The Disruption of Identity Through Grief
Sep-2024
It's true that we are all built differently and that we have our own personality traits.
Every person can recognize their own life patterns even since childhood. Some people are just more active, optimistic, friendly, extroverted, introverted, pessimistic, realistic, or you name it.
What I wanted to write about today is the type of depression that is linked, or better said stick to your entire personality.
Depressive personality disorder (DPD) is a term used to describe a set of personality traits and patterns of thinking that are characterized by a pervasive sense of sadness, hopelessness, and a tendency towards self-criticism and pessimism. While not formally recognized as a distinct disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), the concept of depressive personality can be useful for understanding certain personality traits that contribute to chronic depressive feelings.
Usually, people understand that they have DPD once when all the therapies don't bring any results. You may live a fulfilled life with zero problems, yet feel a bit depressive. And while other people would be able to enjoy that life so much more, you will still stay depressed and wonder what is wrong with you.
What I saw through life is that artistic people and those with a lot higher intelligence rates have often some sort of DPD. You are a person who cannot stop thinking about how unfair this world is, and you are constantly feeling other's emotions too, mostly bad ones. This brings us to the next conclusion which is that people with DPD are very often empaths in their hearts. Artistic people, or everyone who is into art and very gifted tend to have a depressive personality disorder as well.
How to recognize depressive personality disorder? Most of the time, you will see these personality traits and patterns of behavior:
1. Constant Sadness: Individuals may experience a consistent feeling of sadness or emptiness, even when there is no apparent cause for such emotions. Of course, you won't feel like this 24/7 but what I want to say is that your sadness can come out of the blue, frequently.
2. Perfectionism and a tendency to escape the reality. Individuals may have a harsh inner critic and struggle to accept positive feedback, or better said - they are characterized as sensitive when it comes to any criticism. People with DPD tend to dream awake all the time and can get lost in their imagination, rather than live in the present moment.
3. Pessimistic about the future: A tendency to focus on negative outcomes and expect the worst can dominate their worldview, leading to a sense of hopelessness about the future. This can trigger anxiety as well.
4. Social Withdrawal: As said above already, people with this personality trait tend to spend more time alone. They actually have their own world of hobbies and interests and enjoy their own time, even when they are feeling sad. As adults, they may give up on some social activities they once enjoyed and prefer alone time even more. People with DPD also claim that others don't understand them.
5. Difficulty Experiencing Joy: A chronic inability to experience pleasure or joy in life, known as anhedonia, is common. This can make everyday activities feel unfulfilling and contribute to a general sense of dissatisfaction. It may feel like something is always missing. Great artists from our history had at least some sort of DPD as well. Remember the famous quote by Franz Kafka: ''I have spent all my life resisting the desire to end it.''.
Addictions and suicide thoughts. After I wrote the quote from Kafka above, I remembered that people with DPD can also be prone to addictions, as well as suicidal thoughts. Addictions are usually linked to alcohol or drugs. People with depressive personality disorder usually search for new ways and experiences that can bring them joy, which leads to problems with addiction.
Suicide thoughts are also common, yet people with DPD won't commit suicide in most cases.
Mental health experts claim that DPD comes from a combination of genetic, environmental, and psychological factors:
A family history of depression and other mental health issues, mostly personality disorders can trigger DPD as well. Genetic factors may also contribute to the way an individual processes emotions and react to stress.
Early Life Experiences: Trauma, neglect, or abuse, can also be the cause. Too much criticism coming from the parents, or having cold parents can be one of the factors of developing depressive personality disorder.
Maladaptive thinking patterns. Negative self-beliefs, a tendency to ruminate on failures, and a focus on negative aspects of life are usually a part of developing personality disorders and anxiety, including DPD.
Imbalances in neurotransmitters and neurological hormones. If serotonin and dopamine are not being released in our bodies in a proper way and amount, we can feel blue almost all the time, even without the reason.
In the next blog post, I will write about how depressive personality disorder can be treated.
