Avoidant Personality Disorder

[tenuous~hold]

i think a lot of people who've taken the time to look at this forum can relate to this type of disorder - but may not have really read much about it.

you might find some interesting reading here.

Symptoms
People with avoidant personality disorder can't stop thinking about their own shortcomings. They form relationships with other people only if they believe they will not be rejected. Loss and rejection are so painful that these people will choose to be lonely rather than risk trying to connect with others.

another place with good (even better) information is here, although it's a little harder (or less pretty) to deal with.

Relationships
Individuals with AvPD are "lonely loners." They would like to be involved in relationships but cannot tolerate the feelings they get around other people. They feel unacceptable, incapable of being loved, and unable to change. Because they retreat from others in anticipation of rejection, they lead socially impoverished lives. They have immature and unrealistic expectations of relationships; they believe that they can have no imperfections if they are to be accepted and loved. Interpersonally, they are ill at ease, awkward and tense. They experience unremitting self-consciousness, self-contempt and anger toward others.

so, who relates to this? i sure do.

 

[coyote]

where do i sign up?

 

[philly2bits]

I do. It's a sad state indeed when the pain of being alone is less than the pain of actually trying.

 

[tenuous~hold]

where do i sign up?

do you really want to be a member?
it'd probably be one of those clubs where “I wouldn’t want to belong to any club that would have me as a member” - right?




i suppose you could go here but it's as close as i could find.

 

[vj288]

I relate very strongly with AvPD. All these 100%

-Be easily hurt when people criticize or disapprove of them
-Hold back too much in intimate relationships
-Be reluctant to become involved with people
-Avoid activities or jobs that involve contact with others
-Be shy in social situations out of fear of doing something wrong
-Make potential difficulties seem worse than they are
-Hold the view they are not good socially, not as good as other people, or unappealing

This also is worth posting here. Also things I can relate with, unfortunately.

Possible Complications
Without treatment, a person with avoidant personality disorder may become resigned to a life of near or total isolation. They may go on to develop a second psychiatric disorder such as substance abuse or a mood disorder such as depression.

Almost anything you can find about Avoidant Personality Disorder I probably will be able to associate very strongly with, it's been the case whenever I do research on it. Here's something comparing AvPD to SA that I find interesting and informative on the differences The Anxiety Community - Avoidant Personality Disorder vs. Generalized Social Anxiety Disorder They have similarities but are really not the same.

 

[Eyv]

I am the first one ::

 

[coyote]

do you really want to be a member?
it'd probably be one of those clubs where “I wouldn’t want to belong to any club that would have me as a member” - right?

i suppose you could go here but it's as close as i could find.

Sanity Clause - YouTube

 

[vj288]

Sanity Clause - YouTube

I've seen this before, but not until just now did I get the last line. I feel a little silly ::

 

[Aletheia]

unacceptable

This. Ever since I can remember.

 

[Sial Axetder]

None of y'all are alone.

If you are able to stick with it, Martin Kantor's book is quite informative.

AvPD, it is something many great minds say cannot be treated without help. I don't think I can prove them wrong yet.

The problem: it's, uhh, *taps head* all up here.

 

[Sial Axetder]

Wow, VJ, just read that link. Wow. It paints a dark scene. AvPD, that's it man, game over. Hang up your coat, close the closet, we're done.

Nah, we're great. Just for stickin' with life we deserve a Nobel prize of some kind, yeah?

 

[coyote]

Nah, we're great. Just for stickin' with life we deserve a Nobel prize of some kind, yeah?

we may have erected all the obstacles ourselves

but we deserve credit for continuing to scale them

 

[Sial Axetder]

we may have erected all the obstacles ourselves

but we deserve credit for continuing to scale them

True enough.

I think the high sensitivity to criticism is something that is/has always been there.

 

[Illusions]

Symptoms
People with avoidant personality disorder can't stop thinking about their own shortcomings. They form relationships with other people only if they believe they will not be rejected. Loss and rejection are so painful that these people will choose to be lonely rather than risk trying to connect with others.

Story of my life right there... *sigh*

 

[Insanewoman389]

i think a lot of people who've taken the time to look at this forum can relate to this type of disorder - but may not have really read much about it.

you might find some interesting reading here.



another place with good (even better) information is here, although it's a little harder (or less pretty) to deal with.




so, who relates to this? i sure do.

I'm reading this and thinking "This sounds EXACTLY like me!" Thanks for posting this

 

[Ravens]

Oh joy... I guess I'll add another acronym to my list.

 

[Aletheia]

I had been in furious denial of my AvPD diagnosis, more so than my other issues.

But those descriptions, along with other evidence on this forum, make me realize that it's at the very heart of my dysfunction. It goes to the core.

 

[tenuous~hold]

i can relate to both the avoidant & the social anxiety disorders, almost equally. i don't think they're mutually exclusive at all.

they're definitely lonely places to be.

but ever notice, after being in a social situation for any given time, how comfortable it feels to be back in your little hole/corner again afterward?