Personality Disorder
Personality Disorder (PD)
PD Treatment in Fort Myers
Over five million Americans suffer from some form of personality disorder. PD is best illustrated by damaging thoughts and behavior patterns that can trigger distress and problems with basic functioning. An individual with a personality disorder has thoughts, behaviors, or feelings that stray from cultural and social norms.
Personality disorders usually begin by late teens and will progress without mental health treatment. Those with PD struggle in their daily life because their behavior and experiences contrast substantially from what is expected by those around them.
Indications of Personality Disorder(s)
A person coping with PD will have symptoms such as:
- extreme mood swings
- Abandonment fears
- A distorted image of themselves.
- They may also exhibit all-or-nothing behavior, and act impulsively without warning
- Unprovoked anger
- Grandiosity
Fort Myers Personality Disorder Treatment
Understanding Personality Disorders
We treat personality disorders everyday at our Fort Myers recovery campus. We understand the challenges to treat PD, which is why we employ an integrated treatment approach. This is due to reality in which PD patients don’t see themselves the same way everyone else does. As a result, they do not think they need help. There are a few different treatments that can be successful in controlling PD.
Individualized Psychotherapy
Talk therapy requires working with a mental health therapist who can provide structure, education, and support to help handle borderline personality disorder. Psychotherapy utilizes behavioral health methods to identify and alter problematic behaviors, thoughts, and feelings. Psychotherapy is the most effective borderline personality disorder treatment.
The main goals of treating personality disorders include:
- Stress reduction
- Helping the patient to clearly understand that their problems are not caused by others
- Stopping harmful behaviors
- Modifying personality traits to ease intense feeling
Medication Therapy for PD
While there are no specific medicines for personality disorders, there are several medications that can ease the symptoms. Medication categories such as antidepressants, anti-anxiety, and mood stabilizers seem to assist the most.
Patients with severe symptoms or chronic personality disorder usually require a team approach involving a psychiatrist, therapist, family members, and a social worker. Collectively, they determine the best PD treatment course, along with the patient and family.
Common Personality Disorders
A number of personality disorders exist, and the symptoms vary greatly a fitting to each type. The most common diagnosed personality disorders include:
- Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder
- Borderline personality disorder
- Avoidant personality disorder
- Schizoid personality disorder
- Antisocial personality disorder
Causes of PD
Researchers are still trying to establish the causes of personality disorder, as it is not a well understood mental health condition. However, experts do believe that these factors can influence whether someone develops a personality disorder:
- Genetics: Scientists are exploring genetic connections to other traits associated with personality disorders, such as anxiety, fear, and aggression.
- Childhood trauma: Patients with borderline personality disorder are known to have high rates of childhood trauma.
- Verbal abuse: Individuals who have experienced verbal abuse as a child are three times more likely to have personality disorders.
- Changes to Brain: Scientists have discovered slight brain differences within people that have certain personality disorders.
Personality Disorder Help in Fort Myers
Treating PD involves changing the dysfunctional patterns of the brain’s thinking, feeling, and behavior that cause distress. To do this, intensive individual therapy and medication management are required. As a dual diagnosis mental health treatment center, Celadon is uniquely positioned to help. Call us today at 239.266.2141 and learn more about our residential treatment program for personality disorders and other mental health problems. Our patients enjoy our campus-style treatment center where they can move about the grounds and feel the breeze from the banks of thre Caloosahatchee River.
