Was heißt schon normal? Was man in der hausärztlichen Praxis über Persönlichkeitsstörungen wissen sollte

Personality disorders are common, and often remain undiagnosed or are hidden by other psychiatric diagnoses such as anxiety or depression. Unusual behaviors include emotional instability, self-harming behavior, and difficulty building relationships. The diagnosis should be made by a specialist in a structured manner and communicated to the patient. Especially for borderline personality disorder the benefit of specific psychotherapy is evidence based. Drug therapies with psychotropic drugs should be avoided. A change in psychiatry is currently being observed in the area of personality disorders. The old way of thinking in terms of strict disease categories is increasingly being replaced by a dimensional description of mental disorders. How quickly this will happen and whether this new approach will be more successful than the old one remains to be seen.