Mental Health Week in Review: September 30-October 7

by Beth McHugh | More from this Blogger

09 Oct 2008 12:02 AM

Recently we have been talking about death and how to cope with both the overwhelming feelings of despair that accompany the end of a life. We also looked at just what is a reasonable time spam to get over the loss of a much loved friend or family member.

In How Long Does It Take to Get Over a Death I asked readers to estimate what they thought was a standard time to really come to grips with loss through death. The standard benchmark suggested by mental health experts is a minimum of a year. Yet society seldom gives us such a luxury length of time to do so. And readers reflected that experience and also confirmed that you doesn't really get over a death, you just learn to adjust your life with that particular person missing.

In Coping with Death we continued the theme and looked at developing better techniques for coping with our own death, because that is the source of our fear about death in general. We looked at how some people are actually able to embrace death as a natural life occurrence (which of course, it is) and plan for their funeral and life for their loved ones without them. As I commented, what started out as an article on death ended up being a blog on better living!

We also looked at the phenomenon of Histrionic Personality Disorder, whereby sufferers of this disorder exhibit overly dramatic behaviors, dress and speech patterns, yet conversely seem like shallow cut-out cardboard shapes with no real substance to their personalities.

In the case study of Sarah-Kate, we saw instances where Sarah-Kate was never comfortable unless she was drawing attention to herself, and displaying a rapid shifting of emotions from moment to moment, none of which seemed genuine to an astute observer. Her speech style was overly dramatic, she made exorbitant promises that she seldom kept, considered her relationships to be more intimate than they really were, and became overly intimate with a person within the first few minutes of meeting them. It was also noted that, having little sense of self, sufferers of histrionic personality disorder are particularly prone to scams, easily influenced by others and often suffer marked depression due to their lack of ability to form genuine long-lasting relationships.

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Related articles:

How Long Does It Take to Get Over a Death?

Coping with Death

Histrionic Personality Disorder (1)

Histrionic Personality Disorder (2)

Histrionic Personality Disorder: Diagnostic Criteria

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Beth McHugh began her career as a geologist and worked both in industry and as a university researcher.

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tknbunni (10) 18 Oct 2008 02:57 AM

This sounds a lot like Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD). More and more people are suffereing with this disorder as of late. I attribute this to the lack of connectivity between people. In my own life I have seen the symptoms of RAD in adults and in children and it looks much the same. In an extrreme case a woman has very little if any protective instincts over her children because there is no deep connection. The entire relationship is based on an outward reaction she (the mother) gets from others. In children RAD can produce strange and inapropriate relationship behaviors, overly affectionate with strangers but demanding angry and stand-offish withthose who are closest to them. It is hard to place a diagnosis on people don't you think? How long do you generally assess someone before doing so? The symptoms you describe could also be Borderline Personality Disorder or even a form of Autism, correct? In my experience the way most psychiatrists make diagnosis is to try medications until one works. If the medicine works than the diagnosis is correct. Correct? I am a Sociologist and have two children. I have family who have gone in and out of the system and suffered the mental damage of witnessing violenc as small children. Are you open to miss-diagnosing a person and willing to look for other avenues of recovery, or steadfast in your diagnosis? Psychiatry is a science yes? My own journey to mental health was made possible by a very open minded doctor who listened to me and was willing to change as the evidence changed. I guess your blog just stirred up my thinking process, thank you. It is important to educate others about these things. It is also important to let people know that taking psych meds doesn't make you weak, but it may allow you to have normal relationships and work habits if there are chemical imbalances in the brain. Diabetics take insalin because their bodies don't make it, so it is with mental disorders. We have changed so much with the chemicals we breathe and eat who is to say why there are so many more cases of Autism and ADHD, as of now it is speculation. Many families are still discouraging the use of antipsychotics and antidepresents, I am not sure what your stance is, but I think it is very important to let people know that often they can make the difference between living and being alive for people who can't feel or connect because of chemical malfunctions in their brains. Thanks for your time. This is a great site!

Beth McHugh (13216) 18 Oct 2008 02:53 PM

The above article, in part, deals with histrionic personality disorder. The symptoms outlined in the articles relating to Sarah-Kate above, a sufferer of histrionic personality disorder, are not equivalent to either borderline personality disorder or autism. Our hypothetical Sarah-Kate is a school teacher so she would be unlikely to suffer from autism, and her symptoms differ from BPD. Diagnosis of mental illness can be quite painstaking at times and certainly medication would not be prescribed prior to an in-depth assessment of the client. This is particularly the case when dealing with personality disorders. This is why it is very important to seek a diagnosis from a professional, and not to self-diagnose from internet sites, for example. I do not agree that if the medication works, the diagnosis is correct, and although I do disagree with the way in which some psychiatrists strike with pills first and foremost, often unnecessarily, they would prescribe according to what they see as the primary presenting problem. As I do not work with medication, it is my focus to listen to my clients difficulties and work with them towards developing a more stable and happy life. Best wishes, Beth