Mental Health Site
	Erin Kelley-Soderholm, M.Ed. BellaOnline's Mental Health Editor

A Study of the Dependent Personality Disorder
This article is a continuation on the discussion of differences between the dependent personality disorder and codependency.

About Avoidant Personality Disorder
Avoidant personality disorder is a psychiatric condition characterized by a lifelong pattern of extreme shyness, feelings of inadequacy, and sensitivity to rejection. Personality disorders are long-lived patterns of behavior that cause problems with work and relationships.

Bipolar Disorder : An Illness of Excess
Bipolar disorder is a condition that is relatively unfamiliar, but surprisingly common. The conception of bipolar disorder as an illness of excess suggests that it may arise from some kind of excessive activity in the brain. Read more inside about symptoms and goals of treatment for this illness.

Body Language and Personality Disorders
Persons with personality disorders have a body language specific to their disorder. The patient´s body language usually reflects the underlying mental health problem. Read inside for more information about possible stances stemming from different personality disorders.

Brain Injury and Personality Disorders
Traumas (such as brain injuries) have been known to induce states of mind akin to full-blown personality disorders. Read more about personality characteristics, traits of this specific kind of disorder and treatments that may be relevant.

Caring for Alzheimers
Alzheimers is scary. What is it? What do you do about it? Get yourself informed - whether for you or for them.

Cluster B Personality Disorders
Cluster B disorders, (the Dramatic, Emotional, or Erratic Cluster)are comprised of the Antisocial, Borderline, Histrionic, and Narcissistic Personality Disorders. We start with Cluster B because the personality disorders it includes are more pervasive in our society.

Common Features of Personality Disorders
Psychology is more an art form than a science. There is no "Theory of Everything" from which one can derive all mental health phenomena and make falsifiable predictions. Still, as far as personality disorders are concerned, it is easy to discern common features.

Diagnosing Personality Disorders
Personality traits are enduring, usually rigid patterns of behavior, thinking(cognition), and emoting expressed in a variety of circumstances and situations and throughout one's life (typically from early adolescence onward). Some personality traits are harmful to both oneself and to others.

Genetics and Personality Disorders
Are personality disorders the outcomes of inherited traits? Are they brought on by abusive and traumatizing upbringing? Or, maybe they are the sad results of the confluence of both?

Histrionic Personality Disorder
Sam Vaknin discusses Histrionic Personality disorder, which is a less well known personality disorder than some. Like the somatic narcissist, the histrionic is preoccupied with physical appearance, sexual conquests, her health, and her body.

Misdiagnosing Narcissism - Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
By Sam Vaknin Author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited"

Misdiagnosing Personality Disorders as Asperger's Disorder
Learn how Asperger´s Disorder is often misdiagosed as Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD).

Misdiagnosing Personality Disorders as Bipolar I Disorder
The manic phase of the Bipolar I Disorder is often misdiagnosed as a Personality Disorder. In the manic phase of Bipolar Disorder, patients exhibit many of the signs and symptoms of certain personality disorders which will be described further in this article by Sam Vaknin.

Misdiagnosing Personality Disorders as Eating Disorders
Eating disorders - notably Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa - are complex phenomena. The patient with eating disorder maintains a distorted view of her body as too fat or as somehow defective.

National Association of Anorexia Nervosa & Associated Disorders [offsite link]
Get information and support about Anorexia Nervosa.

Passive-Aggressive Personality Disorder
Wikipedia: "Merely being passive-aggressive isn't a disorder but a behavior - sometimes a perfectly rational behavior, which lets you dodge unpleasant chores while avoiding confrontation. It's only pathological if it's a habitual, crippling response reflecting a pervasively pessimistic attitude."

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
About one third of people who experience a traumatic event develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a chronic condition that interferes with their ability to function. This article outlines PTSD symptoms and encourages people with PTSD to seek healing through education and support.

Psychosis and Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a disorder that is often times misunderstood and feared by those outside of the disorder. Read more about what this mental illness can entail, including possible symptoms and medications that are used to treat the disorder.

Psychosis, Delusions, and Personality Disorders
What is psychosis? How does this connect to a personality disorder? What does this person experience? Sam Vaknin takes a closer look at severe impairment with a mental health disorder and the experiences and rationalizations that go along with it.

PTSD from a Patient’s View
An inside look at what PTSD feels like from a patient’s point of view.

Social Anxiety Disorder - SAD
"I hope he doesn´t talk to me..." "Why are they looking at me that way?" "I wish I could just go home so I don´t have to deal with this." Sound like you? Someone you know? Could be Social Anxiety! Read more inside to figure out why.

Stigma and Mental Illness
Fear of stigma (negative stereotypes, labeling, and rejection) causes the majority of people with mental disorders to suffer in silence. By educating ourselves and others, we can fight this stigma and restore hope and dignity to people suffering from mental illness.

What is Bulimia? [offsite link]
A great content rich site about bulimia and other eating disorders.

What is Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)?
Learn the basics about this quite common illness - Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

What is Schizophrenia?
Schizophrenia is a chronic, severe, and disabling brain disorder that affects about 1.1 percent of the U.S. population age 18 and older. People with schizophrenia experience a range of symptoms that can be disconcerting and scary to those without understanding of the disorder. Read more inside.

When others don´t believe in mental illness
Why are some people dismayed to learn that a friend takes medication for a mental illness, saying, "It´s all in your head?" The expression is disdainful, because it implies a lack of willpower or toughness.

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