Personality Disorders Essay -- Psychology, Mental Health, ASPD

There are personality disorders, and then there are extremely troubling personality disorders that haunt you if you have ever met someone who had one. Antisocial personality disorder would be the latter. Often called sociopaths or psychopaths, individuals with Antisocial Personality Disorder exhibit a lack of conscience, and have a complete disregard for the safety of those around them and their self (American Psychological Association [APA], 2000). While half of the teenagers in America exhibit these traits, they are only one part of the criterion for the DSM-IV to diagnose someone with this personality disorder. As adults, individuals with ASPD are often unable to maintain a job or relationships with others as they are irresponsible and they manipulate constantly (APA, 2000). The person also will not plan ahead as they are extremely impulsive, and very aggressive. They do not think of others in the least and can be extremely dangerous. They often fail to conform to social norms and mores. These sociopaths are extremely dangerous because these traits, coupled with a relatively high I.Q., are a deadly combination, if not fueled into the right direction. In order to be diagnosed with ASPD, one has to be age 18, and has to have shown signs of Conduct Disorder, a disorder in which the patient shows early onset ASPD and has chronic aggression since they were at least 15 (APA, 2000). J. Reid Meloy, PhD (2007) those with ASPD have a very limited emotional range. They lack the capacity to feel normal emotions and thus they must fake it. In cases of severe psychopathy, it will be incredibly obvious that the patient has no idea how to experience a mutual, shared emotion (Meloy 2007). Therapy is often thought to not be an option as treat... ...d not character driven, as is the rest of Hollywood. Funnily enough, psychiatrists who often work with patients who are psychopathic are often troubled. They have reported feeling â€Å"the hairs stand up on the back of my neck†, this is known as countertransference. It is a real phenomenon that occurs when there is very real danger nearby. Attempted treatments include benzodiazepines, lithium, fluoxetine, and phenytoin. These medications are often used to treat the aggressive part of the patients’ personality. Those with ASPD are dangerous, whether they are only mildly psychopathic or they are severely psychopathic. Being able to charm and disarm others is their specialty, and special precautions should be taken to protect those that are around those with ASPD. Even though there might be some countertransference, not everyone listens to their visceral aesthetic.