ABSTRACT
Symptoms of personality disorders typically emerge during adolescence and early adulthood. Personality disorders are chronic patterns of maladaptive feelings, thoughts, and behaviors, by definition. Axis I disorders such as schizophrenia, delusional disorders, and dysthymia, among others, are also chronic conditions. Personality disorders can present with a spectrum of severity as do Axis I disorders, suggesting that qualitatively, personality disorders and Axis I disorders follow similar biopsychosocial characteristics. Personality disorder affects nearly all aspects of the patient’s behavior and relationships. Several of the personality disorders are more amenable to development of insight and to securing treatment compliance; therefore, they have a better prognosis than other disorders. Inevitable and desirable evolution in psychiatric drug therapy has made it possible to practice rational polypharmacy, which every contemporary psychiatrist must learn to provide the patients with the best care possible in an era of psychopharmacological revolution. Practical considerations may prevent a particular patient from receiving optimal treatment.
