Is It Drama Or Is It Histrionic Personality Disorder?
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If your child has a histrionic personality disorder, you may be stunned by your child's ability to react in the volatile and dramatic way that they do. You can't seem to say anything to them. None of your suggestions, rules, enforcements, boundaries, gifts, or anything else helps to stave off the unnecessary drama. You can't predict it, you can't contain it, and eventually, you can't stand it any longer. Your child seems to be out of control. Histrionic personality disorder can often lead to rash behavior like substance abuse. When a child with HPD starts experimenting with drugs and alcohol, it can exacerbate their mental health symptoms. Trying to intervene with their drug use will only be met with worse drama or reactions. Perhaps you're terrified of what might happen if you don't. We strive to provide a range of mental health treatment programs that can support your teen's recovery. We also offer a family recovery support program to help your family heal. Please reach out to Stonewater Adolescent Recovery Center at
662.373.2828 to learn about our treatment programs.
Understanding Histrionic Personality Disorder
Teenagers with a histrionic personality disorder often have fairly good social skills, but they tend to use them to manipulate people around them, allowing them to be the center of attention. Symptoms of this disorder may include:- Being uncomfortable when he is not the center of attention
- Showing exaggerated emotions and expressions without sincerity
- Continually seeking approval or reassurance
- Being overly sensitive to disapproval and criticism
- Having difficulty maintaining relationships and often appearing shallow or fake when they deal with others
- Rarely showing concern for people and being self-centered
- Threatening or attempting suicide to get attention from those around them
How Can Addiction Complicate Histrionic Personality Disorder?
Matters are complicated further when drugs and alcohol are brought into the mix. Drugs and alcohol can elevate the excitement, reduce the amount of judgment and perception necessary to make good choices, and cause more energy, violence, and drama. Substance abuse in the home can lead to the learned behaviors a child might develop in HPD. A child might also use drugs and alcohol as another mechanism for gaining control. Problematically, children with HPD are easily encouraged. Suggestibility is a common symptom of HPD, which can make a child vulnerable to the suggestion of abusing drugs and alcohol in order to get attention from peers or parents. Additionally, many children with HPD can be mistaken in the quality of their relationships. Getting attention from peers after following suggestions to abuse substances, they might consider these relationships to be quality and intimate when they are not.Contact Stonewater Adolescent Recovery Center
Stonewater Adolescent Recovery Center is an adolescent addiction treatment center providing a continuum of care, including detox, addiction treatment, and academic support. We also offer a range of therapeutic modalities, including:- Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)
- Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT)
- Fly fishing therapy
- Art therapy
- Family therapy
