Avoidant Personality Disorder Treatments

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Avoidant personality disorder (AVPD) is a personality disorder that negatively affects how someone views themselves and others. Someone with AVPD is likely unaware of their condition, but they may experience feelings, thoughts, and behaviors that stop them from pursuing the life they want.

In this article, we’ll cover causes and treatments for avoidant personality disorder.

What Causes Avoidant Personality Disorder

AVPD is like other personality disorders in that it typically develops during a person’s late adolescence or early adulthood. While AVPD is one of the least-understood mental health conditions, researchers have a couple of ideas for factors that affect its development:

  • Genetics
  • Attachment style
  • Early childhood development
  • Comorbid mental health conditions 

People develop many of their core personality traits during childhood, and when a person grows up those traits can evolve further or be redirected.

Symptoms of Avoidant Personality Disorder

Common symptoms of avoidant personality disorder:

  • Poor self-esteem
  • Intense feelings of rejection
  • Isolating
  • Hypersensitive to criticism
  • Social Anxiety

Symptoms of AVPD are often debilitating and stop people from living the lives they want to.

Comorbidities

Comorbidities and dual diagnosis are conditions that are diagnosed alongside other conditions. These conditions are typically related in some way, but may not be.

For people with AVPD, dual diagnoses are very common. AVPD is often the root cause of other mental health conditions including:

  • Bipolar disorder
  • Anxiety disorders
  • Depression
  • Social anxiety

Social anxiety is a very common dual diagnosis because the two conditions share similar symptoms. 

image: the silhouette of a person standing in front of a misty field at dawn. Text: dual diagnosis like bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders, depression, and social anxiety are common conditions for people with avoidant personality disorderr

How Avoidant Personality Disorder is Diagnosed

An AVPD diagnosis requires evidence that behaviors and symptoms continue over time. Therefore, it isn’t typical for someone under the age of 18 to be diagnosed with AVPD. That’s because personality develops and changes over time.

Collecting information for a diagnosis can be difficult, because it’s not likely for someone with a personality disorder to know intuitively that their behaviors are negative. A person with AVPD may seek help for comorbid conditions like anxiety or depression without being aware of their personality disorder.

According to the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), patients need to fulfill the following criteria for an AVPD diagnosis:

  • Avoidance of social, interpersonal, and occupational activities that involve frequent contact due to an underlying fear of criticism, disapproval, or rejection
  • Unwillingness to become involved with new relationships unless there is a certainty of being liked
  • Restraint in intimate relationships due to a fear of being ridiculed or shamed
  • Preoccupation with criticism and rejection
  • Inhibition in new interpersonal situations due to feelings of inadequacy
  • Low self-confidence with the belief that they are inherently inferior or unappealing to others
  • Reluctance to take personal risks or engage in activities that can result in embarrassment or perceived failure

To receive a formal diagnosis, patients need to seek out professional help.

Treatment For Avoidant Personality Disorder

Avoidant personality disorder is a chronic condition that cannot be cured. However, with the right treatment plan and some time in treatment, symptoms can become regulated.

Treatment plans for AVPD are not one-size-fits-all. That’s why Sequoia Behavioral Health builds unique treatment plans for every patient. These include recreational therapies, group therapies, individual therapies, and medication management. Contact us to begin the process of receiving treatment.

image: a therapist and client discussing AVPD. Text: psychotherpay is the most common therapy for AVPD, but the modality used will differ from person to person.

Psychotherapy for Avoidant Personality Disorder

Psychotherapies are talk therapies that help people understand themselves and their conditions better. Talk therapy is the preferred treatment for avoidant personality disorder because it uncovers fears, motivations, and the root thoughts that create avoidant behaviors.

The kinds of psychotherapy often used for AVPD include:

  • Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)
  • Psychodynamic therapy

The kind of psychotherapy that’s best for an individual patient may differ. For example, if someone’s childhood experiences involve trauma, eye movement desensitization and reprogramming (EMDR) may be a good fit. However, someone who didn’t experience trauma in the home won’t benefit as much from EMDR.

Medications for Comorbid Conditions

There are no medical treatments for personality disorders. However, the accompanying conditions can be treated with medical intervention.

Symptoms of social anxiety, general anxiety, and depression can be treated with prescription medication. Whether or not you’re a good candidate for these treatments will be up to your healthcare provider and you.

Avoidant Personality Disorder Treatment at Sequoia Behavioral Health

Personality disorders are notoriously difficult to treat. However, with the right care and treatment, symptoms can become easier to manage.

Sequoia Behavioral Health is dedicated to creating holistic treatment plans that consider every patient’s mental, physical, and spiritual health. If you’re interested in starting the process of receiving treatment, contact us.

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