The Family Dynamics of Narcissistic Personality Disorder and of Psychosomatic Illnesses | Psychology Today
Personality disorders are not diseases. They are merely combinations of dysfunctional character traits that happen to occur together at a frequency much greater than would be predicted by chance. Within each disorder, there are quite a few different combinations of the traits listed in the diagnostic criteria that qualify someone for the diagnosis.
Personality disorder researchers have found that if a given patient meets the threshold for one personality disorder, the chances are excellent that they will also meet the threshold for an average of just under two other personality disorders. Any other two personality disorders.
Psychologists also talk about something called the primary attribution error. Whenever we see others behaving in a certain way, we are all apt to attribute their behavior to inborn personality characteristics rather than seeing it as reactive to a particular environment. This is considered by psychologists to be an error because the situation and social context people find themselves is often at least and usually far more important than their inborn tendencies in determining what they actually do.
Not that our inborn tendencies are irrelevant. It is just that our species is very good at adapting to its physical and particularly to its social environment. The tendency to be adaptive is what is programmed into our DNA.
Before I proceed with describing two more roles, I would like to comment on a question a reader posed after my last post. She wanted to know what the "fix" is if one finds oneself acting out one of these roles. That's a great question but, unfortunately, a very complicated one. In general, the fix involves employing certain techniques for altering both your own behavior and the reactions that your family has to it. If it is done poorly, however, results can be disastrous and make matters much worse. I generally do not recommend trying the techniques on your own without the guidance of a therapist versed in them.
