Home Menu

Menu


Reply
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old Jun 21, 2011, 07:30 AM
Thomas in Ohio's Avatar
Thomas in Ohio Thomas in Ohio is offline
Member
 
Member Since: Jun 2011
Location: Central Ohio
Posts: 33
Now, I know no one but a trained professional would be able to do a hard diagnosis on this situation, but I'm trying to figure it out for my own information. Educated guesses are welcome, since there are those here on PC that have vastly more experience in these matters than do I.

For lack of a better name, let's call the person in question Subject A, or just A for short.

Subject A seems relatively normal at first glance. A little eccentric about body decorations, but nothing that would get a second glance on a college campus. The puzzling part comes on closer inspection. "A" seems to have a very busy and hectic life, to hear them tell it. A child with developmental disabilities, a Significant Other with health problems, etc. Their life is so busy (they say) that they even have minimal time to sleep. Fair enough, I believe that there's those types out there.
Looking even closer, however, inconsistencies start to appear. Different people are told somewhat different versions of events. When advice or solutions are presented for "A"'s problems, "A" always has a reason ready why it can't be done. "A" states that something important was given to another person, only to have that other person not be able to find it when it was needed. I could go on.
At first, I considered that "A" may just be living just a bit inside their own little fantasy world, but "A" seems a bit too "grounded", for lack of a better term. After doing some research here on PC, my opinion has changed to favor more of a Histrionic Personality Disorder combined with a Dependent Personality Disorder. Once again, that's my relatively uneducated opinion.

Any supporting or conflicting opinions are welcome - any information will likely assist me in figuring this person out. It's driving me totally batty trying to it on my own.
I'll answer any questions that I can while revealing as little as possible about this person's identity.

I figure that the worst that it can be is an interesting thought experiment.
Once again all opinios are welcome.

Take care!
T.

advertisement
  #2  
Old Jun 21, 2011, 07:40 AM
mgran's Avatar
mgran mgran is offline
Grand Poohbah
 
Member Since: Jul 2009
Posts: 1,987
I don't know, but I've known people like this. One woman turned out to be lying completely, even though she did seem grounded. She became completely hysterical when I met my husband, telling me lies about him, and him lies about me and my son, in an effort to split us up. Turned out that my husband knew her history... that she'd never had an American boyfriend who died in a motorcycle accident, that she'd never been pregnant and lost her babies, etc etc.

Sometimes even seemingly "grounded" people can be living in a fantasy world.
__________________
Here I sit so patiently
Waiting to find out what price
You have to pay to get out of
Going through all these things twice.
  #3  
Old Jun 21, 2011, 03:57 PM
amandalouise's Avatar
amandalouise amandalouise is online now
Wise Elder
 
Member Since: Mar 2009
Location: 8CS / NYS / USA
Posts: 9,171
Quote:
Originally Posted by Thomas in Ohio View Post
Now, I know no one but a trained professional would be able to do a hard diagnosis on this situation, but I'm trying to figure it out for my own information. Educated guesses are welcome, since there are those here on PC that have vastly more experience in these matters than do I.

For lack of a better name, let's call the person in question Subject A, or just A for short.

Subject A seems relatively normal at first glance. A little eccentric about body decorations, but nothing that would get a second glance on a college campus. The puzzling part comes on closer inspection. "A" seems to have a very busy and hectic life, to hear them tell it. A child with developmental disabilities, a Significant Other with health problems, etc. Their life is so busy (they say) that they even have minimal time to sleep. Fair enough, I believe that there's those types out there.
Looking even closer, however, inconsistencies start to appear. Different people are told somewhat different versions of events. When advice or solutions are presented for "A"'s problems, "A" always has a reason ready why it can't be done. "A" states that something important was given to another person, only to have that other person not be able to find it when it was needed. I could go on.
At first, I considered that "A" may just be living just a bit inside their own little fantasy world, but "A" seems a bit too "grounded", for lack of a better term. After doing some research here on PC, my opinion has changed to favor more of a Histrionic Personality Disorder combined with a Dependent Personality Disorder. Once again, that's my relatively uneducated opinion.

Any supporting or conflicting opinions are welcome - any information will likely assist me in figuring this person out. It's driving me totally batty trying to it on my own.
I'll answer any questions that I can while revealing as little as possible about this person's identity.

I figure that the worst that it can be is an interesting thought experiment.
Once again all opinios are welcome.

Take care!
T.
this could be any mental disorder or no mental disorder. people with any mental disorder can and do sometimes fight against taking advice of others that may help them, tell lies and other things.

people with no mental disorders also fight against taking positive advice from others that may help then and tell lies about their self and their problems.

examples right now we have a schizophrenic on the mental health unit that is the way you described theres also at least one a bipolar person, a depressed survivor with PTSD, a borderline personality disordered person, an OCD person, an avoidance personality disordered person..... by now you probably get the point without my having to list all 58 of our patients on the mental health unit and their disorders. regardless of disorder each one of them are like what you described. each one of my clients at the crisis center can also fit the same discriptions you gave for a case history.

Theres more to being / having a mental disorder than telling lies, and not taking advice from other that could better the persons lives and the other things you posted. theres a whole mess of diagnostic criteria and a whole mess of symptoms, some of which you probably would not consider to be a symptom depending upon your beliefs, location and cultural background.

Theres also many medical problems that can cause those same symptoms you describe.

by self diagnosing you can actually be doing "A" a great deal of harm. Diagnosing someone elses or your own problems well its like diagnosing someone with the plague when they may have just a very stubborn antibiotic resistant virus, or diagnosing someone with a "skin rash" or "freckles" when they may have a rare cancer.

my advice stop trying to self diagnose and have "A" go to their medical doctor. the medical doctor can then refer "A" to a psychiatrist that can appropriately diagnose "A"s problem.

it is only with diagnostic evaluations by a physician and a qualified mental health provider that will give you the correct diagnosis and treatment.

  #4  
Old Jun 21, 2011, 07:34 PM
Thomas in Ohio's Avatar
Thomas in Ohio Thomas in Ohio is offline
Member
 
Member Since: Jun 2011
Location: Central Ohio
Posts: 33
@ amandalouise -

Totally understood. "A" is just a person that I had contact with in the past, and I was just curious as to why they might have been acting as they did.

Nothing more than thinking back on the past, amandalouise
Thanks for this!
amandalouise
Reply
Views: 346

attentionThis is an old thread. You probably should not post your reply to it, as the original poster is unlikely to see it.




All times are GMT -5. The time now is 08:43 AM.
Powered by vBulletin® — Copyright © 2000 - 2025, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.




 

My Support Forums

My Support Forums is the online community that was originally begun as the Psych Central Forums in 2001. It now runs as an independent self-help support group community for mental health, personality, and psychological issues and is overseen by a group of dedicated, caring volunteers from around the world.

 

Helplines and Lifelines

The material on this site is for informational purposes only, and is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment provided by a qualified health care provider.

Always consult your doctor or mental health professional before trying anything you read here.