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