avoidant personality disorder

hi i'm anita and i was wondering, does anyone else on this site suffer avoidant personality disorder? incase you don't know what that is, it talks about it here:

http://psychcentral.com/disorders/sx8.htm

i'm new to this site but i recently have started considering becoming a psychologist since i'm pretty much obsessed with self-improvement and disorders and the like. what i have is pretty much like hypochondria but instead of physical ailments, i fret over mental disorders and syndromes. so i figure since my obsession has such a negative effect and control over my life, why not turn it around and use it for the better? i wonder if there's anyone else out there that has a similar problem of being convinced that there's something wrong w/ them.

I have never been diagnosed with this, but I've read up on it before, and it describes me perfectly.

I once interviwed the wife of a psychiatrist who worked with the very, very sick at a state institution. The interview wasn't about his work, but as I filled in these little background details, I asked her how he got into that line of work. She said, "The psychiatrists are the medical students who sit around asking, 'Am I crazy?' and want to figure it out."

So I think you won't be alone in using your personal interest/eccentricity as a steppingstone to a career. Grin.

I think you would be in good company. I have met a few people who struck as psych. majors. I remember a guy who seemed to need a therapist and was studying psychology. My strong interest in the field is parially because of my interest in self-improvement.
I would caution you though that nearly everyone in my class seemed to say at one point or another that this disorder or that disorder describes them. It will probably be something that you will want to look out for. I had a case study that had avoidant personality disorder and depression. I was like this person is too much like me for me to diagnose this person. I did recognize the depression right away but avoidant personality disorder and social phobia is too similar to each other for me. I will warn you that the classes can be hard because you sometimes get a classmate who just doesn't get it. One classmate of mine said something about somone being "whacked" and other jokes about person's hair in a video. My teachers tended to try to steer this student from his remarks but it does come up some with some classmates. This classmate had been in treatment for an AODA issue which is why it surprised me. The material also relates more directly to you than it will to other students. Sometimes this gives you an advantage because you can understand what if feels like to have a mental health problem and see a counselor but at other times it can back fire. I hope you can make your interest in the mental field work for you in some way. Who knows maybe we will be colleagues some day.

I know exactly how you feel. I suffer with BDD, and I am very avoidant of certain situations. I also, am studying to become a Clinical Psychologist/Neuropsychologist.

That disorder sounds a whole WHOLE lot like me.... Huh.

But I was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder, and prescribed Zoloft. It's actually been helping me to the point where I was able to start school and make new friends.

If I did have this avoidant personality disorder, would the zoloft have helped me that much?

(I'd just ask my doctor but my next appointments aren't for a couple weeks... :/)

my therapist told me that i had this condition but he never officially diagnosed me with it because the insurance would not cover the therapy for it.

I've read that generalized anxiety disorder can be a part of Avoidant Personality disorder-- but being Avoidant goes much deeper than social anxiety. Medication may help the anxiety but with the personality disorder(which results in harmful/sabotaging thinking) medication won't help much..... so far, I don't know of a medication that alters ones thinking.

I would guess-- (I'm not a professional) -- that your diagnosis must have been correct in that you had generalized anxiety.

</font><blockquote><div id="quote"><font class="small">Quote:</font>
But I was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder, and prescribed Zoloft. It's actually been helping me to the point where I was able to start school and make new friends.

</div></font></blockquote><font class="post"> That is so great-- I hope your success continues.

mandy

Thank you!

My pdoc said that I have a lot of self esteem issues because of all the stuff I messed up because of my anxiety (being too scared to go to class, quitting work, being late to things). And it seems like this personality disorder has a lot to do with really bad self esteem?? So I guess it makes sense that I'd have a lot of those symptoms. BUT since I started doing better in school and relationships, those symptoms HAVE lessened a little. So my doc's probably right about my diagnosis, yay!

Thanks for helping me clear this up.

You're right. I think that self-doubt and low self-esteem are huge in avoidant personality disorder. It isn't so much not having the skills to get out there and interact with people, as being afraid of messing up and getting rejected if you try.