Dependent personality disorder is individuals that rely on others that lead to clinging and submissive behaviours, and are afraid of separation.
For example: a man in his mid-20 had experienced difficulty at work; socially because he needed so much attention. He was always 
depressed and anxious about failures and by the way he spoke, you could tell he needed help.
Statistics of Disorder
- Dependent Personality disorder is found more in females than in males because females are more emotional and express their feelings more than males.
Various Forms
- Narcissistic; overblown self-worth lack of empathy
- -need for constant positive attention
- -unreasonable expectations of success
- -obsession with fantasies of qualities
- -exaggerated achievement
Causes
- Some Causes for DPD are Individuals with dependent personality disorder often have been socially humiliated by others in their developmental years.
- They may have doubts about their abilities to perform tasks, take on new responsibility, and generally function independently.
- they portray a helplessness when they don’t have someone caring for them
Symptoms
- Have difficulty making common decisions
- Need a excessive amount of advice & reassurance before making decisions
- Have difficulty doing things on their own
- Go to excessive lengths to gain support
- Feel helpless when alone
- Quickly seek a new relationship
- Are preoccupied with fears of being left
- Intense fear of abandonment
Treatment
- patients are passive in their overall treatment
- don’t look for treatment for the disorder itself, but seek treatment when a problem occurs
- psychotherapy (type of counselling). Goal of therapy is to help person become active, independent and form healthy relationships
- short term therapy is better because long term can lead to dependency on therapist
- Therapy strategies: assertiveness training to help person develop self confidence
- Use of medication: treat people who also suffer from depression/anxiety. Patient can become dependent on drugs or abuse drugs.
Prognosis & Community
- The general prognosis for individuals with DPD is good
- Most with this disorder have had a supportive relationship with one parent
- It allows them to engage in treatment to vary degrees and to explore behaviour
- There are no help centres or psychiatric wards in peel or Toronto but there are many in England and the states.
Impact
- Some impacts on the sufferer and their family and friends, is that families are commonly endured of the explosive anger and rage, depression built in the individual. For example, a person who rarely gets out of bed would fall under the above statement. The person experiencing this type of disorder, would be occasionally referred to treatment by a loved one, who is recognizing some difficultly with this individual’s coping skills or who have reached their personal limit trying to cope with them.
Famous Victims
- Buster in Arrested Development
- Bill Dauterive (King of the Hill)
Other Information
- Prevention: might not be possible, but treatment can allow a person to learn more productive ways of dealing with situations.
