I was, after many years in therapy, diagnosed with Personality Disorder Not Otherwise Specified 8 years ago. I believe that I probably would have qualified for Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder before I essentially fell apart after my late husband died.

I think personality disorders are interesting to learn about, too. Curiosity and learning might be thought of as one of my "defense mechanisms", but it probably could be worse!

I wish more therapists found them interesting to learn about. And I wish they, or maybe some academics somewhere, were more curious about them and how to help people with them to cope or really "recover" from them.

I personally believe "recovery" is possible. It's mostly just a feeling -- somewhere in there there is a "healthy me" just trying to come out!! But I'm 70 and so far. . .but I'm not dead yet. Once there are some success stories, what worked and what doesn't, and maybe some good generalizations or theories about why -- hopefully it won't be so awful for people with PD's in the future.

My last T thought that I had the anxious-ambivalent attachment style. She said she did, too.

Hmmm. . .I wonder if that could be associated with a kind of "split" between love and hate responses. . .A major issue all my life has apparently been my avoidance of, and dissociation from, a major rejection/abandonment feeling that my last T eventually triggered and which I think (and feel) may be associated with my "hate" response, which I think was dissociated, in part because it was universally looked down on by my family of origin.

I'm pretty sure this doesn't relate to avoidant personality disorder. I've been in a support group for years with two people who I suspect have AvPD. And they are very different from me. Very nice people, though! I've never heard of them disliking or hating anybody, or even being angry much. But they do avoid some people! I try very hard not to be one of those.