Depressive Personality Disorder

Symptoms of depressive personality disorder are easily explored through the evaluation of behavior patterns. You must take an honest look at how you live your day-to-day life to understand your underlying personality. Determine what the persistent recurring patterns are in your thoughts, feelings and interactions. Seek professional evaluation and be prepared to reveal your self-examination to develop a true diagnosis and plan of action.

• Depression

Very Conscientious

• Are you an overachieving workaholic? Question the sacrifices you make on a daily basis for your career or business. Decide if the choices you are making are have a negative impact on your family or loved ones. Sufferers of depressive personality disorder are commonly choosing advancement in the workplace over developing long-term relationships.

  Do you obsess about cleanliness? Determine what level of control you show over the cleanliness of your environment. Evaluate how you feel about organization and order. People with depressive personality disorder report feelings of anxiety when they are not able to clean or straighten their environment.

Not Agreeable

• Are you generally negative and have a hard time trusting people? Consider how you relate to those around you. Decide if you are able to sustain relationships without quarrels, lying and inconsiderate behavior being the norm. Depressive personality disorder is often seen in people with limited social support that have become arrogant and lost respect for social conventions.

  Do you get in trouble with police? Look at your record with law enforcement for patterns of disrespect to authority.

Not Open

• Are you open to changes and new things in your life? Think about the last time you were asked to make a change or deal with someone else moving or changing. Consider your level of reaction to these changes and how they made you feel. Someone with depressive personality disorder may feel angry or upset but unsure of how to verbalize these feelings effectively.

  Do you tolerate the different points of view and interests of those around you? Recall instances where you were confronted by an opposing voice. Depressive personality disorder tends to lock people into the singular beliefs of their own narrow world view.

Intravert

• Do you tend to socially isolate yourself? Evaluate your living situation and work place relationships as well as those your extended family. Take stock of your network of friends and how often you are the one reaching out to them to interact. People who have been diagnosed with depressive personality disorder commonly send most of their time alone and make very little effort to pursue new connections. Ask the people you consider to be your friends how they feel about your relationship.

Very Neurotic

• Do you often have a torrent of constantly negative feelings? Determine the last time you felt strongly anxious, hopeless, fearful, tense, irritable, guilty or angry for no real apparent reason. Examine your feelings and impulse behaviors. Consider the level you are able to control your thoughts and actions. Depressive personality disorder causes people to have unwarranted feelings of pessimism and negativity. Evaluate the source of your motivations and rationality of your reactions.