hi -

my name is becka. Im 18. I usually post on the schizophrenia boards because i have been diagnosed with paranoid schiz (though at one time i wondered if i had Schizotypal personality disorder)

anyway, i've never really been able to understand why they are called personality disorders. Maybe i just dont know enough about it all. When someone says "you have a personality disorder" it's like they are saying there is something wrong with you as a person,or your charactor. I read in a book called "surviving schizophrenia" that schizotypal PD use to be called borderline schizophrenia. That seems to make more sense. Schizotypal seems much more like a milder form of schizophrenia than a personality disorder. I read that In the UK, schizotypal is simply called "schizotypal disorder" it is not classified as a personality disorder, but as a schizophrenic disorder.

A lot of these personality disorders--from what i've read of them-- seem more like they should be classified as mild psychotic disorders.

...any thoughts on this? Anyone know why are they called personality disorders and not some other kind of disorder?

thanks

-Becka