Dependent personality disorder is one of the most common types of personality disorders, and typically consists of feelings of helplessness, loneliness, and abandonment. Anxiety seems to be a major contributing factor to this, as all those feelings lead back to anxiety. A person who suffers from dependent personality disorder depends too much on others to meet their physical and emotional needs. They may feel very afraid of losing important people in their lives, and may appear to be “clingy”. They may also belittle themselves often, be pessimistic and filled with self-doubt, accept criticism and disapproval as proof of their worthlessness, and not have much faith in themselves.
If you or a loved one suffer from dependent personality disorder, there are ways to better manage this. MD Robert London from Psychology Today has described a very workable plan to help people begin their road to recovery. The first step is to make a commitment to learn more about your disorder. Seek out a doctor and psychologist to help you learn more about the symptoms that you experience and what you are feeling. Psychotherapy is a terrific way to learn more about yourself and to even develop more tools to help you overcome your symptoms.
Secondly, create a goal-oriented action plan. Write down some things that are really overwhelming to you. Write down activities that fill you with anxiety, dread, or helplessness, and focus on one item at a time. Next, remember that it will take time to improve your symptoms. Every worthwhile process takes time, and it will take you much challenging work and dedication to overcome your problems. That’s okay. Keep going!
Once you have established your list and reminded yourself to be patient, establish a concrete goal for how you can solve one specific problem on your list. For example, if a manager at work has assigned you a big project, practice breaking that project down into manageable steps. Focus on the first step that you need to complete to move on. In doing this, you are lessening the chances that you will feel overwhelmed because you have a small, concrete step that you only need to focus on for now. Continue this process each day until you have all the steps that you need complete.
The symptoms of dependent personality disorder can feel overwhelming, and you may feel as though you will never get better. Do not believe this – it is simply your anxiety causing you to feel this way. Utilize this plan of action and contact a doctor and therapist to begin working through your problems. There is an entire team of support ready to help you get through this.
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