When Do You Cross the Line Into a Personality Disorder?
Most traits are simply personality quirks, but sometimes they can progress into mental illness.
By David Levine, Contributor |March 9, 2018, at 11:37 a.m.
It's all too easy to categorize people by their personalities. Your mother is passive-aggressive. Your co-worker seems somewhat antisocial. Your friend likes to hit the casino whenever he can. You have to admit that you are bit obsessive-compulsive. We all have certain personality traits. But when do those traits cross over into a personality disorder, a recognized mental illness?
"Personality traits are the relatively enduring normal dimensions of temperament and character that we are born with or develop at a very early age," says Samuel A. Ball, professor of psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine. Personality traits such as negativity and agreeableness exist on a continuum from high to low and can be considered normal or abnormal depending on one's culture, he says. However, Ball explains that "the more extreme the personality traits, the stronger the positive or negative reactions from parents and one's culture."
https://health.usnews.com/health-care/patient-advice/articles/2018-03-09/when-do-you-cross-the-line-into-a-personality-disorder
