Mixed Personality Disorder: What It Is, Symptoms, Causes And Treatment

Mixed personality disorder is a psychiatric pathology characterized by presence of moments of anxiety and depression simultaneously that give rise to a combination of feelings, thoughts and behaviors. From a descriptive point of view, the DSM-V⁽¹⁾delimits this clinical picture within personality disorders based on a series of criteria that must be met to obtain an adequate diagnosis.

Next, we show you the main diagnostic criteria of mixed personality disorder:

• Distorted perception of reality.
• Deterioration of social, work and family relationships.
• The onset of symptoms can be in the period of adolescence or early adulthood.
• The alterations cannot be explained by the incidence of another mental disorder or by the ingestion of toxic substances or medications.
• Long-lasting and continuous pattern of behavior.
• Alteration of mood.

What are the symptoms of personality disorder? In order to understand mixed personality disorder more closely, it will be necessary to pay attention to the manifestations that appear both in the emotions and in the behaviors and thoughts of people who suffer from it.

Next, we will describe the main symptoms of this disorder:

• Continuous alternation of moments of anxiety and depression.
• Low self-esteem.
• Distress.
• Acceleration of respiratory rate.
• Incrise of cardiac frecuency.
• Excessive sweating.
• Mood variations.
• Lack of interest in activities.
• Social isolation.
• Difficulty establishing lasting emotional relationships.
• Catastrophic thoughts about the world.

However, it should be noted that the isolated presence of any of these symptoms does not necessarily represent a clinical picture corresponding to mixed personality disorder. For this reason, it is essential that the diagnosis be carried out by a mental health professional who evaluates the clinical conditions of each patient in particular.

What causes personality disorder? Finding out the origin of mixed personality disorder is crucial to establishing strategies that improve the patient’s quality of life. Therefore, in this section we will explain the main causes:

Environmental factors

A person’s life experiences shape personality during the early years of upbringing. Among the environmental factors, they can include traumatic moments that the person has lived at the family level, as well as having suffered periods of illness.

On the other hand, the family models They may also play a fundamental role in the acquisition of symptoms of a clinical disorder. In other words, if someone in the family has been diagnosed with this disorder, it is possible that their descendants will adopt the same behavioral patterns.

Genetic factors

The gene transmission It is essential when evaluating the consequences of this pathology, since there are various neural circuits linked to the processing of emotions in a person. Likewise, it has been proven that, in general, people with a mixed personality disorder have developed greater neuronal activity that has triggered responses linked to symptoms of anxiety and depression.

How is the treatment of people who have a personality disorder? Fortunately, there are currently various treatments to address mixed personality disorder. Below we explain the main treatments for this clinical condition:

Psychological therapy

In general terms, psychotherapy helps resolve problematic situations that arise in everyday life. In patients diagnosed with this disorder, psychological therapy helps Identify situations that cause anxiety and depression. In this way, strategies can be built to better face these moments.

Both short-term and long-term therapies usually resolve the symptoms after a few sessions, depending on the degree of severity of each person.

Psychiatric medication

Due to the difficulties that this clinical condition can cause for the correct development of daily life, it will sometimes be necessary to resort to the supply of psychotropic drugs that reduce the intensity of the symptoms.

However, it is important to keep in mind that the use of psychiatric medication should always be supervised by a mental health professional.

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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