Helping Those With A Personality Disorder

Personality Disorders
A personality can have a different meaning to everyone, though to most it is what makes a person distinct from everyone else. It makes you who you are, so what occurs when an individual’s personality does not reach the set bar of normalcy? This makes a person abnormal or strange to everyone else leaving that person under that category of “not normal.” Most would say that a personality disorder would make an individual just that. Some are frightened by the words “personality disorder” and for good reason, for people who have these disorders are considered strange and are not usually accepted into society. They are usually set off as outcasts because the scariest feeling is something you can’t explain. I feel as though we should not consider them this way, as for most of it is not their fault and neither should we punish them because they go through a constant struggle both trying to cope with their disorder and dealing with many stressors that we may not know about. Though in my opinion, helping people with personality disorders would benefit them greatly in many ways, even one friendship, just one person trying to help can make a great impact on one’s life. We must first know what the patient is dealing with and then find ways that we can make their lives happier and healthier.
How can we help? This question becomes very important especially when personality disorders have no known cure. The answer would begin with the correct diagnosis, an accurate diagnosis can make an enormous difference. “The challenge of accurate diagnosis remains at the heart of good psychiatric treatment...[,but] a confluence of forces has increased this challenge for the clinician...” (Otto). A variety of challenges such as, a lack o...

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