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

By Kenneth Kee

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

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kenneth Kee
• Release date: Jun 11, 2022
• ISBN: 9781005041922

Kenneth Kee

Medical doctor since 1972.Started Kee Clinic in 1974 at 15 Holland Dr #03-102, relocated to 36 Holland Dr #01-10 in 2009.Did my M.Sc (Health Management ) in 1991 and Ph.D (Healthcare Administration) in 1993.Dr Kenneth Kee is still working as a family doctor at the age of 74However he has reduced his consultation hours to 3 hours in the morning and 2 hours inthe afternoon.He first started writing free blogs on medical disorders seen in the clinic in 2007 on http://kennethkee.blogspot.com.His purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of his patients which is also his dissertation for his Ph.D (Healthcare Administration). He then wrote an autobiography account of his journey as a medical student to family doctor on his other blog http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.comThis autobiography account “A Family Doctor’s Tale” was combined with his early “A Simple Guide to Medical Disorders” into a new Wordpress Blog “A Family Doctor’s Tale” on http://ken-med.com.From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 1000 eBooks.He apologized for typos and spelling mistakes in his earlier books.He will endeavor to improve the writing in futures.Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple.For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients.The later books go into more details of medical disorders.He has published 1000 eBooks on various subjects on health, 1 autobiography of his medical journey, another on the autobiography of a Cancer survivor, 2 children stories and one how to study for his nephew and grand-daughter.The purpose of these simple guides is to educate patient on health disorders and not meant as textbooks.He does not do any night duty since 2000 ever since Dr Tan had his second stroke.His clinic is now relocated to the Buona Vista Community Centre.The 2 units of his original clinic are being demolished to make way for a new Shopping Mall.He is now doing some blogging and internet surfing (bulletin boards since the 1980's) startingwith the Apple computer and going to PC.The entire PC is upgraded by himself from XT to the present Pentium duo core.The present Intel i7 CPU is out of reach at the moment because the CPU is still expensive.He is also into DIY changing his own toilet cistern and other electric appliance.His hunger for knowledge has not abated and he is a lifelong learner.The children have all grown up and there are 2 grandchildren who are even more technically advanced than the grandfather where mobile phones are concerned.This book is taken from some of the many articles in his blog (now with 740 posts) A Family Doctor’s Tale.Dr Kee is the author of:"A Family Doctor's Tale""Life Lessons Learned From The Study And Practice Of Medicine""Case Notes From A Family Doctor"

Book preview

A

Simple

Guide

To

Histrionic Personality Disorder,

Diagnosis,

Treatment

And

Related Conditions

By

Dr Kenneth Kee

M.B.,B.S. (Singapore)

Ph.D (Healthcare Administration)

Copyright Kenneth Kee 2022 Smashwords Edition

Published by Kenneth Kee at Smashwords.com

Dedication

This book is dedicated

To my wife Dorothy

And my children

Carolyn, Grace

And Kelvin

This book describes Histrionic Personality Disorder, Diagnosis and Treatment and Related Diseases which is seen in some of my patients in my Family Clinic.

(What You Need to Treat Histrionic Personality Disorder)

This e-Book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader.

If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy.

Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Introduction

I have been writing medical articles for my blog: http://kennethkee.blogspot.com (A Simple Guide to Medical Disorder) for the benefit of my patients since 2007.

My purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of my patients.

Health Education was also my dissertation for my Ph.D (Healthcare Administration).

I then wrote an autobiography account of my journey as a medical student to family doctor on my other blog: http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.com.

This autobiography account A Family Doctor’s Tale was combined with my early A Simple Guide to Medical Disorders into a new Wordpress Blog A Family Doctor’s Tale on http://kenkee481.wordpress.com.

From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 800 eBooks.

Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple.

For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients.

The later books go into more details of medical disorders.

The first chapter is always from my earlier blogs which unfortunately tends to have typos and spelling mistakes.

Since 2013, I have tried to improve my spelling and writing.

As I tried to bring the patient the latest information about a disorder or illness by reading the latest journals both online and offline, I find that I am learning more and improving on my own medical knowledge in diagnosis and treatment for my patients.

My diagnosis and treatment capability has improved tremendously from my continued education.

Just by writing all these simple guides I find that I have learned a lot from your reviews (good or bad), criticism and advice.

I am sorry for the repetitions in these simple guides as the second chapters onwards have new information as compared to my first chapter taken from my blog.

I also find repetition definitely help me and maybe some readers to remember the facts in the books more easily.

I apologize if these repetitions are irritating to some readers.

Chapter 1

Histrionic Personality Disorder

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

What is histrionic personality disorder?

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.

Histrionic personality disorder (HPD) is a mental health disorder noticeable by extreme, unbalanced emotions and a imprecise self-image.

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.

People with histrionic personality disorder often do not appreciate that their behavior and way of thinking may be problematic.

Histrionic personality disorder is one of a group of disorders called Cluster B personality disorders, which affect dramatic and unpredictable behavior.

Histrionic personality disorder is placed within the Cluster B of personality disorders.

Cluster B personality disorders involve disorders such as narcissistic personality disorder, borderline personality disorder, and antisocial personality disorder.

These personality disorders are normally depicted as dramatic, charming,excitable, erratic, or volatile.

Specifically, people with histrionic personality disorder normally manifest as engaging, seductive, manipulative, impulsive, and lively.

People with histrionic personality disorder may feel under-valued or disregarded when they are not the center of attention.

These people are normally the life of the party and have a bigger than life presence.

They may be energetic, enchanting, overly seductive, or improperly sexual with most of the people they meet, even when they are not sexually attracted to them.

People presenting with histrionic personality disorder may show quickly shifting and shallow emotions that others may recognize as insincere.

Their physical appearance may be utilized to draw attention to themselves by wearing bright-colored clothing or revealing garments.

Those with histrionic personality disorder may converse in a vague style that does not have details.

Also, they may be dramatic and excessively emotionally expressive, even upsetting friends and family with public displays of emotions.

They may be easily influenced, naive, suggestible and vulnerable particularly by the people they admire.

Also, they are likely to believe the relationships are closer than they generally are.

Histrionic personality disorder relationships may be affected since people with the disorder often have difficulty attaining emotional intimacy in romantic relationships.

They may move away from long-term relationships in order to enjoy the excitement of a new one.

Other people may perceive them as superficial and overly provoking and their same-gender friendships may be affected due to their seductive behaviors toward the opposite sex.

Histrionic personality disorder is likely to be ego-syntonic, meaning people with this disorder typically regard their behavior to be normal and struggle to identify a problem.

This lack of insight may add to the under diagnosis of this personality disorder until later in life once patterns of behavior have considerably disrupted relationships, work or interpersonal lives.

People assigned female at birth (AFAB) are more normally diagnosed with histrionic personality disorder than people assigned male at birth (AMAB), but doctors think that people AMAB may be under diagnosed.

Doctors estimate that about 1.84 % of people have the histrionic personality disorder.

People with histrionic personality disorder are often the life of the party with:

1. Their interests and conversation will be self-centered.

2. They utilize their physical appearance to attract attention to themselves.

3. They are likely to believe that relationships are more intimate than they really are.

4. Their emotional expression may be superficial and rapidly changing.

5. Their style of speech is extremely impressionistic and lacking in detail.

6. They may do well with jobs that rate and want imagination and creativity, but will probably have difficulty with problems that require logical or analytical thinking.

People with histrionic personality disorder (HPD) behave in greatly expressive and dramatic ways in hopes of attracting attention to them.

Every body loves attention and most every body wishes to look attractive.

These are normal cravings but people with HPD take this to the extreme.

These people have a persistent and constant pattern of seeking attention and dramatic, extremely emotional behaviors.

They often wear outfits and behave in provocative dramatic ways to obtain attention from others.