Everyone has a personality. We are all different. Some people are very anxious, some very calm. Some are completely unreliable, others steady as a rock. Some become easily angry in comparison with those whose calm seems unshakeable. The variations are endless.

 

There are, however, some people whose behaviour is carried to such extremes that they are regarded as falling outside the spectrum of behaviour that we naturally accept. It is these people who are usually described as having a personality disorder.

 

Written for the Changing Minds Campaign by psychiatrist Dr Oscar Hill, this article examines the complex issue of personality disorder: what it is, how far people with personality disorder should be be blamed for their behaviour, whether they should be treated compulsorily, and whether there is any way of changing them.