histrionic personality disorder

same core beliefs as but has different _

Same core beliefs as dependent that the world is dangerous but has a different coping strategy

characteristics

Center of attention, life of the party, easily influenced

diagnostic criteria

• A pervasive pattern of excessive emotionality and attention seeking, beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by five (or more) of the following…

  • 1) is uncomfortable in situations in which he or she is not the center of attention

    • Over time, they often become very adept at eliciting attention by exhibiting interesting and attractive behaviors

  • 2) interaction with others is often characterized by inappropriate sexually seductive or provocative behavior

  • 3) displays rapidly shifting and shallow expression of emotions

    • Tendency to hyper-emotionalize

  •  4) consistently uses physical appearance to draw attention to self

  • 5) has a style of speech that is excessively impressionistic and lacking in detail

    • saying a lot and nothing at the same time

  • 6) shows self-dramatization, theatricality, and exaggerated expression of emotion

  • 7) is suggestible, i.e., easily influenced by others or circumstances

  • 8) considers relationships to be more intimate than they actually are

more frequently diagnosed in…

women

• When diagnosed in men, often associated with homosexuality

• Could be a product of societal expectations rather than true differences

Extreme of either…

gender role

• Extreme feminity

• Overly macho man who is dramatic, sensation seeking, shallow, vain, and egocentric (austin powers)

Two styles:

The dramatic style

• Emphasis on feeling, color, and attention

• Individuals process their world effectively, value the impact of emotion, display their emotions easily and openly

• Experience life through sensation and romance

  • Deliberately make themselves physically attractive

  • Consciously dress with the opposite sex in mind

  • Become engaging, charming, or even seductive when “on stage”

• Many are highly intuitive

  • Quickly sense what to talk about and how others wish to be regarded

• Many trust others easily and readily involve themselves in relationships

The outgoing style

• Focus is more on sociability than on theatrics

• Individuals possess great confidence in their influence and charm

  • Often go out of their way to be popular

  • Naturally know how to make others like them

• Often described as warm, lively, dramatic, energizing, provocative

• Joy in life is infectious

• Often open to new possibilities and find tremendous joy in new experiences

Underlying assumption

• “I am inadequate and unable to handle life on my own”

• This underlying assumption is common. The coping method is what distinguishes disorders

  • Depressives - Dwell on the negative aspects of themselves, feel hopeless

  • Dependents - Emphasize helplessness and (more) passively hope someone will care for them

  • Histrionic - “Because I am incapable of caring for myself, I will need to find a way to get others to take care of me”

    • Behavior of the Histrionic: to actively set about seeking attention and approval

    • Ensures that their needs are sufficiently met by others

Basic beliefs of histrionic

Other people hold the key to survival in the world

It is necessary to be loved by everyone for everything one does

• These beliefs lead to a very strong fear of rejection

  • Any indication of rejection is devastating, even if the rejecting person isn’t important to the patient*

feelings of histrionic

Inadequacy

Desperation for approval as their only salvation

Leaves the Histrionic unable to relax

• Can’t tolerate leaving the acquisition of approval to chance

Feel constant pressure to seek attention

• Often by fulfilling the extreme of their sex-role stereotype

• Females often have been rewarded at an early age for cuteness, physical attractiveness, and charm

• “Macho” male histrionics have learned to play an extreme masculine role, rewarded for virility, toughness, and power

Great concern with eliciting external approval

• Often external events are valued over their own internal experience

Results

• Leaves the patient without a clear sense of identity apart from other people

• Because they have paid little attention to their own internal resources, they have no idea how to respond with depth

  • Often aren’t in touch with their own depth

  • Relationships are very shallow, superficial, and based on role playing

erroneous beleif

• “I am basically unattractive”

• “I need other people to admire me in order to be happy”

strategy

• To use dramatics and demonstrativeness to bind people to them

• When they do not succeed, they believe they are being treated unfairly

• Coerce compliance through expressions of pain and anger