feel well. If you stop, there’s a chance of the symptoms returning.
  • Gather as much knowledge as much as you can about your condition. You will stick to the treatment plan for long when you know your situation. 
  • Be physically active. Engage in gardening, jogging, walking, or any activity that you genuinely enjoy.

Remember always to seek treatment from a reputed facility. Such a place has all the professionals that are fully trained and experienced to deal with various personality disorders. So, you can fully trust them to treat your specific condition. 

By Punit