Someone who always needed to be the center of attention?
You may have encountered someone with Histrionic Personality Disorder.
Someone who couldntstandnot being the center of attention?
You may have come across someone with the traits ofHistrionic Personality Disorder.
More women than men are usually diagnosed with this disorder.
Interpersonally, they tend to be highly suggestible people whose opinions can change on a whim.
They tend to perceive relationships to be more intimate than they actually are.
Histrionic Personality Disorder is also one of the few disorders which is directly tied to a persons appearance.
A person with histrionic traits will dress provocatively and demonstrate a hyperfocus on how they look.
They are also likely to use their sexuality inappropriately to get ahead at school or at work.
These individuals may also alienate friends with demands for constant attention.
They often become depressed and upset when they are not the center of attention.
al, 1996; Ghouse et.
al, 2013).
The overlap with these disorders is not surprising.
A histrionic personalitys insatiable attention-seeking can mirror the entitlement of the narcissist to be at front and center.
Their bubbly, vivacious and energetic theatricality can easily be mistaken for mania.
A Portrait of a Histrionic Female
Daphnelovedbeing the center of attention.
People who knew her described her as a gregarious drama queen who was overly obsessed with her appearance.
Yet she always managed to steal the show.
However, her self-centeredness became exhausting for the people around her.
She was rarely reciprocal in her conversations, preferring to make the focus herself and her life.
The problem was, many of her friends only knew her superficially and what theydidknow about her unnerved them.
While they found Daphne entertaining and amusing, they also found her behavior disturbing.
It made them uncomfortable that she had no sense of boundaries.
Later when Daphne got married, she became restless and started having an affair with her neighbors husband.
It didnt take long before her husband found out and her life fell apart.
Her reckless, risk-taking behavior caused harm to her loved ones and eventually led to her own downfall.
Only a mental health professional can make the diagnosis for Histrionic Personality Disorder.
If you or someone you know suffers from histrionic traits, its important to get professional support.
Self-awareness and the willingness to change is key to preventing the destructive nature of this disorder.
