- A psychologist said Amber Heard had a histrionic personality disorder characterized by dramatic, attention-seeking behavior.
- The condition is much more diagnosed in women and the label may support sexist stereotypes.
- One psychologist told the Insider that he suspected that the obsolete term would be removed from future DSMs.
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According to a forensic psychologist hired by Johnny Depp’s legal team, his ex-actress Amber Heard has chronic and borderline personality disorders.
Hurd’s psychologist said the only condition Hurd suffered from was post-traumatic stress disorder due to Depp’s alleged abuse.
The former couple is in the midst of a lengthy week-long defamation trial, which has further revealed their toxic relationship and recently brought relatively unknown personality disorders into the public consciousness.
While histrionic personality disorder is an official diagnosis in the American Psychiatric Association’s Handbook of Diagnosis and Statistics, some mental health professionals say it is outdated, sexist, and stigmatizing.
Istrian personality disorder
Along with BPD, the histrionic personality is a cousin of narcissistic and antisocial personality disorders, which are often characterized by dramatic, excitable, erratic, or variable behavior.
The isthonic personality disorder specifically describes exaggerated emotions and attention-seeking behaviors, according to recently updated continuing education materials for psychiatrists and psychologists. To be diagnosed with the condition, patients must meet at least five of the following criteria:
- Inconvenient when not the center of attention
- Seductive or provocative behavior
- Displacement and shallow emotions
- Uses appearance to attract attention
- Impressionist and vague speech
- Dramatic or exaggerated emotions
- We assume
- He considers relationships more intimate than they are
These characteristics must also be widespread and affect a person’s daily life.
“The typical patient dresses intrusively, is very engaging and at times funny. Their stories are usually very interesting and told in very emotional tones,” said Dr. Eric Messias, chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience at St. Louis University School. medicine, told the Insider.
Messias said they tend to find jobs that allow them to be the center of attention, such as acting and teaching. They are prone to manipulation, including by cult leaders. However, unlike people with narcissistic personality disorder, they have empathy for others.
While psychotherapy can help, many people with HPD find a way to live with their condition, Messias said, and do not see their traits as problematic.
The diagnosis is rooted in sexism and can perpetuate stereotypes
It is estimated that about 2 to 3% of the population has a histrionic personality disorder, which is diagnosed four times more often in women – probably due to the stigma against their so-called “seductive” behavior. It is not clear what causes it, but a family history increases the risk and survival of childhood sexual abuse.
“This puts women diagnosed with HPD in Trick-22,” Roxana Khan, a senior professor of forensic psychology at the University of Central Lancashire, told Insider. “On one side of the HPD coin, these traits are common in survivors of childhood violence / trauma. On the reverse side of the same coin, these features are used to label these women as unwell. ”
The diagnosis has also been criticized for being rooted in the term hysteria, which has historically been used to blame women’s emotions, symptoms and behavior on the uterus. “The name is so anti-feminine and anti-feminist,” Ramani Durvasula, a clinical psychologist who specializes in narcissism and other personality disorders, told Insider. She suspects that the DSM will remove it soon.
“I think the Istrian personality is like a light version of narcissism – not so much as malicious manipulation, but rather the seductive search for attention and shallow dramatic emotion,” Durvasula added.
However, continuing to label women with HPD and men with psychopathy could perpetuate sexist notions that women are “crazy” and men are “bad,” Khan said.
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