There is this diagnostic category in the DSM (the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual: the tool by which mental health professionals diagnose) which contains the personality disorders. What defines personality disorders is that the people who have them have basically organized themselves toward the world in a certain way. They interact with many different people in many different situations in a “maladaptive” way. You could say their personalities have “crystallized” in this way because of many different factors, including their experiences. The term “personality disorders” is used because personalities do not change much over the lifespan, except by some traumatic event.
Getting Stuck
November 20, 2012