People with paranoid personality disorder (PPD) display an observable and long-term pattern of suspicion and distrust of others, but do not have a psychotic disorder, such as schizophrenia. Paranoid personality disorder falls into the Cluster A group of personality disorder types. Cluster A is known as the odd and eccentric cluster.

Paranoid Personality Disorder and Paranoia

People with paranoid personality disorder (read about famous people with PPD) always assume that others are out to manipulate, harm, exploit, or deceive them – even when no evidence exists that supports the assumption. It's normal to experience some level of paranoia in certain situations in life (i.e. worrying about strangers when walking on a poorly lit road at night), but individuals with PPD take it to the extreme and feel suspicious of people in virtually all situations in their personal and professional lives.

What PPD Looks and Feels Like

When you have PPD, you have trouble getting along with others and significant difficulty maintaining close relationships. Your inappropriate and excessive hostility and suspicious attitude may manifest in recurrent arguments, hostile indifference, or social detachment.

Since you're always on the lookout for potential threats, you will behave in a secretive way that could appear devious. Others may begin to see you as cold and unfeeling. You have a deep need for self-sufficiency and feel you must exert a high level of control over others. Your combative and suspicious attitude will likely eventually cause others to respond with hostility to you as well. This only serves to reinforce your imagined suspicions and distrust.

Paranoid personality disorder causes sufferers to exhibit an enduring pattern of inner thoughts, feelings, and external behaviors that fall well outside societal norms.

Typically, therapists can trace this pervasive and inflexible pattern of behaviors and inner experience back to adolescence or early adulthood. Eventually, PPD leads to considerable distress as it impairs function and success in social and professional settings, but this may not happen until the person reaches his or her 40s or later.

Causes of Paranoid Personality Disorder

Scientists don't have a clear understanding about the exact causes of paranoid personality disorder. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, PPD is more common in families with a history of psychotic disorders like schizophrenia and delusional disorder, indicating a genetic factor. But most experts agree that environment plays a critical role as well.

Paranoid personality disorder is more common in men than in women. While paranoid personality disorder treatment exists in the form of therapy and medications, the prognosis for significant improvement depends on the person's commitment to life-long treatment.

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Who is Likely to Become a Bully?

Bullying can have a wide-ranging impact on teens - from victims to those who witness bullying, to the bullies themselves - and affect each one well into adulthood.

Bullying can lead teenagers to feel tense, anxious, and afraid. It can affect their concentration in school, and can lead them to avoid school in some cases. If bullying continues for some time, it can begin to:

• affect teens' self-esteem and feelings of self-worth.
• increase their social isolation, leading them to become withdrawn and depressed, anxious and insecure.

In extreme cases, bullying can be devastating for teens, with long-term consequences.

Some teens feel compelled to take drastic measures, such as carrying weapons for protection or seeking violent revenge. Others, in desperation, even consider suicide. Researchers have found that years later, long after the bullying has stopped, adults who were bullied as teens have higher levels of depression and poorer self-esteem than other adults.

Bullying can also affect those teens who witness bullying.

In one study of junior high and high school students, over 88 percent said they had witnessed bullying in their schools. Teens who witness bullying can feel guilty or helpless for not standing up to a bully on behalf of a classmate or friend, or for not reporting the incident to someone who could help. They may experience even greater guilt if they are drawn into bullying by pressure from their peers. Some teens deal with these feelings of guilt by blaming the victim and deciding that he or she deserved the abuse. Teens sometimes also feel compelled to end a friendship or avoid being seen with the bullied teen to avoid losing status or being targeted themselves.

Which teens are most likely to become bullies?

While many people believe bullies act tough in order to hide feelings of insecurity and self-loathing, in fact, bullies tend to be confident, with high self-esteem. They are generally physically aggressive, with pro-violence attitudes, and are typically hot-tempered, easily angered, and impulsive, with a low tolerance for frustration. Bullies have a strong need to dominate others and usually have little empathy for their targets. Male bullies are often physically bigger and stronger than their peers. Bullies tend to get in trouble more often and to dislike and do more poorly in school than teens who do not bully others. They are also more likely to fight, drink, and smoke than their peers.

Teens who come from homes where parents provide little emotional support for their children, fail to monitor their activities, or have little involvement in their lives, are at greater risk for engaging in bullying behavior. Parents' discipline styles are also related to bullying behavior: an extremely permissive or excessively harsh approach to discipline can increase the risk of teenage bullying.

Surprisingly, bullies appear to have little difficulty in making friends. Their friends typically share their pro-violence attitudes and problem behaviors (such as drinking and smoking) and may be involved in bullying as well. These friends are often followers who do not initiate bullying, but participate in it.

As mentioned above, some teenagers not only bully others but are also the targets of bullies themselves. Like other bullies, they tend to do poorly in school and engage in a number of problem behaviors. They also tend to be socially isolated, with few friends and poor relationships with their classmates.

What are the long-term consequences of bullying behavior?

Bullying is often a warning sign that children and teens are heading for trouble and are at risk for serious violence. Teens (particularly boys) who bully are more likely to engage in other antisocial/delinquent behavior (e.g., vandalism, shoplifting, truancy, and drug use) into adulthood. They are four times more likely than nonbullies to be convicted of crimes by age 24, with 60 percent of bullies having at least one criminal conviction.

What can schools do to stop bullying?

Effective programs have been developed to reduce bullying in schools. Research has found that bullying is most likely to occur in schools where:

• there is a lack of adult supervision during breaks
• teachers and students are indifferent to or accept bullying behavior
• rules against bullying are not consistently enforced

While approaches that simply crack down on individual bullies are seldom effective, when there is a school-wide commitment to end bullying, it can be reduced by up to 50 percent. One effective approach focuses on changing school and classroom climates by:

• raising awareness about bullying
• increasing teacher and parent involvement and supervision
• forming clear rules and strong social norms against bullying
• providing support and protection for all students

This approach involves teachers, principals, students, and everyone associated with the school, including janitors, cafeteria workers, and crossing guards. Adults become aware of the extent of bullying at the school, and they involve themselves in changing the situation, rather than looking the other way. Students pledge not to bully other students, to help students who are bullied, and to make a point to include students who are left out.

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Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder treatment typically involves a multi-pronged approach with includes psychotherapy, medications, and relaxation exercises. For OCPD treatment to succeed, the therapist must establish a strong working relationship with the client. This is sometimes difficult because people with obsessive-compulsive personality disorder tend to want to control the therapist and the session circumstances. An experienced therapist will know how to get through this protective shield of control and other obsessive-compulsive personality disorder symptoms and build a mutually trusting therapeutic relationship.

Treatment for Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder

Treatment for obsessive-compulsive personality disorder focuses on helping the client become aware of his or her thought patterns and how they influence emotions and behaviors. Since most people with OCPD do not have a strong awareness of their emotions, developing this awareness is the first step. Ultimately, the goal is to equip the client with new coping skills and adjust thought patterns to increase quality of life.

Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder therapy approaches for treatment of OCPD include:

Psychodynamic therapy – this therapeutic technique is insight-oriented. The therapist helps the person with OCPD identify his perceptions of certain situations and examine why not having control over these situations causes so much worry. The goal is to help the client develop a stronger sense of self-awareness. By integrating talk therapy into the sessions, the therapist can demonstrate to the client to accept that everyone, including him, makes mistakes and that this makes him human.

For example, the practitioner may detail a situation where excessive control actually results in ignorance regarding intimate relationships, ultimately leading to inefficiency and failure; exactly what the individual with OCPD tries to avoid. Since people with the disorder usually criticize themselves harshly, the therapist also facilitates modification of this tendency.

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) – this approach to obsessive-compulsive personality disorder therapy examines a client's thought patterns and how they affect his responses to various circumstances. The therapist then teaches the client new skills and techniques for modifying the thoughts that lead to the negative behaviors and emotions. The patient can also use these new tools to derive more enjoyment from interpersonal relationships and recreational activities rather than focusing so heavily on work.

Both of these psychotherapy methods seek to give the client insight and tools to reduce rigid expectations and enjoy a higher quality of life.

People with OCPD may also benefit from learning obsessive-compulsive personality disorder self-help skills, such as relaxation and meditation. This involves using specific breathing and relaxation techniques to reduce the intense sense of urgency and stress common in those with OCPD.

Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder Medications

The FDA has not approved any specific obsessive-compulsive personality disorder medications, but will prescribe them to reduce symptoms from co-occurring mental health conditions. People with OCPD frequently struggle with anxiety and depression that interferes with everyday life. In these cases, antianxiety drugs or antidepressant medications can offer relief and allow the client to become more fully engaged in therapy.

Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder Prognosis

The prognosis for obsessive-compulsive personality disorder tends to be better than the outlook for other personality disorders. Ironically, the rigid adherence to moral codes and need to maintain control prevents a major complication common to many of the other personality disorders – drug abuse. Left untreated, people with OCPD may develop anxiety and depression due to social isolation and anger management issues.

Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder treatment can help those suffering from the condition, but success requires a commitment to recovery and sticking to the therapist's instructions.

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If your child is a victim of a bully, you, as a parent, can help. Learn the signs of bullying, then learn how to help your child deal with the bullying.

What causes a person to become a bully?

There are a number of reasons that a child or adolescent becomes a bully. He or she may need to cover his own feelings of inadequacy. He may lack good adult role models. If he sees parents bullying him or each other, he may regard this type of behavior as simply the way one should act. Other children fall in with a peer group that uses bullying. They may learn it from these friends. In some cases, the behavior improves when the child is separated from that peer group, and makes new friends.

Which children are most likely to be the victims of a bully?

• Children who are isolated, physically or socially
• Children who are perceived as different
• Sensitive children
• Children with poor social skills
• Sometimes children who are just in the wrong place at the wrong time

Sometimes parents may not know if their child is being bullied. Some children are intimidated into secrecy. They may also keep quiet because they feel shameful that they have allowed this to happen. They may fear that the parents will either criticize them or that the parents will intervene in a way that will make everything worse.

What are the signs that your child is the victim of a bully?

One may see non-specific signs of school distress. These might include:

• falling grades
• physical complaints on school days
• lack of interest in school work or sports

More specific signs would be:

• unexplained injuries or torn clothes
• missing belongings or money, or repeated requests for more money
• If someone is taking your child's lunch, he or she may come home hungry even though he took an adequate lunch to school.
• bedwetting
• wants to carry a protection item, such as a knife

How can I address bullying with my child?

You need to know how to get your child talking about his concerns. It is best to broach the subject at a calm neutral time.

• Ask general questions about whether something is bothering your child.
• Get as detailed a narrative as possible. Avoid interrupting or judging.
• Try to stay calm and do not make outraged statements while your child is telling his tale.
• Avoid offering premature solutions.
• You may not get the entire story on the first telling. Be patient and bring up the topic again later.

Finally, if you feel that something is going on and suspect that your child is withholding information, call his or her teacher.

You should also reassure your child that he or she isn't to blame. Explain that bullies are often confused or unhappy people who don't feel good about themselves.

Also consider asking your child thoughtful questions, such as:

• What's it like walking to the bus stop or home from school?
• What's it like on the bus ride to and from school?
• What happens on the playground during recess or before or after school?
• What happens in the hallways at school or during lunchtime?
• Have any bullies in the neighborhood or at school threatened anyone you know?
• Do some kids you know get emails, instant messages, or text messages that are upsetting, threatening, or insulting?

This approach might make it easier for your child to talk about bullies because it isn't as personal and emphasizes that other kids experience bullying, too.

How can you help your child deal with the bullying?

First, help teach him to avoid being an easy target. Start with posture, voice and eye contact. These can communicate a lot about whether you are vulnerable. Practice with a mirror or even videotape.

• Tell your child to avoid isolated places where no one can see or hear him.
• He should learn to be vigilant for suspicious individuals or for trouble brewing.
• If bullying starts, he might be able to deflect it with humor or by changing the subject.

He should run over a list of positive attributes in his mind. This reminds him that he is worthy of something better than bullying behavior.

• Teach your child not to obey the commands of the bully. Often it is better to run away than to comply.
• The parent may help the child make more positive friends. If he or she sticks around with a group, he is less likely to be a target.

Finally, if the child sticks up for other children he sees being bullied, people may get the idea that he is not someone who tolerates bullies.

What if my child is physically threatened?

The child must learn to discriminate the difference between social bullying and more dangerous physically threatening situations. If he is in an isolated place and truly feels physically threatened, he should give the bully the item he demands. However, if someone is demanding that he get into the car of a stranger, he should resist with as much force as possible. Once he gets away, he should notify a responsible adult as soon as possible.

Some children benefit from a good martial arts class. It is important to select an instructor who talks about alternatives to physical violence and who teaches children how to get out of dangerous situations with the least amount of physical contact. Children who stick with these lessons rarely use their skills in aggressive ways. The discipline often raises their self-esteem which makes them less likely to become a target.

What if your child is unable or unwilling to take these measures (or if the measures are ineffective?)

The parent should privately contact the teacher or guidance counselor. Describe the problem and your concerns. Follow up regularly to make sure that any plan is followed consistently and to make sure that the system is being followed. Sometimes if the bullying is chronic or severe, the parents and teacher may have to take decisive action. They may ask the bully to apologize, verbally or in writing. They may insist that the bully stay a certain distance from the victim. The teacher may make an effort to seat or group the child with more supportive peers.

These guidelines may need to be modified according to the child's age or the intensity of the bullying. In general, the older the child, the more the parent acts as a coach and the less the parent or teacher intervenes directly. However, when there are physical or sexual actions, direct adult intervention may be justified at any age.

Suggestions for working with victims of bullying:

• Often victims, particularly those who have been victimized many times, are withdrawn and are afraid of social interaction. These children often profit from social interactions with younger children, where they may be less afraid to open up or show some leadership.
• Practice with kids some strategies of ways they can respond when being bullied. Help them identify times when they are likely to be harassed, and see if there are ways to avoid those situations. Determine the exact nature of the bullying behavior, and help them practice some things to say or do. Here are some specific strategies:
  • Laugh or ignore comments or teasing. Bullies delight in you being scared and getting a big reaction. Eventually, they will leave you alone.
  • Tell them to buzz off or shout GO AWAY!! Say it as angrily as you can and walk away immediately. Practice in the mirror.
  • Stay with a crowd. Bullies usually pick on kids who are alone. Suggest that children walk to school or sit on the bus with someone who can protect them.
  • If you are alone with a crowd that picks on you, ask him or her why she is mean to you.
• For both groups, it is helpful to pair them up with children who are neither bullies nor victims, as they can be great teachers of appropriate behavior.

About the author: Dr. Watkins is Board Certified in Child, Adolescent & Adult Psychiatry

There aren't any authoritative news stories or other valid media outlets listing famous people with dependent personality disorder. By no means does this mean no well-known people suffer from the disorder; it simply means the public hasn't seen any famous people exhibiting behaviors that indicate they might have dependent personalities.

While you won't read about celebrities with dependent personality disorder here, the next best thing is to see a celebrity playing a character with the condition. A couple of popular movies feature main characters that display dependent personality disorder traits.

Movies and TV shows with characters that could have dependent personality disorder:

Single White Female – A 1992 hit thriller starring Bridget Fonda (Allison Jones) and Jennifer Jason Leigh (Hedra Carlson). In the movie, Allison takes in Hedra Carlson as a roommate who shows symptoms of several personality disorders, including dependent personality disorder. At first, Hedra seems like the dream roommate, but things begin to sour. You'll think twice before taking on a complete stranger as a roommate after watching this movie.

Arrested Development – This hit TV comedy series ran from 2003 to 2008. Buster Bluth, played by Tony Hale, is the young son of George and Lucille Bluth. His inability to make simple decisions and incessant neediness throughout the series imply that were Bluth a real person, he would have dependent personality disorder.

Hysterical Blindness – This 2003 HBO exclusive movie stars Uma Thurman and Juliette Lewis. Thurman's character, Debby Miller and Lewis' character, Beth Tocyznski, head out to a bar for fun and socializing. Debby meets Rick, a guy with little interest in her. They talk and she buys him a drink. He makes an excuse to leave and she tells him she'll be back the next night.

They meet up again and Debby talks him into taking her to his place. Again, it's obvious to all, but Debby, that he has no interest in her. She is desperate to snag him, so tells him she "gives a good..." (oral sex). Immediately afterward, she thinks they're in love. She even buys bridal magazines within the next two days. She wants him to take care of her. When he doesn't return her calls and ignores her in public, humiliating her, things get a bit more disturbing. Check out the troubling movie trailer:

In real life, whether they're famous or not, dependent personality disorder negatively impacts every facet of the lives of those suffering from it. Movies don't always depict the disorders accurately, but when they do, it may lend insight to viewers about the crushing pain and other intense emotions associated with them.

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Abuse Self-Help Resources

You have many abuse self-help resources available to you in the form of self-help books, ebooks, audio books, and peer-led self-help groups. Here’s a sampling of just a few of the materials and resources that focus on healing from abuse:

Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network. RAINN is the largest anti-sexual violence organization in the US. Worth magazine named RAINN one of “America’s 100 Best Charities”. The organization operates the National Sexual Assault Hotline (800.656.HOPE) and provides self-care guidance for those who have suffered rape, incest, and other types of sexual abuse.

The National Domestic Violence Hotline. The NDVH is a resource for anyone suffering any type of abuse at home. It has a chat feature on the website and a hotline you can call (800-787-3224) at any time of day or night. The volunteers at the hotline can direct you to local services, validate that what you're feeling is real and be of great support no matter what kind of abuse you're experiencing.

Domestic Shelters. Find domestic violence and abuse help, information and stats. You enter your zip code and the site provides domestic violence resources closest to you.

Self-help for low self-esteem can give you the tools you need to overcome your confidence issues. Everyone experiences low self-confidence at some time or another. But for some people, these feelings of inadequacy are persistent and overwhelming. If this describes you, consider taking advantage of the many resources available to help you build confidence so you can achieve your goals.

Self-Help for Low Self-Esteem – 5 Effective Strategies

Self-help for low self-esteem represents an effective way to overcome a negative self-image and the problems that arise from it. Experiences in early childhood play a critical part in shaping our self-esteem. As we grow into adulthood, our perceptions of various experiences and interactions with others tend to reinforce the positive or negative self-esteem formed in childhood.

Strategies for overcoming low self-esteem:

1. Identify your strengths and highlight them. We all have both strengths and weaknesses. Identify things you’re good at. Maybe you have a knack for explaining complex concepts to others. Perhaps you’ve always found organizing second nature or have been told you’re a great cook. You probably have several strengths. Think about the compliments you’ve received in the past. Listen to those you get in the future. These are true testaments to your personal strengths. Make a list of all the things you do well and remind yourself of these daily.
2. Project a positive self-image. Your self-perception may not accurately reflect how others see you. You have the power (and the natural right) to decide how you see yourself. Likewise, you control how much you allow the opinions of others to negatively affect your self-esteem. Carry yourself with confidence (not arrogance) and, eventually, others will begin to treat you accordingly.
3. Take negative feedback at face value. Don’t allow your inner voice to make negative feedback about one thing a general criticism about your abilities and worth in all areas associated with it. People with low self-esteem tend to generalize negative feedback. For example, if Tom fails a college math test, his inner voice may say things like: “I’m a moron. Who am I kidding? I’m so dumb, I don’t even belong in college.” Instead, he should think about it rationally: “I might have failed the test, but I did pretty well on the homework. Apparently, there are a few concepts I don’t understand as well as I thought. At least I know what I have to work on. I know I can do it.”
4. Perfectionism is not your friend. The need for perfectionism can make a low self-esteem sink even lower. Nobody is perfect and everything you do doesn’t have to be flawless. Certainly, it’s ok to want to look your best or do the best you can on that important presentation, but perfection is unattainable. Put your best efforts into whatever it is you’re doing, but put a time limit on it. Once you’ve spent the time allotted, be done with it and move on.
5. Retrain your inner voice. For people with low self-esteem, the inner voice is unfairly harsh, turns everything into a catastrophe, and illogically leaps to negative conclusions. For example, if someone turns you down for a date, don’t allow your inner critic to tell you that no one will ever be interested in you and that you’ll never find a romantic companion. Instead remind yourself that just because she turned you down doesn’t mean everyone will. Tell yourself that you know you’ll find the right person someday – one who is just as interested in you as you are in her.

These five tips provide you with a starting point for trying self-help for low self-esteem. But to really make a change, you’ll need self-help material that covers the many aspects of this complex problem. Look over some self-help books for low self-esteem. When you find one you like, work through the strategies and steps provided. Make healing your self-esteem a priority. It will take time and effort, but you can do it (Get Free Self-Help Books, EBooks and Workbooks).

Self-Help Books for Low Self-Esteem

There are countless books for low self-esteem available. Read through this list of books and workbooks for overcoming low self-esteem:

Overcoming Low Self-Esteem: A Self-Help Guide Using Cognitive Behavioral Techniques by Melanie Fennell
Self Confidence Secrets: How To Overcome Anxiety and Low Self Esteem with NLP by John Robert Daniels
Breaking the Chain of Low Self-Esteem, Second Edition, by Marilyn J. Sorensen
Self-Esteem, Third Edition, by Matthew McKay and Patrick Fanning
Ten Days to Self-Esteem, David D. Burns, M.D.
The Self-Esteem Workbook, by Glenn R. Schiraldi, Patrick Fanning, and Matthew McKay
The Self-Esteem Guided Journal: A 10-Week Program, by Matthew McKay and Catherine Sutker

Download free worksheets and other tools for self-esteem at Psychology Tools – Self-Esteem.

You find more self-help books for low self-esteem in your local library or bookstore or by conducting a Google search of your own. There’s so much help for low self-esteem available, you’re bound to find something you like and that will work for you.

Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder symptoms usually appear by early adulthood. People with OCPD exhibit a long-standing and consistent pattern of preoccupation with perfectionism, inflexibility, mental and interpersonal control, and rigid adherence to rules and procedures. (What is Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder?) They have difficulty expressing affection and usually only do so in a rigid, controlled manner that often seems insincere. When others openly express emotions around them, they feel uncomfortable.

At the core of the disorder lies a deep fear of failure, which gives rise to the primary characteristics of obsessive-compulsive personality disorder:

1. Perfectionism – extreme conscientiousness
2. Work-life imbalance – excessive time at work compared to personal life
3. Intimacy avoidance – avoiding close friends, family, or romantic relationships
4. Inflexibility – unable to agree to changes in procedure, rules, or standards
5. Risk avoidance – inability to take risks that may lead to imperfect results or an uncontrolled circumstance.

Specific Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder Symptoms

Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder symptoms manifest in specific ways and impact every aspect of a person's life.

Signs of obsessive-compulsive personality disorder include:

• Excessive preoccupation with details, lists, orderliness, rules, procedures, or schedules
• Perfectionism so stringent that it interferes with task completion
• Excessive devotion to work so that it interferes with social and personal activities
• Unwillingness to delegate tasks to others for fear others will not perform up to his or her rigid standards
• Extreme frugality or miserliness
• Strict adherence to moral and ethical code, rules and regulations
• Overwhelming need for order and environmental control
• Excessive attention to detail
• Excessive preoccupation with punctuality
• Hoarding useless, worthless items with no sentimental value

To receive a diagnosis of obsessive-compulsive personality disorder, these symptoms must significantly interfere with a person's ability to function in everyday life. Some people with OCPD have successful lives, especially professionally, for several years, but as external pressures and stress build, symptoms worsen and the disorder begins to negatively impact multiple areas of their life. (You can read about famous people with obsessive-compulsive personality disorder.)

Consider this: A person who shows excessive devotion to work is often referred to as a workaholic. The term "workaholic" implies an addiction to work. When you think of addictive behaviors, you probably think of them in a negative context – like alcoholism or drug addiction. But when someone is compulsively devoted to work, it's perceived as a positive trait, especially in males.

Think about it. Often, those people earn coveted promotions and nice bonuses. Right? Not necessarily. That person could have obsessive-compulsive personality disorder. While he may earn recognition and praise for a time due to this seemingly endless devotion, the other OCPD symptoms will begin to interfere with professional success.

Once he begins to experience problems at home because he's missed too many birthdays, sports events, anniversary celebrations, etc., the pressure is on. To escape the negative home environment, he may dive even deeper into work, taking on more responsibility than he's capable of handling. Yet, he will refuse to delegate tasks to others because he thinks they might not "do it right".

Despite creating numerous project-related lists, procedures, and standards, his rigid standards and need for perfectionism will paralyze him, rendering him unable to complete any of the projects on time, or at all.

This scenario illustrates just one example of how symptoms of obsessive-compulsive personality disorder can impact a person's life and the lives of those around him. Most people with this and other personality disorders do not actively want or seek help until the symptoms begin to significantly impair the ability to function in daily life and destroy relationships with others.

Diagnosis of Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder

Only a licensed mental health professional, such as a psychiatrist or psychologist, can give a diagnosis of obsessive-compulsive personality disorder. The practitioner will review medical history and ask a number of specific questions about the client's mental health history and that of his or her family. Next, the client will undergo a comprehensive psychological evaluation.

Once all the information is collected, the doctor will carefully review it and compare symptoms, history, and psychological evaluation results with OCPD diagnostic criteria in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM 5). After a definitive diagnosis of obsessive-compulsive personality disorder is given, the doctor can then begin to develop a treatment plan that fits the client's individual needs.

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Dependent personality disorder treatment can be challenging. In general, people with personality disorders don't feel they have a problem needing treatment; so don't seek help on their own. Likewise, as long as someone meets their needs and takes responsibility for their lives, the dependent personality is not likely to think he or she needs help.

People with dependent personality disorder typically only agree to undergo treatment for DPD when their coping resources are spent and their lives have become utterly unmanageable. This might occur when an individual's primary support and caretaker leaves the relationship and he or she cannot find a replacement. That's when the symptoms of dependent personality disorder may spin out of control.

Dependent Personality Disorder Treatment Approaches

Experts usually recommend psychotherapy as a primary dependent personality disorder treatment. Time-limited therapy, using a combination of psychotherapy and talk therapy, offers the best chance for success. Although likely successful, long-term therapy strategies may lead to a client's intensified dependency on the therapist and anxiety over severing the therapist relationship when the time comes. For this reason, therapists must remain aware of this possibility and take preventive measures against its occurrence.

Common approaches to dependent personality disorder treatment include:

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) – CBT can help individuals with the disorder develop healthier and more accurate thinking patterns. Cognition (thinking) influences self-identity, behavior, and interpersonal functioning. The therapist will use a CBT tool known as cognitive restructuring to change the client's distorted thought patterns and, consequently, emotions and behaviors.

For example, if a patient insists that they don't have the ability to make the right decision when choosing the day's clothing, the therapist will refute this belief by asking her to describe one time when she chose her own attire with no outside input. With additional dialogue, the client will see, in time, that she can choose her own clothing and that if she is happy with her choice, then it's the right one. The actual process is more complex and takes more time than in this example.

Psychodynamic therapy – Psychodynamic therapy usually requires a long-term commitment, but is one of the most effective approaches for treating dependent personalities. With this method, the therapist guides the client in exploring the connection between the psyche, personality, and cognition and how they influence mental, emotional, or behavioral processes in the subconscious mind. The therapist will lead the client to examine the root of his or her dependency issues.

Consider this scenario: Upon examination, the client may begin to see that his dependency issues and intense fear of abandonment stem from growing up with excessively overbearing and controlling parents. Perhaps his parents never allowed him any independence, even well into adolescence. He may have had an inkling that this wasn't normal, but his parents never allowed him to spend a great deal of time observing the home life of his peers. As he grew older and had more sophisticated thoughts, he began to become increasingly fearful of having to cope without the constant input and caretaking he got from his parents.

Once the client sees the path of origin leading to his dependency, he can also see that it's possible to greatly reduce the influence of this experience.

Other possible dependent personality disorder therapy approaches include interpersonal therapy and therapist-led group therapy. The clinician should only introduce the client to these therapeutic settings after seeing improvements resulting from psychotherapy sessions.

There are no FDA-approved dependent personality disorder medications. However, if the patient has diagnosed co-occurring disorders, such as anxiety or depression, the doctor may prescribe medications to reduce symptoms of these conditions.

Dependent personality disorder prognosis is good. When clients commit to long-term therapy, they can see improvements.

If you know anyone who shows behaviors fitting this condition, encourage him or her to seek treatment for dependent personality disorder from an experienced mental health professional.

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Did you know that you can get free self-help books online? Maybe you’ve thought about buying a self-help book, but don’t want to spend the money on something that might not work (What is Self-Help for Mental Health?). That’s not a concern when you can get the books free.

Get Free Self-Help Books

With access to free self-help books, you can see which ones actually help you with your self-improvement and mental health goals. Use this list to explore available free self-help books, ebooks, and even free self-help workbooks:

Online free self-help book collections:

PublicBookshelf. Go to the PublicBookshelf’s self-help section to read free self-help books online. Their wide selection includes books to help you overcome behavior and psychological issues as well as strategies for personal development and emotional health.

FreeBooks. FreeBooks.com has 13 free self-help eBooks for downloading. Find titles on living a healthy lifestyle, eliminating stubborn problems, overcoming relationship issues, and others.

Thanks2net.com. This site offers over 177 free self-help books, ebooks, and audiobooks. The titles are formatted to work on all your electronic devices, including smartphones, iPods, iPads, tablet PC, or desktop computer.

Barnes & Noble. Mega bookseller Barnes & Noble actually has an impressive selection of free self-help books for their Nook ereader devices.

Health, Mind & Body: Self-Help. This site allows free online reading and downloads (PDF) of their free self-help collection. They have books that help with stress management, overcoming perfectionism, mindfulness, living in happiness, confidence, motivation, and more.

Free self-help books and workbooks:

Bipolar Disorder eBook: Introductory Guide to Bipolar Disorder by Natasha Tracy and HealthyPlace
The Mental Cure by Warren Felt Evans
The Power of Thought by Henry Thomas Hamblin
Calm Yourself by George Lincoln Walton, MD
Psychological Self-Help by Dr. Clayton E. Tucker-Ladd
The Antidepressant Skills Workbook by Dr. Dan Blisker, R. Psych. and Dr. Randy Paterson, R. Psych.
Living CBT Panic and Anxiety Workbook Forms by Living CBT Centre in UK
Self Harm Help: Hurt Yourself Less Workbook by Kristen Bellows

This list represents only a tiny fraction of the free self-help books and other materials available online. Certainly, some are better than others, but the best thing about it is - they’re free. If you come across free self-help material that you don’t like or isn’t right for you, just delete it and look for another one.