HopelessMess
Active member
I once read this explanation of what true Avoidant Personality Disorder(APD) is on another board. I'm not sure where the guy got it from, but I believe it was actually from some Psychologists book. In other words, he didn't just make it up
People with APD differ from social phobics in that social phobics avoid unpleasant SOCIAL situations.
Whereas, people with APD are likely to avoid or procrastinate on ANY unpleasant situation. It could be something as simple as working out or even doing the dishes. Avoidants also tend to try to avoid even thinking about anything unpleasant, preferring to distract themselves with something that prevents their mind from focussing on unpleasant thoughts.
So, if you have SP and frequently find yourself "keeping busy" with some mundane task like watching TV or playing video games to avoid thinking about your social problems, you have a BIT of APD. If you find yourself distracting with these things just to keep from thinking about your general anxiety, or simple slightly unpleasant things like starting a new project, doing some work/homework, etc, then you have full-blown Avoidant Personality Disorder.
I agree with this definition, as I am CONSTANTLY finding ways to distract myself from life: video games, the internet, booze, Facebook, message boards . I'm definitely a true Avoidant.
I just posted this deep in another thread over on the SP board, but to be honest I don't think most people even read several pages into most threads, so I thought I'd run it by my "fellow avoidants".
Does this definition fit for most of you?
People with APD differ from social phobics in that social phobics avoid unpleasant SOCIAL situations.
Whereas, people with APD are likely to avoid or procrastinate on ANY unpleasant situation. It could be something as simple as working out or even doing the dishes. Avoidants also tend to try to avoid even thinking about anything unpleasant, preferring to distract themselves with something that prevents their mind from focussing on unpleasant thoughts.
So, if you have SP and frequently find yourself "keeping busy" with some mundane task like watching TV or playing video games to avoid thinking about your social problems, you have a BIT of APD. If you find yourself distracting with these things just to keep from thinking about your general anxiety, or simple slightly unpleasant things like starting a new project, doing some work/homework, etc, then you have full-blown Avoidant Personality Disorder.
I agree with this definition, as I am CONSTANTLY finding ways to distract myself from life: video games, the internet, booze, Facebook, message boards . I'm definitely a true Avoidant.
I just posted this deep in another thread over on the SP board, but to be honest I don't think most people even read several pages into most threads, so I thought I'd run it by my "fellow avoidants".
Does this definition fit for most of you?
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