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Many people still carry the misperception that personality disorders occur because you are weak or you somehow deserved it. These people might say, "Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps!" They do not understand that you are not consciously holding yourself back, yet you can't seem to move forward in any steady manner. Two steps forward, one step back, as they say.
Personality disorders are chronic mental disorders which affects a person's ability to function in every day activities. It affects one's work, one's family, and one's social life. While most people can live pretty normally with mild personality disorders (or more simply, personality traits), during times of increased stress or external pressures (work, family, a new relationship, etc.), the symptoms of the personality disorder will gain strength and begin to seriously interfere with their functioning. Suddenly what was so clear yesterday is not at all clear today.
We are slowly learning more about the causes and treatment of this mental health problem. We know that there are biological and psychological components to most personality disorders and that the best form of treatment is psychotherapy, with medication sometimes necessary to treat unwanted, more serious symptoms.
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