Personality disorders are a group of mental illnesses, categories by long term patterns of thoughts and behaviours that are unhealthy. A personality disorder affects how a person thinks, feels, relates or behaves and this will differ from people without a disorder.

There are 10 different types of personality disorders recognised in the UK. These are grouped into three categories.

Suspicious:

Paranoid personality disorder

Schizoid personality disorder

Schizotypal personality disorder

Emotional and impulsive:

Antisocial personality disorder (ASPD)

Borderline personality disorder (BPD)

Histrionic personality disorder

Narcissistic personality disorder

Anxious:

Avoidant personality disorder

Dependent personality disorder

Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD)

Each of these personality disorders has its own set of diagnostic criteria – to get a diagnosis you must meet some of these criteria. If you meet criteria for more than one type this may be called ‘mixed personality disorder’.