Passive-aggressive Personality Disorder: Characteristics And Treatment

There are a series of characteristics that identify passive-aggressive people. Among the most common characteristics are the following:

• Defiant behavior towards others. They are people who intentionally fail to meet the expectations that others have about them. They tend to adopt attitudes of irresponsibility and even passive aggression towards others in any area of ​​their life. For example, in the workplace they often deliver their work late, they do not take responsibility for the mistakes they make and may even unfairly blame others for them, among other things that demonstrate their lack of commitment and, in this way, their aggression towards them. others.
• Dependence on others. They have a strong dependence on other people although they try by all means to hide it. In extreme situations, their dependence comes to light, becoming quite noticeable. They really want to feel independent from others and that is why it is difficult for them to follow orders and give in to others, however, they need everyone to do favors all the time.
• Negativity. These people are also characterized by their great pessimism and negativity. They spend all their time complaining that things are going badly for them in life, about the bad luck they have had, they predict that what they are going to do will go badly, among other things.
• Lying to others. One of the attitudes that people with this type of condition adopt is to lie to others, since they do not know how to act assertively and when something does not seem right to them, they do not talk about it directly with the other, they simply decide to do everything the opposite of what was agreed and they lie about the situation. For example, if you agreed with your partner to buy a television in a certain way and in reality you don’t like that model, you will go and buy the one that he (she) likes and tell your partner that you couldn’t find the other one. in any store.
• They hold grudges easily. They tend to hold resentment towards others because they are almost always left with the desire to express to others what they feel.
• False repentance. If they come to recognize that they have had bad behavior with another person, which is quite difficult for them, even though they apologize, they continue over and over repeating the same action that made the other person angry.
• They throw hints at others. Because they do not know how to act assertively and express their disagreement to others in the most appropriate way, they do so through hints that are even more aggressive than if they did it directly. When other people ask them for an explanation about the hints they have given, they usually deny that they were giving them hints and that they are wrong if they felt that way.
• Inefficiency and lack of responsibility. Since they do not know how to openly express their disagreement with others, they adopt irresponsible and ineffective behavior in what they do. For example, if at work the boss gives them a task that he must perform, he is willing to do it, however, in the end he ends up doing it poorly, at the wrong time, and even chooses not to do it.
• Resentment and envy. They tend to resent and envy people who apparently do better than them. They make negative comments about these people, criticizing them excessively due to the envy that they feel when they are as he/she would like.

Passive-aggressive personality disorder is usually evident in early adulthood, the exact cause of this disorder it is unknownHowever, as in almost all personality disorders, it has an environmental and genetic origin. Some of the most common causes that have been found in this type of disorder are the following:

• Having been mistreated in childhood by parents or guardians.
• People with very low self-esteem.
• Having had a negative family dynamic in childhood and adolescence.
• Abuse of harmful substances during adolescence.
• Having had parents who have suffered from the same disorder.
• Having learned this type of passive-aggressive behavior since childhood.

It is necessary to keep in mind that other mental health conditions can lead to this type of passive-aggressive behavior, such as:

• Bipolar disorder.
• Stress and anxiety.
• Attention deficit disorder and hyperactivity.
• Depression.
• Other personality disorders.

When a person with passive-aggressive personality disorder seeks help to solve their problem, it is generally because their conflicts with other people have increased considerably and they cannot understand what is really happening or they have the feeling of not being able to. Avoid acting the way they do. It is necessary that people with this type of condition receive specialized help such as psychological help to first identify this problem and, once identified, be able to carry out actions to eliminate it.

The main objective of the sessions is for the person to achieve Identify passive-aggressive behaviors specific ones that generate more problems in their relationships with others, then they are taught to modify them by others more positive and adaptive.

The person is also taught strategies to manage your emotions that generate more suffering such as anger and resentment, while working to improve the low self-esteem problem that you are suffering from.

Another important aspect that is worked on in the sessions is the assertiveness, Therefore, the person is taught assertive behaviors so that they can express their opinions and desires in the way they want without having to hide them or express them in an aggressive and disrespectful manner.

This article is merely informative, at PsychologyFor we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

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