For a normal individual, it is common to deal with some amount of drama in their lives and usually, they try to avoid being part of it as drama only looks good on stage or in theatre. But there are times when we all like to get some attention or admiration on occasions. However, some people love it all the time. While doing so, they believe they are born to be in the spotlight all the time and its absence makes them uncomfortable. Hence, they can go to any extent to grab the attention.
Such kind of behavior is not normal in medical terminology. It is known as Histrionic Personality Disorder (HPD), also referred to as dramatic personality disorder. This disorder creates unwanted consequences for the one who is dealing with it. Most people with HPD are not self-aware of their condition.
Symptoms to Distinguish HPD from Normal Attention-Seeking Behavior
According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), for an individual to be diagnosed with histrionic personality disorder, he/she requires the presence of five or more of the following eight symptoms:
- Feel uneasy if not in the spotlight: An individual with HPD is a constant attention seeker. A person with HPD starts feeling sad and uncomfortable if he/she is not the center of the attraction
- Seductive acts: To get noticed, the individual even begins to flirt or make sexual advances in inappropriate situations.
- Shallow and change emotions: Switching emotions from angry to sad to frequent.
- Importance of physical appearance: The person is more focused on their physical appearance to get attention, sometimes they wear flashy or revealing outfits.
- Fuzzy talk: To grab attention, individuals dealing with HPD talk superficially even if they seem emotional about something.
- Overemphasized emotions: Even when there are small issues, HPD patients proclaim that it’s a matter of life and death.
Histrionic personality disorder can also frequently co-occur with depression, somatic symptom disorder, Substance use disorders, Eating disorders, and Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Mental Treatment for histrionic personality disorder
As such there is no cure for histrionic personality disorder, however, that doesn’t mean you lose hope. A right combination of self-help strategies and mental health experts to help reduce symptoms severity can be done. Psychotherapy can help someone with histrionic personality disorder.
The most important decision you need to make is to find the inpatient behavioral mental health hospital. In Google search, you can search for keywords like “mental health hospitals,” “mental illness,” “inpatient mental hospitals near me,” or “best mental hospitals,” you will find Athena Behavioral Health.
Yes, Athena is among the best mental hospitals in India. It has some of the best psychiatric facilities with some exclusive mental wards having all the inpatient mental health services. You can book the consultancy through email at customercare@athenabhs.com or call us at +91 9289086193.
So, if your loved one has histrionic personality disorder, do not wait further as it can be difficult to cope with their behavior. It might be embarrassing for you to see their attempts to flirt with people, or never certain if they’re exaggerating or being real. You might even feel drained by their constant search for external validation and compliments.
Our therapist can help you and the patient to understand the root cause of their problematic behaviors and guide them to change those behaviors with healthier alternatives. A therapist might ask questions that will help in exploring how their childhood experiences have contributed to extremely dramatic communications patterns. Based on his analysis, he will recommend a suitable therapy for the treatment:
- Group Therapy: –This therapy includes a group of people dealing with HPD. The therapist or psychologist creates the group to discuss their problems. This helps the patient to observe how his behaviour appears to others.
- Psychodynamic Therapy: –This therapy focuses on the psychological roots of the patient’s emotions and behaviors. It also includes checking if there was any past trauma and how much it has affected their current behavior.
- Supportive Therapy: – This therapy helps develop coping skills and improve the symptoms. It can also help in maintaining or improving the self-esteem of an individual.
- Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT): – It is structured, goal-oriented therapy that helps in identifying and changing harmful thought and behavior patterns. CBT can also help in learning the ways of thinking and acting more calmly and enhance problem-solving skills.
- Interpersonal therapy (IPT): –This is very similar to CBT however focuses on interpersonal relationships.
Keep in mind that you can’t control another person’s behavior. however, you can provide your support while they work towards acknowledging their problems and coping with histrionic personality disorder symptoms.
