We all have that one person we call a Drama Queen. And I'm pretty sure you can think up of a few actors and actresses that should earn the Drama Queen award *cough* Paris Hilton annoying bitch *cough* uh! Maybe you've had one of those days where you've woken up and realized the society you live in are full of those? Well, you'd be surprised to know that it is a disorder. Many people believe disorders in Psychology have to do with Psychosis but that's not true at all. In fact, neurotic disorders are even more common than psychotic. We don't meet a schizophrenic everyday but we certainly do know a couple of personality disorders. In this blog, I'll be talking about the Histrionic Personality Disorder and I’ve decided to make it an easy read for everyone so eXcuse the sarcasm and personal opinions for those professionals who read this. And it will be partially focused on the Lebanese society though it eXists everywhere but I wanted YOU readers to relate with clinical ideas.
Found in AXIS II [Cluster B]
Found in AXIS II [Cluster B]
In order for this disorder to be diagnosed, it should complete a minimum of these 5 symptoms:
- is uncomfortable in situations in which he or she is not the center of attention;
- interaction with others is often characterized by inappropriate sexually seductive or provocative behavior;
- displays rapidly shifting and shallow expression of emotions;
- consistently uses physical appearance to draw attention to self;
- has a style of speech that is excessively impressionistic and lacking in detail;
- shows self-dramatization, theatricality, and exaggerated expression of emotion;
- is suggestible, i.e., easily influenced by others or circumstances;
- considers relationships to be more intimate than they actually are.
And yes, I do mean 5 and more. So take your time again and re-read those symptoms. Ring any bells?
So what causes this? Well, using our trusty Bio-Psy-Social model, the psychologists specialized in these disorders gave a few pointers. Biologically, some mentioned that people are predisposed to these traits. But from what I can tell you, it's a social model more than anything. Focusing on Lebanon, we live in a society of competition. Unfortunately, the Lebanese want to live like Royalty. You could be Kurt Cobain but in Lebanon, if you don't park with a Ferrari, suited up, three babes (you know the drill) then getting into those big clubs will be a problem. The Lebanese society is very corrupted - it's a society where money talks way more than it usually should. So why am I mentioning these? It's important to know that desire plays a big role in HPD. So in a society that breeds competition where everybody wants to be the big shot, you 'adapt' your traits to be socially acceptable. How many Lebanese girls do you know that sing? My God, they are everywhere! They take their voice as a divine object and center their life around it. I might as well wear my black belt to Church. So anyways, I hope you're getting the picture. It's just like the animal kingdom, we adapt to survive and fit in because in the end, we want acceptance. You can say it best starts at childhood when the typical mother is dressing up her little princess with the new shoes and dress and telling her, “These are so beautiful! No other girls in school have these clothes show go show them how pretty you are!” This is something you’ve seen or heard more than once. This programs the little child on a whole new level.
Two different girls with HPD or at least a few symptoms of it can be quite a show. Never thought of one? Here's an eXample: Ever been in a pub where one girl decides she's so wasted and starts to dance on the tables and all the guys start clapping like monkeys? Yeah besides that, take note that a few minutes later, another chick decides to start dancing on the bar. To you, it's wel3ane! wow great night! To me, the sentence: It's on BITCH is floating around. And they may be puking rainbows at one another, but that's just a bunch of lies - these girls are out to kill one another if given the chance.
So now we'll review the symptoms! The first one is the Histrionic is uncomfortable where he or she (it's mostly a she btw so I’ll stick to she eXamples) isn't the center of attention. I mean it isn't like they're just feeling irritated. As a Psychologist, take note of body language. As a normal but special person, watch out for certain things. For eXample, she might just make up a story for you to have full attention. She's pretty good with her eyes and her movement in order to keep you going with the flow. She might as well go as far as pretending to faint. Remember, when she enters the room, she takes note of her surroundings. She isn't the type to fall one and risk losing an eye, she plans it carefully. If that happens, ignore her.
By the way, take note that intelligence doesn't have much to weigh here. You can find HPD with low intelligence and they react eXplosively and you can find HPD with high intelligence and they can lead you on.
Interactions with others are usually associated provocative and seXually seductive. Yes, they could meet you for the first time and could make you believe you've got a chance. That's their way of introducing themselves. The best weapon is to be dry.
They use a style of speech that spells out denial. The proper eXample are those Like oh my God cheerleaders you see in movies. And they also make their voice be heard while stressing on the words.
The drama queen eXaggerates emotions to a level that might look ridiculous. The usual spoiled teens with the girl that finds out her boyfriend commented on a girl's picture and they set up a huge comeback for that 'like' and thanks comment. They make love look like it's magic. Or if you're the type that believes it's magical, well, they make it more magical than it already is :p In this case, they make relationships or try to make their relationships be just like the fairytale books. Now though this may sound absurd to you, a smart one can shape it to a fairytale of the modern century. Not all girls are dumb enough to want the Twilight love. Some just prefer classic MeXican Love Stories.
So if you have 5 or more of these symptoms, congratulations! If you have a few of these, you're listed as 'other' with tendencies and good potential. Now don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with these - it's not your fault entirely. Personally, this pisses me off and I encourage personality counseling.
Now let's take a few notes of the type of people who have these attributes. From facebook, look out for the girl who is constantly changing her profile picture. It doesn't matter what she looks like in profile picture but what really matters is that she has a continuous need to eXpose herself. Yeah so tell the girl with the bikini profile picture during the middle of icy February that she isn't the likes she gets.
Also, they have this celebrity thing of look what I'm doing - they love to upload their pictures from mobile every single day. I mean, we see these girls go clubbing but calculate the amount of time spent there and the seconds they took pictures - what part of fun did you have in the end? O wow I'm taking 1000 pictures in the club I've been at 20 times in one month.
Also, still on facebook, watch their reaction if they're having boyfriend problems. They usually try to eXalt themselves to show who they are. They don't know a bit of poetry but as soon as they encounter a relationship problem, they suddenly become Poet, Feminist and Girl Gone Wild. Now this behavior is quite typical with all human beings as a defense mechanism to feeling better but there is a strong correlation with HPD and this certain reaction.
A good eXample of a HPD on youtube is that annoying bitch I can’t stand: Jenna Marbles or Jennifer Marbles – something like that. Have you ever seen her videos? It’s quite sad, really – it’s the drama queen gone psychologist/comedian. One way or another, she goes ‘I bought some new swim suits and then proceeds to show skin’. Another vid she’s talking about guys who aren’t loyal or whatever relationship problems. So how do you possibly give advice if you’re acting like a stripper?
Besides internet, I’ve mentioned above where you usually find these people – that’s right, pubs and clubs. Their favorite past time is dancing, clubbing and pubbing. That’s not so hard to realize why since it’s the main place to get the spotlight.
So what's the best weapon against these people? Ignorance is Bliss. These people are annoying and I ignore them til they go away or til their skin sheds. But if you want to enjoy the ride, drama, etc. then go ahead nothing is stopping you. Like I said, there's nothing wrong. It's only called a disorder because it passes the threshold of social ethics. A pretty peacock on fire can become dangerous in society.
So, I guess that rounds up a good summary to this disorder. There's more to come! I'll take in any questions! Cheers!
