CENTRE FOR CONVERGING TECHNOLOGIESUNIVERSITY OF RAJASTHAN

CASE STUDY ON

HISTRIONIC PERSONALITY DISODER

Submitted to: submitted by:Dr.Sushila Pareek Uttam Krishan

Sharma Cognitive Neuroscience sem- IX

Histrionic Personality DisorderWhat is personality disorders? What is histrionic personality disorder?Patient detailCause of disorderSigns and symptomsTreatment of HPDPrognosis of disorderRefereces

What is personality disorder?• Personality disorders are a group of mental

health conditions in which a person has a long-term pattern of behaviors, emotions, and thoughts that is very different from his or her culture's expectations. These behaviors interfere with the person's ability to function in relationships, work, or other settings.

• The American Psychiatric Association (APA) describes a personality disorder as: "An enduring pattern of inner experience and behavior that deviates markedly from the expectations of the culture of the individual who exhibits it.”

Histrionic Personality Disorder (HPD):

• The essential feature of this disorder is described by the DSM-IV-TR as a “pervasive pattern of excessive emotionality and attention-seeking behavior,” (DSM-IV-TR, 2000, pg. 711). Symptoms include exaggerated expressions of emotions, incessant drawing of attention to oneself, overreaction to minor events, constantly seeking approval from others, egocentricity, vain and demanding behavior, extreme concern with physical appearance, and inappropriately sexually seductive appearance or behavior.

Patient detail :- • Name: Regina George

• Source: Mean Girls (movie, 2004)

• Back ground information:• Regina George is a sixteen year old Caucasian female. She is a junior in high school

at North Shore High School. Regina George has a preoccupation with her looks. She is constantly talking about how she is either too fat or that she is not pretty enough and also seeks confirmation about her body and looks through others. She does not have a regular drinking problem or drug abuse issue since she is so preoccupied with her appearance and that would definitely tarnish her ideal reputation.

• Regina George is an attention junkie.• Regina often wears seductive clothing that most girls and women would not walk

out the front door in, let alone wear to school.• Regina displays extreme variances in her emotions.• The diagnosis that seems to fit into most appropriately for Regina George is HPD

(301.50). • HPD person show various symptoms which are given to below:-

HPD

Movie clip

Regina_George_-_Histrionic_Personality_Disorder_2.mp4

Statistical Facts:

• HPD is estimated in approximately 2-3% of the American adult population

• HPD is more common in women, although doctors believe men do not report the disorder as much as women.

• Symptoms usually surface in late teen or early adulthood

Throughout time and history as Personality

disorders have progressed and become more apparent, so have the acknowledgement of celebrities, thought to

be diagnosed with HPD. This includes such

people as:

•Anna Nicole Smith•Marilyn Monroe•Julie Roberts•Courtney Love•Drew Barrymore•Richard Simmons•Robin Williams•Angelina Jolie•Mariah Carey•Princess Diana•Nicole Ritchie•Paris Hilton•Madonna

•Micheal Jackson•Joan Crawford•Kathie Lee Gifford•Sharon Stone•Naomi Campbell•Christina Aguilera•Lindsay Lohan•Star Jones•Pamela Anderson•Carmen Electra•Miley Cyrus

There were even fictional characters created, based

upon such diagnoses:

• Scarlett O’Hara• Jessica Rabbit• Austin Powers• Don Juan

Causes of HPD:

• Lack of research on the causes of HPD

• Causes that are thought to be part of HPD include: biological, developmental, cognitive, and social factors

• Most psychoanalysts agree that a traumatic childhood contributes towards the development of HPD

Symptoms of HPD:

DSM-IV-TR lists eight symptoms that form the diagnostic criteria for HPD: PRAISE ME

• Center of attention: Patients with HPD experience discomfort when they are not the center of attention.

• Sexually seductive: Patients with HPD displays inappropriate sexually seductive or provocative behavior towards others.

• Shifting emotions: The expression of emotions of patients with HPD tends to be shallow and to shift rapidly.

• Physical appearance: Individuals with HPD consistently employ physical appearance to gain attention for themselves.

Symptoms of HPD continued…

• Speech style: The speech style of patients with HPD lacks detail. Individuals with HPD tend to generalize, and when these individuals speak, they aim to please and impress.

• Dramatic behaviors: Patients with HPD display self-dramatization and exaggerate their emotions.

• Suggestibility: Other individuals or circumstances can easily influence patients with HPD.

• Overestimation of intimacy: Patients with HPD overestimate the level of intimacy in a relationship (Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders, 2012).

Diagnosis • If signs of this personality disorder are present, the doctor will begin

an evaluation by performing a complete medical and psychiatric history.

• If physical symptoms are present, a physical exam and laboratory tests (such as neuroimaging studies or blood tests) may also be recommended to assure that a physical illness is not causing any symptoms that may be present

• If the doctor finds no physical reason for the symptoms, he or she might refer the person to a psychiatrist or psychologist, health care professionals who are specially trained to diagnose and treat mental illnesses

Treatments of HPD:

• Psychodynamic therapy: treatment of choice with most professionals, as it helps the patients become aware of their own feelings. May require several years of therapy and it may affect the patient throughout their life.

• Cognitive therapy: will help patients with reducing the dysfunctional thoughts of patients with HPD.

• Group therapy: this type of therapy will allow the patient to work on interpersonal relationships.

• Family therapy: can help other members of the family to avoid supporting histrionic behavior but knowing how to support the patient in a positive way.

Prognosis:

• Personality characteristics of individuals with HPD are long-lasting.

• Will often seek hospital services but will not stick with the programs in order to make changes.

• Treatment can take a minimum of 1 to 3 years and often it will take longer.

• As HPD individuals age, they will typically show less symptoms.

SOURCES

http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/histrionic-personality-disorder

http://www.minddisorders.com/flu-inv/histrionic- personality-disorder.html

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/histrionic-patient-case-study.html

American Psychiatric AssociationDiagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, RevisedNational Institutes of Health, National Library of Medicine

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