Avoidant Personality Disorder: Causes, Symptoms and Treatment

Personality disorders are mental disorders characterized by rigid and unhealthy patterns of thinking, behaving and functioning. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, these disorders affect about 9.1% of the American adult population. Personality disorders are divided into clusters based on common symptoms and characteristics. Avoidant personality disorder is part of Cluster C, along with obsessive-compulsive and dependent personality disorders.

Avoidant personality disorder (AVPD) can affect a person’s ability to interact with others and maintain relationships because of intense anxious and fearful thinking or behavior. If you or someone you know may have an avoidant personality disorder, understanding the symptoms and available treatment can make the condition more manageable.

What Is Avoidant Personality Disorder?

People with avoidant personality disorder are usually socially inept, extremely shy and sensitive to rejection or criticism from others. They may avoid social situations such as work, school or group activities and frequently feel unwelcome or inferior to others. This personality disorder is often associated with other mental health disorders, including anxiety disorder, depression and generalized social anxiety disorder.

It may also overlap with other personality disorders, such as schizoid personality disorder and borderline personality disorder.

How Common Is Avoidant Personality Disorder?

It’s estimated that about 1.5% to 2.5% of the population is diagnosed with AVPD. Like many other personality disorders, symptoms may begin in childhood and worsen throughout adolescence and early adulthood.

What Causes Avoidant Personality Disorder?

Although the exact cause of avoidant personality disorder is unknown, it’s believed a combination of genetics and environmental factors, especially during childhood, plays a role. For instance, growing up in an abusive or neglectful environment and having parents who were unaffectionate or unloving may increase a person’s risk of developing the disorder.

Past experiences of parental or peer rejection that negatively affect a person’s sense of self-worth and self-esteem can also be contributing factors, making it more difficult to form relationships. Those with the disorder also report experiencing extreme shyness in childhood that didn’t fade as they aged.

 

What Are the Symptoms of Avoidant Personality Disorder?

During social situations, people with avoidant personality disorder may be afraid to speak up for fear of saying the wrong thing, get easily embarrassed and stammer or blush. Avoidant personality disorder symptoms can include:

• Easily hurt by criticism or disapproval
• Fear of rejection
• Feelings of inadequacy, fearfulness, unattractiveness and low self-esteem
• Avoiding social situations, intimate relationships, conflict and making decisions
• Lack of assertiveness and trust in others
• Lack of social relationships or only having a few close friends
• Hypersensitivity to negative evaluation or misinterpreting neutral situations as negative
• Unwilling to take risks or try new things
• Avoiding interpersonal situations at work
• A need to be liked

Those with this mental health disorder are usually aware of being uncomfortable in social situations. However, comments made by other people regarding their nervousness or shyness may feel like rejection or criticism.

How Is Avoidant Personality Disorder Diagnosed?

AVPD and other personality disorders can only be diagnosed by a trained mental health professional. During the evaluation, your symptoms will be compared to the symptoms of avoidant personality disorder as outlined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) to see if they align and to rule out the possibility of physical illness.

According to the DSM, you must experience a consistent pattern of avoiding social interaction, feeling inadequate and being overly sensitive to rejection or criticism, as well as having symptoms that match at least four of the listed criteria. After receiving a diagnosis, you may be referred to a psychologist, psychiatrist or other mental health treatment professionals.

How Is Avoidant Personality Disorder Treated?

Many people with AVPD don’t seek treatment. Personality disorders are generally hard to treat because of the heavily ingrained patterns of thoughts and behaviors that follow individuals for life. However, there are a few treatment methods that can help control symptoms and improve quality of life.

Psychotherapy

Psychotherapy, or talk therapy, is the main way to treat personality disorders. This can include cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), psychodynamic therapy, group therapy or social skills training. CBT focuses on changing an individual’s unhelpful thought patterns to help them better cope with social situations, while psychodynamic therapy delves into past experiences, illuminating how they may be contributing to current issues.

Certain experiential or specialty therapies therapies can also help people better identify and explore their emotions through expressive tools and activities.

Medication

While there aren’t any medications specifically approved to treat personality disorders, some may help treat symptoms associated with AVPD. These medications include:

• Antidepressants: Helps with depressed mood, anger, irritability, impulsivity and hopelessness
• Mood stabilizers: Evens out mood swings or helps with impulsivity, aggression and irritability
• Antipsychotics: Helps with psychosis and anxiety or anger issues
• Antianxiety medications: Helps with anxiety, agitation or insomnia but may increase impulsivity, depending on the disorder

Residential Treatment Programs

In severe cases where a person is struggling to care for themselves or in danger of causing harm, a residential treatment program may be an option. These programs require you to live on-site while receiving care. A PHP partial hospitalization program is an alternative option that allows you to receive treatment in a structured environment without being fully away from home.

What Are the Complications of Avoidant Personality Disorder?

Without treatment, AVPD can be difficult to manage. Self-isolation and avoidant behavior become primary coping strategies to reduce symptoms, even though these acts can make the condition worse. People with this disorder may also lack the social skills needed to connect with others and build relationships, leading to other long-term difficulties, including issues at work or school.

It’s not uncommon for those with AVPD to avoid occupations or school activities that involve significant interpersonal contact. Letting the disorder have this much control over your personal life can lead to feelings of irritability or problems with alcohol and substance abuse.

Getting Treatment at Transformations Treatment Center

Living with an untreated personality disorder can make it difficult to perform well in everyday activities and build healthy relationships. Our rehab in Delray Beach Florida, offers a variety of treatment options that can help manage symptoms and improve your quality of life. Contact us today by calling 800-270-4315 and take the first step toward getting the help you need.