Ep 03: How to Spot a Personality Disorder

In this episode of the Personality Couch Podcast, we discuss how to spot a personality disorder. We explore the definition of a personality disorder according to the DSM, which includes enduring patterns of behavior that deviate from cultural expectations and cause distress or impairment. We also introduce the concept of the drama triangle, where individuals can take on different roles such as rescuer, perpetrator, or victim. We discuss how to spot personality disorders through observations of thinking patterns, moods, relationships, and impulsivity. We emphasize the importance of trusting your intuition and paying attention to your body’s reactions when interacting with someone who may have a personality disorder.

Chapters
00:00 - Introduction: Not fitting in with the herd
01:42 - What are Personality Disorders in the DSM?
03:41 - Where do Personality Disorders show up?
05:09 - The Drama Triangle in Personality Disorders
09:22 - Using Intuition to spot a Personality Disorder
11:41 - The body detects personality cues
13:50 - How we know we’re working with a Personality Disorder
16:45 - The Axis II hook and gut responses
18:52 - Personality Disorders are “Smoky”
20:27 - Personality is like an oil spill
23:34 - Personality Disorders and Projection
31:05 - Stop Drop and Roll with Drama
33:41 - The power of naming a Personality Disorder
41:02 - Empathy for PDS
43:52 - Why PD’s “hook you”
45:54 - Conclusion