We review the characteristics of this type of pathological personality, and its main features.
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What is histrionic personality?
The word ‘histrionic’ comes from the Latin ‘histrionicus’, which means something related to or pertaining to the histrion. Histrión is the name given to the theatrical actor who entertains the public by disguising himself and exaggeratingly showing the feelings of his character. It is for this reason that the adjective ‘histrionic’ is often used when talking about the world of entertainment, relating some actors such as Jack Nicholson or Jim Carrey with a type of histrionic personality.
However, outside the acting world, this word is also used when it comes to referring to a person whose way of being stands out for theatricality, the excessive way in which he shows his emotions and how his behavior is highly sociable. When someone is said to be histrionic, what comes to mind is not exactly the image of a shy and unassertive person.
However, having a histrionic personality can pose certain problems if its main features become chronic and very pronounced. It is in this context that we speak of histrionic personality disorder, a psychological personality disorder that is included in group B, which includes erratic, emotional and dramatic disorders.
Histrionic people are overly emotional and often the center of attention, especially for the worse.
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main features
Below we show the main features by which the histrionic personality is characterized .
1. Low tolerance for frustration
If things don’t go their way, they feel deeply frustrated and dissatisfied.
2. Egocentrism
They need to be the center of attention. To do this, they use their physical appearance, taking great care of their image and the first visual impression they generate on others.
But not only attract attention through their physical appearance. Their opinions, way of dressing and behaving, marked by exaggeration and the non-normative, make people pay attention to them. They like to feel different and let the rest know it.
3. Low self-esteem
Because they have very low self-esteem, people with this personality type tend to seek the support and approval of others.
4. Drama and theatricality
They take emotions, both positive and negative, to the extreme. They show their feelings in an exaggerated way, as if they were authentic authors of Classical Greece. Life is a drama that never ends for these people.
5. Manipulation and emotional blackmail
To get what they want, people with this personality type have no qualms about trying to manipulate others.
In addition, it is quite common for them to try to blame others for their own problems, seeing if in this way they can get the other person to accept ‘their’ guilt and do everything the histrionic person wants.
6. Sensitive to criticism
Related to their low self-esteem, histrionic people are very affected when they receive negative criticism.
In addition, they are easy to disappoint and upset, and often feel that they have been treated unfairly.
7. Easily influenced
They tend to get carried away by the opinion of others.
8. Low tolerance for monotony
They get bored very easily and do everything possible to escape from the monotony. This makes them constantly seek new stimuli and new experiences.
9. Fanciful
They are very given to fantasy. They imagine a lot and often daydream. That is why many histrionic people are great artists, thanks to the fact that they have a very experienced imagination.
10. Vision of the world without nuances
Histrionic people perceive the world in black or white, with no tones in between. That is to say, for them, people either have an opinion in one way or another, meaning that they are either on their side or against them.
For this reason, when they have a friend who shows a discordant opinion with them, they can perfectly reject him or make him empty for the simple fact of not thinking like her.
11. Emotional instability
The life of histrionic people is marked by an outstanding swing of emotions. Your feelings are fleeting and constantly changing.
12. Capricious
Many of them behave as if they were still children, only a few years older.
13. Lack of empathy
It is very difficult for them to position themselves in the place of the other. They can only see things from their perspective, without understanding that others can suffer as a result of their own actions.
14. Seductive behavior
Usually, they use the exaggeration of their sexual attributes to gain the attention of others. They magnify your masculinity/femininity.
Although it has been suggested that the histrionic personality is more common in women, men who have this type of personality behave as if they were ladies.
Causes
The histrionic personality is usually formed during childhood , however, its most notable features are presented from adolescence. As with any other type of personality, histrionics has multiple causes that interact with each other, either due to the genetic part or due to the experience of events that shape the way of being.
It is argued that a parental style marked by neglect of parents and lack of organization in the educational style, together with the presence of psychological abuse, humiliation and contempt would be behind the way of being of histrionic people.
Another important factor that could influence how the histrionic person behaves is lack of self-esteem , combined with insecurity about one’s physical appearance. Also lack of attention.
What can be done before a histrionic person?
Histrionic people are not usually aware that they may have a problem, that is, this type of personality is usually of the ego-syntonic type. However, they do cause damage around them, so the intervention of a psychologist is necessary.
In the event that we are not talking about histrionic personality disorder but there are certain characteristics of this personality, the person’s environment can follow some of the following tips to make life with this person more acceptable .
1. Understand what histrionics entails
The histrionic personality is not something that is the product of a decision of the person who presents it. His dysfunctional way of behaving and relating to others is something difficult to change and that the person may not be aware of.
You should avoid blaming them for how they are, and try to understand that the histrionic person does not see anything wrong with their way of being, especially since their way of being is something that is deeply consolidated.
They are people with many difficulties when it comes to controlling their emotionality, which is also linked to a very distorted perception of reality. It should be said that this type of personality should not be confronted with compassion either, since doing so runs the risk of promoting their beliefs that they are the victims instead of the cause of certain irresponsible behaviors.
2. Set limits
The person with histrionic personality must be understood, but not for that reason one must give in to their whims and manipulations. It should be clear what the limits are.
In the same way that the histrionic person deserves to be understood and listened to, their environment must also be respected, and they must be made to understand this.
If the person is upset, the best thing to do is leave the subject that was going to be discussed for another time when there is no tension, since doing so at that time runs the risk of things going wrong. to worst.
3. Positive reinforcement
All adult behavior that the person manifests should be taken as an example of how to behave.
Thus, if he does the things of a person of his age, without being capricious or damaging the pride of others, we must show them a greater degree of attention, so that he sees that when he behaves like this he receives more respect and appreciation.
4. Do not fall into the same game
Histrionic people, although they may behave like children, should be treated as what they are, adults, and therefore should not be accepted according to what types of behavior. Playing along with them and acting as if you were their father is very counterproductive, generating a type of relationship that can border on toxicity.
Treatment for histrionic personality disorder
People with this type of personality fall into a dysfunctional spiral that constantly feeds on itself if nothing is done to prevent it. The underlying problem is that histrionic people do not perceive to what extent they have a problem and that their way of behaving harms others and themselves, on top of believing that they are the victims of the actions of others.
Given these characteristics of the disorder, it is logical to understand why many of these people do not go to the psychologist’s office on their own, but forced by their family and friends. But there is also the situation in which this type of person voluntarily goes to the psychologist’s office when something very serious has happened that causes them a lot of discomfort and it is clear that they need professional help.
In clinical practice, although the person with histrionic personality has decided to go to the clinic, it is not usually constant and they do not commit to going either . This implies that therapy is abandoned early and, therefore, its results are rather limited.
Bibliographic references
- López-Ibor Aliño, Juan J. & Valdés Miyar, Manuel (dir.) (2002). DSM-IV-TR. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Revised text. Barcelona: Editorial Massón.
- Millon, Theodore & Davis, Roger D. (1998). Personality disorders. Beyond DSM-IV. Barcelona: Editorial Massón.
To the classic question “what do you do?” I always answer “basically I am a psychologist”. In fact, my academic training has revolved around the psychology of development, education and community, a field of study influenced my volunteer activities, as well as my first work experiences in personal services.