Cluster C has three types of disorders. They all have a quality to their symptom criteria that it is an underlying and pervasive patterns of behaviors and is not related to or a symptoms of mood, anxiety, or thought disorders.
This first of cluster C is the Avoidant Personality Disorder. Individuals with this avoidant personality disorder exhibits pattern of social inhibition, overwhelming feelings of inadequacy, and hypersensitivity to negative evaluation of one but another. This disorder is evident around early adulthood. People with avoidant personality disorder avoid occupational activities that involve significant interaction with other people due to fear to criticism, disapproval or rejection. They are unwilling to get involved with people unless one is certain to be like and accepted. They often show restraint within intimate relationships because the fear of possible ridicule or being shamed. These individuals are also preoccupied with being criticized or rejected in social situations and are inhibited in new interpersonal settings due to feelings of inadequacy. The also view themselves as socially inept, personally unappealing, and/or inferior to others and is usually reluctant to take personal risks or to engage in any new activities do avoid any situations that may prove them inadequate or embarrassing.
Dependent Personality Disorder is the second in the current cluster. This disorder is characterized by excessive need to be taken care of that leads to clingy and submissive behavior and fear of separation is begins in adulthood. Individuals with dependent personality disorder have difficulty making everyday decisions without an excessive amount of advice and reassurance from others and need others to assume responsibility for major areas of their life. The have difficulty expresssing disagreement with others because fo fear of loss of support or approval. They also have a hard time initiating projects or activities on their own and go to excessive lengths to obtain nurturance and support from others, often by volunteering for activities that are unpleasant. Individuals with this disorder feel uncomfortable and/or helpless when alone due to the fear of unable to take care of him/herself. They fervently see another relationship as a source of care and support when a close relationship ends and lastly, are unrealistically preoccupied with fears of being left to take care of oneself.
The last of the personality disorders is the Obessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder. Individuals with OCPD show patterns of preoccupation with orderliness, perfectionism and mental and interpersonal control, at the expense of flexibility, openness and eficiency. Such symptoms start by early adulthood. They are preoccupied with details, rules, order, organization or schedules to the extent that the major point of the activitiy is lost. They show perfectionism that interferes with task completion and are excessively devoted to work and productivity to the exculsion of leisure activities and friendships. These individuals are overconscientious, scrupulous, and inflexible about subjects that are related to religion, morality, ethics or values and are unable to discard objects of no use that are worn-out, even if they hold no sentimental values. They are reluctant to delegate tasks or able to work in a group setting, and adopts a miserly spending style in general. Overall, individuals with obsessive-compulsive personality disorder show rigidity and stubborness.
Cluster C personality disorders have an underlying anxiety as a source of their disorders. This marks the end of the personality disorder series. Stay tuned for the next series topic Dissociative disorders.
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