Ep 03: How to Spot a Personality Disorder

In this episode of the Personality Couch Podcast, we discuss how to spot a personality disorder. We start with the definition of a personality disorder according to the Diagnostic Statistical Manual (DSM), which includes enduring patterns of behavior that deviate from cultural expectations and cause distress/impairment. We also introduce the concept of the personality drama triangle, where individuals can take on different roles as a rescuer, persecutor, or victim. We discuss how to spot personality disorders through observations of thinking patterns, moods, relationships, and impulsivity. We emphasize the importance of trusting your intuition and paying attention to your body's reactions when interacting with someone who may have a personality disorder.

Chapters

Introduction
00:00 - Introduction
01:40 - The DSM definition of Personality Disorders

How Personality Disorders Show Up
03:41 - How Personality Disorders Show Up in Thinking
05:07 - The Drama Triangle in Personality Disorders
07:09 - How Personality Disorders Show Up in Moods

Spotting Personality Disorders
09:22 - Trusting your Gut, Intuition, and Body
13:50 - Where There’s Smoke, There’s Fire
16:45 - The Axis II Hook and “Oil Spills”

Disconnecting From Personality Disorder Dynamics
31:05 - Stop Drop and Roll Out of the Drama
33:53 - The Power of Naming a Personality Disorder

Conclusions
41:02 - Empathy for Personality Disorders
45:54 - Conclusion