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Dealing with Dependent Personality Disorder

Are you someone who struggles to be alone? While we all have a certain fear of being alone, this fear gets taken to the next level when we’re dealing with Dependent Personality Disorder. This creates an intense fear of abandonment that can cause you to cling to your partners and loved ones in extremely toxic ways. It’s an overwhelming state of being, and one that can create serious conflicts in self and your relationships. Managing it is a crucial step in building healthier lives for ourselves, as well as pathways to healthier relationships.

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 Insufferable Clinginess, or Healthy Dependence?

Yet only in recent years have researchers begun to realize that while in some guises dependence can undermine mental health, in others it can provide valuable social support. At one extreme is an ingrained, helpless need to be cared for — a stubborn problem that psychiatrists diagnose as dependent personality disorder. In milder forms, dependency can come across as an annoying clinginess. But it can also be a protective warmth that cements romantic relationships in times of stress. It is the way people manage dependent urges, researchers are finding, that determines the effect of needy behavior on relationships.

Articles of Interest

All You Need to Know About Dependent Personality Disorder

Dependent personality disorder (DPD) is a rare condition characterized by intense neediness. It’s diagnosed in 0.5-0.6% of the general population, according to the American Psychiatric Association. While some studies say that it is diagnosed more often in women, other studies indicate a similar prevalence of DPD among men and women.

Dependent Personality Disorder: A Review of Etiology and Treatment

We have all been completely dependent on another person during our lifetime, although for many of us this only occurred during our younger years. Bornstein (1992) makes an important statement, “A few life experiences are so widely shared by people of different backgrounds that they transcend the boundaries of culture, gender, and ethnicity”. Dependency is one of these experiences. Even when we have grown‐up, we still show some degree of dependency on others and have a need for support, guidance, and approval from others, especially during stressful times (Bornstein, 1996).

How Dependent Personality Disorder Can Wreck Relationships

Interdependence is healthy, but total emotional dependence is not.

What I Wish I Had Known About Borderline Personality Disorder

Around three years ago, I was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD). I was attending “regular therapy,” as I like to call it, for about five and a half years — on and off with different therapists, at different clinics, and taking several medications. Eventually, I settled with one therapist. But after a year and a half of being together, she told me I would need to transfer at a different clinic where I would receive more intensive therapy. She also mentioned BPD for the first time.

What Is Dependent Personality Disorder?

DPD is a personality disorder in which people often experience feelings of helplessness and submissiveness, coupled with the inability to make even the most simple life decisions. The condition typically begins in early adulthood...

What It’s Like To Have Dependent Personality Disorder

Dependent personality disorder (DPD) is an anxious personality disorder. It is a disorder in which a person has intense dependence on others. A person with DPD does not believe they can take care of themselves. This causes them to feel dependent on others. It also causes behavior that is often described as ‘needy’ or ‘clingy’ as a result of a fear of rejection.

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Psychology Blog

The cause of this disorder is not known. The disorder usually appears in early adulthood. Individuals who experienced chronic physical illness or separation anxiety disorder in childhood or adolescence may be at higher risk of developing dependent personality disorder. The estimated prevalence of this disorder in the general population is less than one percent. More women than men have been found to have dependent personality disorder.