A Simple Guide to Histrionic Personality Disorder, Diagnosis, Treatment and Related Conditions

This book describes Histrionic Personality Disorder, Diagnosis and Treatment and Related Diseases

With all the attention on actor Johnny Depp’s $50 million lawsuit against his ex-wife Amber Heard, a psychological term has captured the public’s interest: histrionic personality disorder.

The term was used in the testimony of Shannon Curry, a clinical and forensic psychologist in California and Hawaii, who carried out a psychological evaluation of Heard and said that she met with Heard for 12 hours.

Curry testified that Heard has both borderline personality disorder and histrionic personality disorder while Heard has said she has posttraumatic stress disorder.

Due to her disorder, Heard is very concerned with image, prone to cruelty and blaming others, and unable to admit responsibility for doing something wrong

The person with a histrionic personality disorder shows a pattern of attention-seeking behaviors, which may require a heightened sense of dramatization and improper sexual or provocative behaviors.

Occasionally, this person has borderline personality disorder as well.

She could be assisted from a form of therapy known as Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT).

People with HPD often act dramatically or improperly to get attention.

People with HPD often do not comprehend that their behavior and way of thinking are problematic.

The word “histrionic” indicates “dramatic or theatrical.”

The self-esteem for people with histrionic personality disorder is dependent on the approval of others and does not come from a proper feeling of self-worth.

The person has an overwhelming desire to be noticed and often performs dramatically or improperly to get attention.

The definition of Histrionic Personality Disorder is people with the disorder are attention-seeking persons with a capability for provoking drama across a wide range of circumstances.

People with HPD normally have character traits such as:
Highly emotional
Charming
Manipulative
Seductive
Demanding
Energetic
Impulsive

These personality traits indicate why persons with histrionic personality disorder are likely to see things from a highly emotional perspective.

In short, they long for attention and the emotional "reward" that they obtain from it and they feel uncomfortable when they are not the center of attention.

They are often active and energetic (life of the party) but become upset when they are not getting the attention of others.

People with histrionic personality disorder will attempt tactics to garner the attention such as:
Cause drama
Flirt and talk loudly
Tell stories in engaging ways
Dress seductively
Interrupt conversations
Play the victim or princess

Based on the DSM-5, for a diagnosis of histrionic personality disorder to be given, 5 or more of these symptoms must be present:
Self-centeredness, feeling uncomfortable when not the center of attention
Constantly seeking reassurance or approval
Improperly seductive appearance or behavior
Rapidly shifting emotional states that appear superficial
Overly concerned with physical appearance and using it to attract attention
Opinions are easily influenced by other people, but difficult to back up with facts
Excessive dramatics with exacerbated displays of emotion
Believe that relationships are more intimate than they actually are
Highly suggestible

There is no cure for histrionic personality disorder but psychotherapy are often indicated:

TABLE OF CONTENT
Introduction
Chapter 1 Histrionic Personality Disorder
Chapter 2 Causes
Chapter 3 Symptoms
Chapter 4 Diagnosis
Chapter 5 Treatment
Chapter 6 Prognosis
Chapter 7 Narcissistic Personality Disorder
Chapter 8 Borderline Personality Disorder
Chapter 9 Manipulative Personality Disorder
Epilogue