What is Dependent Personality Disorder (DPD)
Dependent Personality Disorder (DPD) is part of a category of disorders called Anxious Personality Disorder which is characterized by impotence, submissiveness, desire to be taken care of and continual reassurance, and failure to make choices. In this article, we will talk about DPD, DPD symptoms, and treatment methods.
What are the main symptoms of Dependent Personality Disorder (DPD)?
Individuals with dependent personality disorder (DPD) are dependent on the care of other people, are dependent on other people and have no self-esteem, and cannot make the most trivial decisions without the help of others.
Individuals with dependent personality disorder are more compatible with the treatment than others, are willing to please the treatment team, but may have difficulty completing the treatment process.
The most common personality disorder seen in mental health clinics is Dependent Personality Disorder. However, patients get diagnosed for other reasons.
Some Important Points About Dependent Personality Disorder (DPD)
Basic Conflicts of Dependent Personality Disorder (DPD): Persons with addictive personality disorder are so inadequate to plan and start any project that they give up their freedom and entrepreneurship completely.
Perceptions of Dependent Personality Disorder to Others: They see others as giving, supporting, and sufficient. Dependent personalities maintain their daily functioning as long as there is a strong person within reach.
Basic Schemes of Dependent Personality Disorder: Being completely desperate. ’
Non-functional Beliefs of Dependent Personality Disorder: “I can live my life if I have enough people with me. If I leave them, I’ll die. I need other people, especially strong people, to exist. My happiness depends on reaching such a person.”
Strategies of Dependent Personality Disorder: Don’t upset the person who protects you and helps you. Be near them. Build a relationship as close as possible.
Basic Fears of Dependent Personality Disorder: Related to rejection or abandonment.
Typical Behaviors of Dependent Personality Disorder: Maintaining close relationships by making the other person happy.
Feelings of Dependent Personality Disorder: Anxiety and depression. Feeling depressed when the people they depend on are not around, euphoria when dependency needs are met.
Symptoms of DPD
1) Difficulty in making everyday decisions unless receiving plenty of advice and support from others.
2) Needing others to take responsibility for most of his/her life.
3) Difficulty in sharing their different opinions with others for fear that they will lose support or will not be accepted.
4) Difficulty in doing jobs, studying, etc.
5) Doing unpleasant things to provide care for others.
6) Feeling uncomfortable for fear of being alone and not being able to take care of oneself.
7) Immediately looking for another relationship as a source of care and support when a close relationship ends.
Causes of Dependent Personality Disorder (DPD)
It has been suggested that overprotective, perfectionist and oppressive parents prevent the child from becoming self-confident and initiative-minded.
It is possible that the traditional social role attributed to women in Middle Eastern culture makes women more dependent on people. This may explain the higher prevalence of dependent personality disorder in women.
Childhood chronic physical illness or separation anxiety disorder may also lead to dependent personality disorder.
Psychodynamic Perspective: This view conceptualizes diseased addiction in terms of addiction, such as the contradiction between desire and rule for care to deny and reflect on ego defenses used to deal with these contradictions.
Cognitive Perspective: These viewers consider that problematic addiction consists of self-defeat thinking patterns. These thought patterns:
Desperation: Thoughts reflecting the lack of self-confidence
Negative rhetoric: Humiliating internal rhetoric confirming the lack of skills and skills of addicts
Behavioral Perspective: Behavioral view on addictive personality disorder is; people exhibit dependent behaviors even if they are self-defeated because they are rewarded. Intermittent reinforcement helps to spread dependent behavior in social settings.
Dependent Personality Disorder and Self Destructive Behavior
Since some studies show that the risk of self-destructive attempts by dependent clients is high, individuals with dependent personality disorder are continuously monitored for negative signs.
The 5 hazard signs indicate a high likelihood of self-injurious behavior independent clients.
5 stimulating signs of self-destructive behavior in dependent clients:
- Last relationship contradiction and internal loss
- Extreme or unreal jealousy
- Poor impulse control
- Difficulty adjusting negative emotions
- Previous attempts
Dependent Personality Disorder (DPD) Treatment
- The individual with an addictive personality disorder wants treatment because he does not like his / her personality traits.
- The treatment of dependent personality disorder is shorter and more problem-free than other personality disorders.
- Psychodynamically oriented individual or group psychotherapy is also useful.
- In psychotherapy, they may be less dependent and active with the support of the therapist.
Schema Therapy for Dependent Personality Disorder (DPD)
The cognitive-behavioral treatment approach, which is a practical and effective method in the treatment of personality disorders, makes reasonable progress in the treatment of dependent personality traits and as well as offering integrated treatment packages for different symptom groups. Among them, schema therapy offers an alternative to the treatment of long-term problems caused by the rigid characteristics of personality disorders and suggests working with early negative schemes to develop a more comprehensive conceptualization and treatment plan for long-term problems.
Recently, therapists who work with personality problems have stated that working with schema modes is more effective than schemas.
Unlike schemas that are relatively more stable throughout one’s life, modes express the overall emotional state, scheme, and coping responses that overwhelm over a period of time. On the axis of the dependent personality, the schema therapy process mostly focuses on the delivering mode. This mode includes one’s obedient behaviors towards individuals whom he/she perceives as stronger than himself due to feelings of helplessness. In this mode, in order to preserve the existing relationship, the individual adapts to everything the authority figures demand and exhibits a complete surrender. Of the child modes, when the dependent child mode is active, one panics in the absence of a powerful assistant who will provide practical solutions to the questions posed by life.
Last Updated on December 11, 2022 by Lucas Berg
