It’s All Your Fault: High Conflict People

The New Elephant in the Room: Personality Disorders

8 snips

Jan 12, 2023

Explore the enigmatic world of personality disorders, where Bill and Megan dissect what makes them unique and their prevalence in society. They shed light on how these disorders manifest in everyday relationships and caution against labeling individuals too hastily. The discussion dives into the intersection of personality disorders and criminal behavior, referencing a notable case. Listeners learn to recognize key traits and understand the importance of compassion in managing relationships with those exhibiting such patterns.

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INSIGHT

Personality Disorders Are Interpersonal Illnesses

Personality disorders are classified as mental illnesses that mainly show up in interpersonal contexts.
People with these disorders are usually in touch with reality but apply distorted thinking in relationships.

INSIGHT

Prevalence And Adult Onset

Research estimates about 10–15% of adults have a diagnosable personality disorder.
These disorders often become identifiable in adulthood when patterns stay stuck rather than change.

ANECDOTE

Charm Masks Dysfunction

Megan described a woman who repeatedly called an ex

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Personality disorders are mystifying to those unfamiliar with them, and even to some in the mental health profession, although with copious amounts of information online about them these days, everyone acts like an expert and the terminology is bandied about with authority.

It’s sticky and fascinating information. Unexplainable behaviors can quickly be explained away as narcissistic personality disorder or other personality disorder types. Once that thought happens, it’s easy to develop confirmation bias, which we talked about in the last episode. But it can be dangerous information, information that must be treated with respect and caution.

In this episode, Bill and Megan discuss:

Are personality disorders a type of mental illness? What is different about them? How common are they?
How do they appear in everyday life? Would I know if someone had one? Examples?
What questions should be asked in relation to personality disorder and criminal behavior, including the current tragic case of the Idaho murders?
Are all people with personality disorders high conflict people?
If I think someone has a personality disorder should I tell them?
If I want to explain to a friend or family member what a personality disorder is, what should I say?

Links & Other Notes

Our website: https://www.highconflictinstitute.com/

Submit a Question for Bill and Megan

All of our books can be found in our online store or anywhere books are sold, including as e-books.

You can also find these show notes at our site as well.

Note: We are not diagnosing anyone in our discussions, merely discussing patterns of behavior.

(00:00) - Welcome to It's All Your Fault
(00:34) - How to Understand Personality Disorders
(02:00) - Are Personality Disorders a Type of Mental Illness?
(05:30) - Higher Percentage?
(07:36) - A Different Way to Find the Solution
(10:59) - Careful Labelling
(11:47) - How Would I Know?
(14:00) - Idaho Murder Case Example
(18:24) - Personality Disorder Does Not Equal HCP
(20:41) - Blame and Charm
(22:34) - Always There
(23:22) - Lack of Self-Awareness
(24:53) - Explaining Personality Disorders
(28:55) - Last Thoughts
(29:43) - Reminders & Coming Next Week: Getting It Backwards in Family Court