4 Questions to Ask About Self-defeating Personality Disorder

A self-defeating personality disorder is often used to describe individuals who undermine their happiness and success, and individuals can typically be characterized within this category if they often feel the need to humiliate themselves, routinely find themselves to be undesirable, have an over-expectation of failure or rejection, and have generally negative feelings about themselves. It is common for those with this personality trait to only deem themselves as worthy when they are helping or serving others, often causing them to disregard their boundaries and be taken advantage of by others. Someone with a self-defeating personality disorder may find increased difficulty saying “no”, or even feel as though it is impossible, regardless of the likely impact not setting the boundary will have on their well-being. 

Three essential indicators of a personality disorder that can often be overlooked include persistence, rigidity, and globalism of the behaviors that are of concern. In this case, persistence refers to the longevity of the character traits that the individual is displaying, as those who can be diagnosed with a personality disorder will need to have had these traits present in their personality essentially since their personality has been fully formed, likely persisting for years. Rigidity refers to the inability of the individual to adapt and learn from their mistakes, likely with their interpersonal issues being the reason the mistakes occurred. 

Lastly, globalism of the behaviors and personality traits means that the individual displays these traits in all relationships and interactions that they have, rather than with just one specific person or group of people, and that difficulties that the individual may have in connecting with others will be a persisting issue among all of their partnerships. 

Self-sabotaging behavior is a very common personality trait among those diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, as the disorder causes a wide range of actions or reactions that can be classified as self-sabotaging. One of the primary symptoms of borderline personality disorder is impulsivity, which often results in self-sabotaging behaviors due to impulsive decisions and actions that interfere with long-term goals that the individual may have, such as impulsively quitting a job or ending a relationship. Impulsivity is just one of several ways in which self-sabotaging behaviors can manifest in those with borderline personality disorder, with self-sabotaging behaviors being one of the biggest challenges that these individuals face. 

Other markers of borderline personality disorder include emotional instability, fluctuating self-image, as well as problematic interpersonal relationships. Other ways that self-sabotage behaviors can manifest among those with borderline personality disorder include a severe fear of rejection and abandonment, often resulting in individuals avoiding becoming close to others out of fear of getting hurt and inadvertently placing strain on these relationships. Emotional instability can also lead to more instances of self-sabotage as those with borderline personality disorder may have coping mechanisms that are harmful during times when they are experiencing significant emotional distress, such as self-harming or abusing substances. 

The 4 main types of personality disorders into which the specific 10 recognized personality disorders can be categorized include Cluster A, Cluster B, Cluster C, and Other Specified and Unspecified Personality Disorders, and can be described as follows:

• Cluster A: Personality disorders that fall into the cluster A category can typically be described as eccentric or odd, including disorders such as schizoid personality disorder, schizotypal personality disorder, and paranoid personality disorder.
• Cluster B: Cluster B personality disorder types can often be described as erratic and emotional and will include personality disorders such as narcissistic personality disorder, antisocial personality disorder, borderline personality disorder, and histrionic personality disorder. 
• Cluster C: These personality disorders will include those that can be described as fearful or anxious, such as obsessive-compulsive personality disorder, dependent personality disorder, and avoidant personality disorder.
• Other Specified or Unspecified Personality Disorders: This category includes all other personality disorders that cannot be easily categorized under clusters A, B, or C. 

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