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If you are a person that has been going to counseling for a while or even if you have never been, you may have heard about personality types and disorders. One personality disorder that many people do not know much about is a histrionic personality disorder. If you have recently been told you have this condition in therapy or are concerned you may have a personality disorder, learn more about histrionic personality disorder. Then, you can be sure to bring it up with your counselor if you believe you may have this mental health condition.

Signs of Histrionic Personality Disorder

There are numerous signs that might indicate a person has or has features of histrionic personality disorder. One of the main signs of this condition is that the person always seeks to be the center of attention no matter what situation they happen to be in.

This need to be the center of attention can be endearing in some situations, but highly problematic in others such as in a work environment. This is not a symptom that only occurs at parties or in social engagements but in a wide variety of both appropriate and inappropriate situations.

Another sign of histrionic personality disorder is being overly provocative or seductive. This, again, results in inappropriate behavior and can make other people around them quite uncomfortable.

Additionally, people with a histrionic personality disorder may feel that they have closer relationships with people than they actually have, may seem overly dramatic, might be obsessed with their external appearance, and might have rapid shifts in their emotions.

Treatment for Histrionic Personality Disorder

For personality disorders, the main course of treatment involves counseling and psychiatric care. Medications may help with some symptoms or additional conditions a person may have developed because of their personality disorder, like anxiety and depression.  It is important to keep in mind though that medication alone will not resolve the disorder.

Oftentimes, with a histrionic personality disorder, there are hidden reasons and causes for the feelings and behaviors that the person exhibits. The attention-seeking, exaggerated emotions, and the like all come from a place (usually) of feeling inadequate or damaged in some way.

Therapy and counseling, with both the therapist and psychiatrist, will help to uncover those hidden causes of behaviors and feelings. Once those causes come to light, they can be dealt with in therapy. This involves addressing the issues head-on and developing different ways of coping with feelings and thoughts than previous behaviors.

Therapy for personality disorders like histrionic personality disorder can take several years as there are often setbacks and reversions to past behavioral patterns. However, therapy can help make a major difference in a person's overall quality of life while coping with a histrionic personality disorder.

Now that you know more about histrionic personality disorder and its treatment, you can be sure to discuss this condition with a counselor. Contact someone like Les Linet MD to get started.