Histrionic Personality Disorder Treatments
Personality disorders are life-long mental health disorders that cause a person to see the world and themselves in a way that causes problems. This category of mental health issues includes disorders like:
- Antisocial personality disorder
- Borderline personality disorder
- Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder
- Histrionic personality disorder
In this article we’ll be focusing on histrionic personality disorder (HPD), what it is, if it’s treatable, and different approaches to treatment.
What is Histrionic Personality Disorder?
Histrionic personality disorder (HPD) is similar to all personality disorders in that it distorts how a person thinks, perceives reality, and relates to others.
Symptoms of Histrionic Personality Disorder
People with HPD depend on the approval of others. Their self-worth depends on the attention of others. Because of this, the symptoms of HPD are characterized by attention-seeking behaviors.
The symptoms of histrionic personality disorder include:
- A strong need to be the center of attention
- Using appearing to attract attention
- Quickly shifting emotions
- Exaggerated and dramatic emotions
- Vague and often impressionistic speech
- Easily influenced by others
- Provocative and seductive behavior
- Perceiving relationships to be deeper than they are
When five or more of these symptoms are present in a person for a persistent time, they may be diagnosed with HPD.
Understanding Histrionic Personality Disorder
It’s not easy living with someone with a histrionic personality disorder. They can be manipulative and become distressed if you begin ignoring them. That being said, if you, a loved one, or a friend has HPD, it’s important to learn more about it and the best ways to live with them.
One of the defining characteristics of HPD is excessive attention-seeking. People with HPD don’t feel comfortable when they’re not the center of attention. It may feel natural to disengage with someone with HPD. This can be done in several ways including not giving them the response they would want, keeping interactions short, and not arguing with them. This is called the grey rock technique and it’s used when dealing with a manipulative person.
When it comes to HPD, disengaging will often make the person escalate their behavior and begin acting in extreme ways. While living with someone who has HPD it’s important to:
- Set and maintain clearly defined boundaries
- Learn what triggers them
- Talk to them honestly and calmly
- Don’t engage in their attention-seeking behaviors
If you need to take a break away from them, do it. It’s important to maintain healthy boundaries for yourself.
Is Histrionic Personality Disorder Treatable?
Histrionic personality disorder is impossible to cure, but possible to treat. This is the case for all personality disorders and most mental health problems.
Mental health problems can be rooted in long-term trauma and can cause life-long struggles. For most people, mental health struggles are lifelong. This is true for those with a personality disorder.
Treatable vs Curable
Personality disorders cannot be cured but they can be treated. What’s the difference between a disorder being cured or treated?
When something can be cured, that means a total restoration is possible. For example, the common cold. If you catch a cold, you’re able to fight it off and return to exactly how you were before.
When something is treatable, that means symptoms can be managed, but the condition will never go away completely. For example, someone who has developed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may seek treatment for it, and experience a time with little to no symptoms. However, symptoms can be triggered after intense events.
How is Histrionic Personality Disorder Treated?
HPD requires long-term, or lifelong treatment. Personality disorders are not curable so treatment could last years or an entire lifetime.
People have to seek therapy on their own volition. However, most people with histrionic personality disorder don’t typically recognize their actions as problematic. This makes it difficult for people with histrionic personality disorder to seek therapy.
Psychotherapy
The most common treatment for HPD is psychotherapy. There are several forms of psychotherapy used to treat HPD, including:
The talk therapies that are considered the most beneficial are therapies that explore unconscious thoughts and how they influence behaviors.
The time it takes for symptoms to become manageable will change from person to person. However, even after symptoms become manageable, it’s recommended that therapy continues. This may not be every week, but the occasional check-in will increase the chances of symptoms staying manageable.
Live-in Treatment
Before starting weekly therapy treatment, staying at an extended treatment facility can help jumpstart the treatment process. When you stay at a residential treatment facility you’ll receive extensive treatment and care.
You’ll be attending several therapies including:
- Individual therapy
- Group therapy
- Recreational therapy
We take a holistic approach at Sequoia Behavioral Health. That means we treat mental health alongside physical health, and after your inpatient treatment is done, you’ll be equipped to continue your recovery.
Begin your treatment journey by submerging yourself in an evidence-grounded healing community at Sequoia Behavioral Health.
Medication
The FDA hasn’t approved any medication specifically for personality disorders. However, sometimes psychiatric medicines are prescribed. Although in the case of HPD medication is rarely used.
Whether or not medication is used to treat HPD depends on the doctor, the patient,
Dual Diagnosis
It’s common for someone with HPD to seek therapy for something not related to their personality disorder. It’s more likely for someone with HPD to seek treatment for something like anxiety or depression before seeking help for their personality disorder.
If someone with HPD begins therapy their therapist will likely be able to notice their negative behaviors and be able to help them identify these behaviors over time.
Receive Treatment at Sequoia Behavioral Health
Personality disorders require close care. Our Mesa AZ inpatient facility provides around-the-clock care. Get the treatment you need while living in a homely environment.
If you’re ready to begin treatment at Sequoia Behavioral Health, contact us to get started.