Avoidant Personality Disorder: 7 Terms to Know

Avoidant personality disorder is a mental health condition characterized by lifelong feelings of extreme shyness, social deficiencies, and chronic fear of rejection. If you suspect you or a loved one might be affected by this disorder, it can be helpful to educate yourself on this condition. Here is a list of useful terms that relate to avoidant personality disorder:

1. Inadequacy – This is one of the foremost symptoms of avoidant personality disorder. Generally, inadequacy means the state or quality of lacking. But in terms of personal inadequacy, this term refers to the inability to deal with a specific situation or life in general. People who suffer from avoidant personality disorder often feel like they are less capable to deal with social situations than other people – so much so that they tend to avoid social situations all together.
2. Inhibition – More than being shy or reserved, feelings of inhibition causes individuals to feel so deeply self-conscious that they are unable to behave in a relaxed or normal manner. This symptom of avoidant personality disorder greatly hinders the process of social interaction.
3. Social ineptitude – ineptitude is synonymous with incompetence, and this means that you are lacking in a certain skill or ability. In the case of avoidant personality disorder, people are lacking the ability to assess social situations and interact appropriately.
4. Functionality – This term refers to the quality of being suited to serve any specific purpose. Functionality can range from personal, everyday tasks to social situations and workplace settings. People who suffer from avoidant personality disorder often experience negative consequences in several areas of functionality. For example, occupational functionality is greatly affected for someone with this disorder, especially if a job requires him or her to regularly interact with other people in interpersonal situations. Because of their disorder, individuals’ ability to function in the workplace will suffer.
5. Hypersensitivity – People who are hypersensitive are acutely aware of other people’s reactions to their own behavior. They are abnormally affected by what people think of them, and get their feelings hurt extremely easily. People who suffer from avoidant personality disorder usually exhibit hypersensitivity, and this symptom contributes greatly to their fear of normal social interactions and developing relationships with other people.
6. Psychotherapy – To be put simply, psychotherapy is the treatment of a mental disorder by psychological rather than medical means. For someone with avoidant personality disorder, this usually includes short-term, individual therapy sessions in order to learn how to better deal with everyday social situations.
7. Biopsychosocial causation – Even though researchers aren’t sure what causes avoidant personality disorder, this is the most widely accepted theory of what probably causes this disorder to develop. The biopsychosocial model of causation states that the causes of avoidant personality disorder are likely due to a combination of biological and genetic factors, social factors (how you interact with family and friends during early development), and psychological factors (including natural personality, temperament, and the environment you live in). In other words, no single factor is responsible for avoidant personality disorder; It is a complex combination of multiple factors that contributes to the diagnosis of this disorder.