Mnemonics For P Ds
Mnemonics to remember Personality Disorders
The DSM-IV lists ten personality disorders, which are grouped into three clusters:
Cluster A (odd or eccentric disorders)
Paranoid personality disorder
S - spouse is cheating suspected
U - unforgiving - bears grudges
S - suspicious (of others)
P - perceives attacks (and reacts quickly)
E - enemy in everyone - suspects associates, friends
C - confiding in others feared
T - threats seen in benign events
Schizoid personality disorder
S – shows emotional coldness
O – omits close relationships
L – lacks close friends or confidants
I – involved in solitary activities
T – takes pleasure in few activities
A – appears indifferent to praise or criticism
R – restricted interest in sexual experiences
Y – yanks himself from social relationships
Schizotypal personality disorder
P - paranoid ideation
E - experiences unusual perceptions
C - constricted affect
U - unusual thinking & speech
L - lacks friends
I - ideas of reference
A - anxiety (socially)
R - rule out psychotic disorders & pervasive developmental disorder
M - magical thinking that influences behavior, superstitiousness or the paranormal
E - eccentric behavior or appearance
Cluster B (dramatic, emotional, or erratic disorders)
Antisocial personality disorder
C - cannot follow law
O - obligations ignored
R - remorselessness
R - recklessness
U - underhandedness
P - planning deficit
T - temper
Borderline personality disorder
I - Identity disturbance
D - Dysregulated emotion
E - Emptiness
S - Suicidal behaviour
P - Paranoid ideation
A - Abandonment
I - Impulsivity
R - Relationships - unstable
R - Rage
Histrionic personality disorder
P - provocative (or seductive) behavior
R - relationships, considered more intimate than they are
A - attention, must be at center of
I - influenced easily
S - speech (style) - wants to impress, lacks detail
E - emotional lability, shallowness
M - make-up - physical appearance used to draw attention to self
E - exaggerated emotions - theatrical
Narcissistic personality disorder
R - requires excessive admiration
E - entitlement
G - grandiose self-importance
A - arrogant affect
L - lacks empathy
S - “special” -only be understood by other special people
T - takes advantage
E - envious or believes others are envious of him or her
P - preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love
Cluster C (anxious or fearful disorders)
Avoidant personality disorder
A – Avoids occupational activities
V – Views self as socially inept
O – Occupied with being criticized or rejected
I – Inhibited in new interpersonal situations
D – Declines to get involved with people
E – Embarrassed by engaging in new activities
R – Refrains from intimate relationships
Dependent personality disorder
D – Difficulty making everyday decisions
E – Excessive lengths to obtain nurturance and support from others
P – Preoccupied with fears of being left to take care of self
E – Exaggerated fears of being unable to care for himself or herself
N – Needs others to assume responsibility for his or her life
D – Difficulty expressing disagreement with others
E – End of a close relationship is the beginning of another relationship
N – Noticeable difficulties in initiating projects or doing things on his or her own
T – “Take care of me” is his or her motto
Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder
L – Loses point of activity (due to preoccupation with detail)
A – Ability to complete tasks (compromised by perfectionism)
W – Worthless objects (unable to discard)
F – Friendships (and leisure activities) excluded (due to a preoccupation with work)
I – Inflexible, overconscientious (on ethics, values, or morality, not accounted for by religion or culture)
R – Reluctant to delegate (unless others submit to exact guidelines)
M – Miserly (toward self and others)
S – Stubbornness (and rigidity)submit to exact guidelines)
M – Miserly (toward self and others)
S – Stubbornness (and rigidity)