Q: A psychiatrist informed my girlfriend, age 36, that she has a personality disorder. She previously told me she had depression. Is this more serious and is there any cure?
A: A person suffering from a personality disorder has negative and unproductive thinking patterns. They often suffer from extreme mood swings making them difficult to live with.
Your girlfriend’s depressed moods fit this pattern. This type of depression often does not respond to medication, but long-term psychotherapy may be able to teach her to think more positively. Some people with personality disorders tend to improve with age so that by the time they reach about 40, symptoms may be lessened.
Read Also
Support needed at all levels for high-value solar projects
Farmers, rural municipalities and governments should welcome any opportunity to get involved in large-scale solar power installations, say agrivoltaics proponents.
There are 10 different types of personality disorders with varying symptoms. The name gives a clue as to the type of problem that exists. They are: paranoid, schizoid, schizotypal, antisocial, borderline, histrionic narcissistic, avoidant, dependent and obsessive-compulsive. I was once on a course where the instructors showed a short movie of a group therapy session. There were 10 actors who each played the part of one of the personality types. We had five minutes to pick out all 10. I think I managed to pick out about eight. The narcissistic woman wanted to make a phone call before starting the session, ignoring the feelings of others and putting her own needs first. The avoidant personality didn’t want to join the group at all, while the obsessive-compulsive made notes.
The antisocial and borderline personality disorders are probably the most difficult to live with and the hardest to treat. The latter tend to repeatedly attempt suicide, while the former were previously called psychopaths. While psychopaths are not always dangerous, they put their own needs first and ignore the feelings of others, which may lead to criminal behaviour. There is no known cure so it is better to keep away from such individuals.
General anesthetics
Q: I am frightened of having any major surgery that involves a general anesthetic because my grandmother died during an operation. I have heard that you can have a spinal block instead. Is this true?
A: Yes, you can for certain types of surgery. This has always been a method for performing a C-section, as the spinal block is less harmful to the unborn child.
Recently, British surgeons performed heart bypass operations while patients were awake. Some heart patients may be in such bad shape that a general anesthetic would be dangerous. The epidural procedure is still in experimental stages.
Clare Rowson is a medical doctor with a practice near Belleville, Ont. Her columns are intended for general information only. Individuals are encouraged to also seek the advice of their own doctor regarding medical questions and treatments.
