Histrionic personality: those who always seek attention have it
Those suffering from histrionic personality disorder seek the attention of others obsessively, adopting seductive behaviors to attract their approval. Between 2 and 3% of the population suffers from it and is diagnosed on the basis of precise symptoms. It can be cured through psychotherapy, as well as narcissism and other personality disorders. By the way, can you recognize a narcissist when you see him? It is explained in the video below.
What does it mean to have a histrionic personality and why does it fall within personality disorders
Patients with this problem have an excessively emotional attitude that leads them to dramatize their feelings and to adopt a seductive and manipulative behavior to attract the attention of other people. Individuals with histrionic personalities are theatrical, fascinating and eccentric, always looking for confirmations with the aim of establishing superficial relationships from which to be protected. The word that characterizes these people is "expressiveness" because they tend to dramatize situations and then bind those around them to themselves.
Women suffer the most, especially in adulthood, when the disorder occurs for the first time. It is considered in the same way as the borderline personality, with which it shares some characteristics: both disorders, in fact, have at the base a fragile personality, intensely emotional, humoral and obsessed with the idea of being abandoned. These people live with a sort of theatrical mask always on because they do not know who they are and adapt from time to time to the personality of those in front of them.
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Histrionic personalities suffer a great deal of discomfort when they are not the center of attention or when they do not feel appreciated by others. This is why they continually seek the approval of the group by adopting theatrical, exhibitionist, provocative or even flattering behaviors; at the beginning of a relationship they tend to exert a strong fascination because they are enthusiastic and sociable, they want to involve and seduce, however, with the passage of time their fragility, similar to that of borderline people, emerges strongly.
The emotional manifestations are theatrical, dramatic, intense, but also superficial. Feelings are not experienced authentically, and often these individuals tend to view relationships they experience more intimately than they really are. With those who have a real relationship, they often play a part and practice manipulative and seductive techniques; they can even make extreme gestures (suicide, self-harming gestures, ..) if they feel rejected.
Symptoms of histrionic personality disorder
Patients with histrionic disorder typically experience these symptoms:
- When they are not in the center of attention or do not feel loved they manifest a strong discomfort. To obtain appreciation they adopt an excessively bright, theatrical and eccentric behavior.
- They are obsessed with their physical appearance.
- Often their emotions are not authentic but only showy, superficial and false.
- They are easily influenced and suggestible, they avoid boredom and are always looking for new situations and new people to attract close to them.
- They have a strong emotional dependence and live in fear of being abandoned.
- The emotions they feel are changeable, superficial and inappropriate.
- They have an exhibitionist behavior and seek reassurance from others.
- The relationships they have are superficial because they fail to create true intimacy.
The patient is characterized by experiencing rapidly changing emotions, such as someone with borderline disorder or a hysterical personality. Similarly to subjects suffering from narcissistic disorder, histrionics also live to attract the attention of others but, unlike the former, they do not always feel superior, on the contrary: the search for nurturing and care is their characteristic trait.
Causes and consequences of the histrionic personality
People suffering from histrionic personality disorder may have a temperament that is biologically characterized by a high degree of frustration intolerance, extreme sensitivity and a need for attention; an "other cause, however, can be traced in the experiences had during the infancy. If when "they were children they were not loved enough or received enough care," there is a "high probability that they could develop psychological problems."
A child appreciated by parents only on the occasion of his performances and his merits could become a histrionic because in early adulthood, the period in which the manifestations of this disease begin, his behaviors could return to require the same attention in the same way experienced. during childhood.
The main consequences of this deviance (as well as the narcissistic, borderline, hysterical and obsessive compulsive one) are the inability to establish an authentic relationship with other people. These will always be seen as functional to the expectations of care sought and, without psychotherapy adequate, it will be very difficult to build true and intimate relationships. In the most serious cases those suffering from this problem can develop emotional dependence, anxiety states, depression and mood alterations.
The diagnosis of histrionic personality disorder
In patients with personality disorders it is very common to suffer from two or more problems, including antisocial, borderline, narcissism and hysterical personality. The American Psychiatric Association has collected in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) the most common mental disorders with their symptoms; according to the DSM, therefore, a person to be defined as suffering from histrionics must have at least five of these characteristics:
- Using the physical appearance as a method to attract the attention of others
- Extreme discomfort when you are not the center of attention
- Emotions that change rapidly, superficial and inauthentic
- Use of vague and impressionistic language
- Spectacularization of feelings, theatrical, dramatic and impulsive behavior
- Extreme suggestibility and influence
- Onset of symptoms in early adulthood
Psychotherapy considers histrionic disorder to be very similar to hysteria because, as in this disease, there is a fundamental disinterest in the sexual relationship. Even if the histrionic initially shows interest in love affairs and can easily adopt promiscuous sexual behavior (Don Giovanni is a typical case), there remains an underlying "inability to live these relationships in an authentic way.
Therapy to cure histrionic personality disorder
As well as the other personality disorders collected by psychiatrists in the so-called cluster B (antisocial personality, borderline personality and narcissistic personality are part of it), the most suitable solution to follow is psychotherapy. Among the various addresses, good results have been given to cognitive behavioral therapy, behavioral dialectics and the focus therapy scheme.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy:
Developed on the basis of the considerations made for borderline disorder, the cognitive behavioral methodology aims to modify the patient's deviant behaviors through a change in the way of thinking; the person is taught to use emotions more appropriately, to accept rejections and to minimize theatrical and dramatic behavior.
Focus therapy scheme:
It is a way of working that integrates cognitive behavioral treatment with elements of Gestalt. He believes that the histrionic personality has dysfunctional patterns to his credit that must be modified through a gradual self-acceptance.
