Dependent Personality Disorder

Have you ever been dependent on someone? If yes then you probably know how hard it is to compensate the feeling inside that you’re behaving like a parasite to someone. When we depend on someone for a very long time they become irritated and annoyed and ultimately they don’t like to live with us anymore. No matter how much people love us they cannot tolerate a person who is dependent on them for a very long time.

The dependent disorder is an anxiety disorder in which the person feels unsure when they are alone. It is characterized by an inability to be alone. The people who experience this type of disorder feel anxious and depressed when they don’t find people around them. They like to stay around people all the time. They are dependent on people for comfort, to be happy, and for advice. It is considered a personality disorder. It usually begins in teenage or early adulthood.

For most of the personality disorders, there are two major reasons behind them. It is because those people have faced some certain circumstances or they have a family history of such disorders. The two major causes of dependent disorder which are discussed below:

 Family History

Dependent personality disorder can be transmitted from genes and it is one of the most common causes of this type of disorder.

• Environmental Learning

Whatever personality we form is a mixture of personalities of all the people that we see in our lifetime during personality development. People can learn or develop this type of disorder from their families or people around them. This process is also known as modeling. They develop it through family relationships, events, etc.

Although anyone can develop dependent personality disorder yet still people with certain characteristics are more prone to its development and are more at risk. Here we discuss some of the risk factors of dependent personality disorder:

• Changing in brain functions
• Abusive and unstable family life in childhood
• Family history of dependent personality disorder

Having a dependent personality disorder can cause many other complications in your life; it’s like a problem that invites many more problems inside. There are some most common complications that you may experience when you have a dependent personality disorder:

• Disturbance in life
• Stressful conditions
• Drug and alcohol abuse
• Life of dependency
• Relationship problems
• Financial problems

Psychiatrists and doctors can diagnose dependent personality disorder with the help of interviews and careful observation of the symptoms that you have experienced. Following are methods and techniques which are used by doctors:

• Psychiatric evaluation
• Diagnostic criteria

It is important to take preventive measures to avoid getting Dementia if you are a person with more than two risk factors. Here we are discussing some preventive measures:

• You have to keep yourself active
• You have to be socially active
• Don’t smoke
• Take vitamins in your diet
• Manage yourself to lessen the risk of cardiovascular diseases
• Take proper treatment and medications as soon as you suspect having any similar problems.
• Take a healthy diet
• Take proper sleep

Dementia is a problematic mental health condition. There are many treatment options available and they work better and faster if you consult a mental health practitioner in the early onset on the disorder. Some of the effective treatment options are mentioned below:

• Cholinesterase inhibitors
• Memantine
• Other medications
• Occupational therapy
• Modifications in the environment
• Simplifying tasks

Any treatment or therapy requires a skilled and qualified mental health practitioner. Waiting longer to seek professional health or doing self-medication can ruin your life.