Personality Disorder Case Study

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Case Study 1: DK, a 20 year old, white female displays characteristics of a personality disorder, specifically a cluster B “Dramatic” personality disorder. Cluster B personality disorders include antisocial, borderline, histrionic, and narcissistic disorders (Comer, 2015). People with a “Dramatic” personality disorder display dramatic, erratic, or emotional behaviors, which hinder their ability to have meaningful, long-lasting relationships with others (Comer, 2015). In the particular case of DK, her behaviors seem to correlate with borderline personality disorder. Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a disorder in which individuals display overall instability, major shifts in mood, unstable self-images or relationships, and impulsivity …show more content…

DK reported having feelings of emptiness, insomnia, and negative mood (Case Study). Emotional symptoms of feeling empty and miserable are typical of unipolar depression (McClure). In addition, DK displays bulimic tendencies. She described her whole life as a diet and reports a constant worry about her weight. Moreover, after she fights with her mother, she engages in binge eating, where she eats many desserts or any food she can obtain (Case Study). Though DK does not exhibit the typical purge behaviors—forcing oneself to throw up or abusing diuretic—she does go to the gym for hours after the binge behavior (Comer, 2015; Case Study). Furthermore, she is very concerned with her appearance and tries to make herself attractive to others by wearing a lot of make-up and changing her hair color (Case Study). In addition, DK is promiscuous and sexually active, which us typical of individuals with bulimia nervosa. DK also exhibits moods swings, which her mother describes as erratic behaviors, which is indicative of bulimia (Comer, 2015; Case Study). Research shows that one-third of individuals with bulimia also display a personality disorder, particularly borderline personality disorder (McClure). More information, like the duration of DK’s depressive and bulimic symptoms, would be needed in order to make additional diagnoses or rule these disorders

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