For generations, the brain has been the most misunderstood organ in the human body. How many times have you heard the old fib “we only use 10% of our brains” passed off as truth? In the time of ancient Egypt, the priests believed we thought with our hearts. Why? Because when we were angry, or in love, or scared we would feel our heart beat faster and see blood rush to our cheeks.
Today, we have a better understanding of the brain, rightly considering it the most complex biological structure in the body — the nucleus of all our thoughts, actions, and emotions. As such, it is the first place we look towards when someone is suffering from any type of personality disorder.
A Common Trial
It’s true that seeking counseling in Utah has long been a sort of taboo among neighbors and even family. While outdated post-war views regarding therapy still exist as a sort of generational blight in some circles, we’ve seen a general opening up towards the idea of attending counseling services lately.
True, trial years like 2020 play a role in that, but one could argue social media has led to more people getting therapy than ever before. Reasons for this are two-fold:
- Social media has been proven to develop or exacerbate problems in its users, such as histrionic, borderline, and narcissistic personality disorders.
- Social media broadcasts the experiences one has in dealing with emotional trials and seeking something like relationship counseling or individual therapy, thus normalizing it.
The truth of the matter is that each one of us knows someone who struggles with disorders originating in the brain, whether it be a family member, a friend, a colleague, or us, ourselves. Some social scientists estimate that anywhere from 10-15% of the entire human race has a personality disorder of some kind or another. They can often accompany other mental maladies relating to substance abuse, mood, and/or anxiety disorders.
Defining Personality Disorders
Counseling services like Corner Canyon Counseling have long treated individuals with personality disorders. Understanding what they are is critical for both the therapist and the patient if improvements are to be made to their quality of life.
Personality disorders are broadly defined as long-term patterns of behavior and inner experiences that significantly affect at least two of these categories:
- Way of thinking about oneself and others
- Way of responding emotionally
- Way of relating to other people
- Way of controlling one’s behavior
When more than one of these paradigms is affected by one’s inner (mental) experience, it becomes clear how something like relationship counseling could become essential to helping some individuals and families to function.
Types of Personality Disorder
Recent studies have determined that Utah has some of the highest rates of mental illness in the United States, which makes having access to counseling in Utah even more vital than was originally believed.
Clinically speaking, there are nearly a dozen different types of personality disorders that affect Utahns today. The most common of these include:
Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)
A behavioral illness defined by the pattern of creating volatile relationships with others, maintaining a poor self-image, and reacting strongly — sometimes explosively — to outside stimuli. People with BPD often have an intense abandonment complex and severe suicidal ideation.
Dependent Personality Disorder (DPD)
DPD is characterized by the patient’s inability to act independently, without assurances or permission from someone else. They can’t function by themselves and often appear clingy or needy. They prefer to be taken care of and make excuses to not be left alone.
Obsessive-compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD)
Different from the more familiar obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), the personality disorder we’re discussing shows a pattern of control and power in the patient’s behavior. They may be completely driven by work or a calendar and will ignore anything spontaneous or organic that isn’t planned out. They are inflexible in their judgments of other people and often don’t make time to be with others.
If you suspect that you or someone you’re close to suffers from some form of personality disorder, getting in touch with Corner Canyon Counseling could be the difference-maker in getting the help that is needed.