The Histrionic Personality Disorder is a member of the dramatic cluster of personality disorders and is characterized by excessive attention seeking, over-exaggeration of professional or personal relationships into inappropriate familial or romantic relationships, overstated emotions, egocentrism, craving novelty, giving inappropriate or unearned gifts, and manipulating others for self-aggrandizement.
On a colloquial note, the phrase, “mountain out of a mole hill” seems to bare close relation to the actions of someone suffering from HPD.
It usually becomes onset in early adulthood and those who exhibit symptoms tend to also be socially and professionally high functioning. Because of this, encouraging someone who is suffering from HPD to get help is almost always interpreted as an attack against the person.
The causes of it are not fully agreed upon, and little research has been done for them to be conclusive. Psychoanalytic Theory tends to find that people diagnosed with HPD tend to come from authoritarian or distant parents. Further, it is thought that it could be brought about by experiencing a separation early in childhood such as the lose of a close relative or a divorce.
And it is with that hint that we can make our first deduction. When faced with a traumatizing event, often times the human psyche, instead of processing it healthily (i.e., morning, accepting, moving on), will take it upon itself to never let an event like that happen again, and/or deny the existence of the event altogether. Combined with a high functioning egotist, a person may honestly believe that they have the power to prevent death and separation. In which case, they freely offer (and perhaps think they have the duty to advance) all kinds of over-exaggerated relationships—a boss insists she is an employees “mom," an acquaintance gives an extravagant and undeserved gift, a newly met neighbor refuses to be called anything less than a “dad”—all in an attempt to create a new mythos exempt from the natural order of the universe.
Because these relationships have no real connection behind them, they become stale quickly. The histrionic exaggerates how amazing things are (much to the bewilderment, disbelief, or offense of the other party), begins to manipulate to get praise or an assessment which agrees with their extravagant views, and when it is denied, suffers from a bout of deep depression, and then moves on to the next novelty without addressing the root issue.
Which is where we draw out our second deduction. Anyone who has healthy relationships and is seduced by someone with HPD, without knowing anything about HPD, may soon have a rude awakening that they are either being manipulated, lied to, or not in the favor they once believed. The formerly seduced may, in good faith (and perhaps thinking they are at fault), try to help, expose the truth, or suggest a sufferer seek professional help, but it will likely be met with offense and escalation. Eventually, one of the two parties may feel forced to cut the relationship off entirely.
If a sufferer of a Histrionic Personality Disorder can be recognized in time by a non-sufferer, the healthy individual can protect themselves and the relationship from potential harm by extending grace, remembering reality, and realizing they may be dealing with a situation that is far more nuanced than what a phrase like “This is my best friend now!” may seem on the surface. And if a healthy relationship can form, real help may be possible.
Is this true of all cases? Absolutely not. And is each relationship which suffers from HPD exactly the same? By no means. But it is interesting, none-the-less, to find an example of someone who wants nothing more then to have quality relationships, and attempts to get them, but in so doing, does the very thing which prevents those relationships from forming.
