Dependent Personality Disorder

What is Dependent Personality Disorder?

People with DPD have signifiant difficulty being alone, making independent decisions, and tend to become emotionally overdependent on other people. A core symptom is a pervasive need to be taken care of and an over-reliance on others to meet their emotional and physical needs. People with this disorder tend to be passive and demonstrate clinging behaviours as there is a substantial fear of loss and separation. They often believe that they are not capable of functioning on their own.

Other common characteristics of this personality disorder include:

• Difficulty making everyday decisions without the advice and reassurance of others
• Needs others to assume responsibility for their lives
• Difficulty expressing disagreement for fear of losing support or approval
• Intense fear of abandonment and a sense of devastation or helplessness when relationships end; a person with DPD often moves right into another relationship when one ends.
• Inability to start projects or tasks because of a lack of self-confidence
• Will volunteer to do things they don’t like as a way to gain nurturance and support; will tolerate being mistreated
• Feels uncomfortable or helpless when alone because of fears of being unable to care for himself or herself.
• Urgently seeks another relationship as a source of care and support when a close re­lationship ends.
• Is unrealistically preoccupied with fears of being left to take care of themselves

How is Dependent Personality Disorder Treated?

In order to help a person manage emotion and impulsivity, we typically use DBT as the treatment of choice.

Treatments

DBT

Learn More About Other Personality Disorders