Dependency Personality Disorder: What is it?

This mental disorder affects people who need constant protection and guidance from another.

Many times, mental disorders do not have to do with hallucinations or the inability to perceive certain things or to do certain actions, but are expressed through our social relationships and the way we live them.

This is the case of the Personality Disorder by Dependence, also known as Dependence Disorderalso known as Dependent Personality Disorder. If we had to explain in a single sentence what it consists of, the explanation would be the following: the habit of transforming our social relationships into leashes that tie us down and totally limit our freedom. It is based on the fear of being abandoned by others.

Next we will see what are the characteristics, symptoms, causes and treatments associated with this disorder.

What is Dependent Personality Disorder?

This is a mental disorder characterized by the pathological need to maintain close personal relationships that offer protection and care to the one who suffers it. In practice, this translates into adopting habits and attitudes related to submission and extreme dependence.

It is a personality disorder that, according to the diagnostic criteria of the DSM IV manual, belongs to cluster C, anxious or fearful disorders. This is a category it shares with Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder and Avoidant Personality Disorder.

As for its epidemiology, this disorder is believed to affect approximately 0.5% of the population. affects approximately 0.5% of the population and that it is more frequent in women than in men.

Its symptoms

The main symptoms of Dependency Personality Disorder are the following.

Fear of loneliness

People with this disorder fear being helpless and in a situation of vulnerability in which they need help and cannot get it. This causes them to undertake desperate initiatives in order to anticipate isolation, even if this makes them run the risk of breaking with certain social conventions (which would take them further away from their goal).

Low self-esteem

Constant dependence on others their self-esteem is very much damaged.. This makes them look for "completion" thanks to the presence of other people, since they feel that alone they cannot face life.

Extreme Indecisiveness

The people with Personality Disorder by Dependency adopt an extremely passive attitude and avoid having to make decisions, even if they are trivial and unimportant. They always try to let others decide.

Pessimism about their own abilities

These individuals tend to believe that they are incapable of performing the most basic actions and that they will fail in any and that they will fail in any project they set out to do; that is why they need to be in contact with someone with whom it is possible to survive.

Constant search for relationships

As they need uninterrupted protection is needed uninterruptedly, these people are always looking for new relationships.These people are always looking for new relationships when the previous ones break up. The time spent without the protection of someone is seen as a danger, something that can lead to harm or to situations in which one's own integrity is compromised.

Very low assertiveness

People with this personality disorder find it very difficult to show disagreement with certain ideas, norms or opinions.

Constant need for the protection of others

The presence of someone the presence of someone who can be counted on as a protective agent.

Causes

It is estimated that it is a disorder with high heritability (about 80% of the variance). However, it is not well known which part of this heritability is due to genetics and which has to do with the environments shared with fathers and mothers.

In any case, the person who detects cases of Dependency Personality Disorder should be a mental health professional, and the diagnosis should be made entirely by him/her.

Subtypes of Dependent Personality Disorder

A classification with different subtypes of Dependent Personality Disorder has been proposed, in order to take into account the symptoms in a more detailed way.. They are as follows.

Selfless

People who "abandon" themselves entirely to the other person and forget their interests beyond the need for protection and guidance. Has masochistic traits.

Ineffective

Characterized by a fear of facing any kind of problem and extreme passivity.

Complacent

A profile that is clearly anxious and that structures his life around submission to another person. They are docile, complacent and dedicated.

Immature

With characteristics linked to innocence and childishness, fundamentally noted for gullibility and incompetence in performing simple tasks by adult standards.

Restless

A profile that expresses constant distrust and fear, avoids any type of problem and avoids relationships with people who are not "the protective figure".

Treatments

Dependency Personality Disorder is based on very persistent mental and behavioral habits that remain present over time, and it is very difficult to make its symptoms go away.

In this sense, cognitive-behavioral therapy can be effective to improve self-esteem and to combat the symptoms of depression, a disorder that is frequentlya disorder that is frequently associated with depression. In addition, this form of psychotherapy provides training in social skills and routines to combat anxiety and fear.

On the other hand, the use of psychotropic drugs is usually oriented to intervene on the symptoms derived from anxiety and depression, although always with medical prescription and with an exhaustive monitoring.