My pdoc was leaning towards a personality disorder diagnosis?

I saw my psychiatrist today, I was glad to report that my moods were stable, I have not been suffering from depression or mania - ever since getting off of the Lamictal.

I did however tell her that I still get bouts of paranoia and fears.

She told me that the paranoia and fears was separate for my bipolar diagnosis.

I pressed her and asked her why I still have these fears and paranoia.

She told me that it could be part of my personality and upbringing as a child - She told me that more medicines were not the answer at this point.

I have a feeling that both my psychiatrist and therapist are leaning towards a personality disorder - I am guessing Paranoid Personality Disorder? I was fearful and suspicious of everyone as a child even.

I wonder if Paranoid Personality Disorder is common with bipolar - I will have to check it out.

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are you confusing paranoia with e.g. social anxiety?

It is the diagnosis I have. I hope you don’t get it as in my opinion it is one of the worst diagnoses there is. The descriptors for people with paranoid personality are very negative.
It’s not that people don’t experience significant levels of paranoia but the diagnosis sees those with it as aggressive, and neglects the fact that many paranoiacs(including myself) are avoidant and fearful rather than aggressive.

It is not a diagnosis I would willingly admit to having off of a mental health forum whereas I was open with my limited group of contacts when I had a schizophrenia then schizoaffective diagnosis.

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I honestly don’t know what she was trying to tell me.

When I asked her as to why I was still being paranoid when my bipolar moods were stable, she brought up things like personality and up bringing?

I am assuming that she is connecting my paranoid behavior to a personality disorder of some kind- I could be wrong though.

I’ve been diagnosed with schizoid personality disorder and avoidant personality disorder, and I think maybe one other. Personality disorders don’t receive enough attention.

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I fit the criteria for avoidant PD but am not diagnosed with it. I have schizotypal traits but don’t think I meet the full criteria.

I dont even know if my pdoc would officially diagnose me with a personality disorder (to the insurance company)

She may think that I have a personality disorder and recognize it, but I doubt that she would include it as one of my diagnoses to the insurance company - you are right personality disorders get ignored by a lot of pdocs - not so much by therapists.

I am going to talk about it to my therapist, shes a PHD and raised the diagnosis of personaility disorder before

Some pdocs thought I had borderline personality disorder instead of sz or along with sz, but my present pdoc (who has years of experience) doesn’t think so, he just says I have paranoid sz. I meet some of the criteria for BPD though, especially the self-harm (through cutting or banging).

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