psychiatric disorders
Overview of Personality Disorders
Key Points
Personality disorders involve rigid, maladaptive personality traits that are marked enough to cause significant distress or to impair work and/or interpersonal functioning. Treatments become effective only after patients see that their problems are within themselves, not just externally caused. Psychosocial therapy is the mainstay of treatment. Medications help control specific symptoms only in selected cases—eg, to control significant anxiety, angry outbursts, and depression. Personality disorders are slow to change, and may gradually become less severe over time. 