Dependent Personality Disorder - It's Causes, Symptoms And Treatment!

Dependent personality disorder (dpd)

Dependent personality disorder (dpd) is an anxious personality disorder characterized by an inability to be alone. People with dpd develop symptoms of anxiety when they’re not around others. They rely on other people for comfort, reassurance, advice, and support.

People who don’t have this condition sometimes deal with feelings of insecurity. The difference is that people with dpd need reassurance from others to function.

Causes and symptoms of dpd

A condition must fall into one of the following clusters to be classified as a personality disorder:

• Cluster a: odd or eccentric behavior
• Cluster b: emotional or erratic behavior
• Cluster c: anxious, nervous behavior

Dpd belongs to cluster c. Signs of this disorder include:

• Behaving submissively
• Relying on friends or family for decision-making
• Needing repeated reassurance
• Being easily hurt by disapproval
• Feeling isolated and nervous when alone
• Fearing rejection
• Being overly sensitivity to criticism
• Being unable to be alone
• Having a tendency to be naive
• Fearing abandonment
• People with dpd may require constant reassurance. They can become devastated when relationships and friendships are severed.

When alone, a person with dpd may experience:

• Nervousness
• Anxiety
• Panic attacks
• Fear
• Hopelessness

Some of these symptoms are the same for people with anxiety disorders. People with medical conditions such as depression or menopause may also experience some of these symptoms. Contact your doctor to receive a specific diagnosis if you experience any of the above symptoms.

It’s unknown what causes people to develop dpd. However, experts cite both biological and developmental factors.

How’s dpd treated?
Treatment focuses on alleviating symptoms. Psychotherapy is often the first course of action. Therapy can help you better understand your condition. It can also teach you new ways to build healthy relationships with others and improve your self-esteem.
Psychotherapy is usually used on a short-term basis. Long-term therapy could put you at risk of growing dependent on your therapist.
Medications can help relieve anxiety and depression, but are generally used as a last resort. Your therapist or doctor may prescribe you a medication to treat panic attacks that result from extreme anxiety. Some medications for anxiety and depression are habit-forming, so you may have to see your doctor regularly while taking them to prevent prescription dependence.