Uncertain of HPD

Greetings. I am 22 years old, male, living in Norway.

I've been having psychological issues since the age of 18 but that does not matter here and now, I believe.

The reason for this topic is simple.. I wish to know if I am to consider the fact that I might be suffering of HPD. I've decided to copy paste symptoms and write my thoughts under each and one of them, describing me.

Is uncomfortable in situations in which he or she is not the center of attention
I am very into being the center of attention. I love having eyes on me. Ever since I was a kid I used to do stupid things in order to get attention, as many kids do. It stuck with me till this very day, though now at the age of 22 I do not rely on asking people to look at me as I throw myself onto the ground and laugh at it, expecting them to laugh along.

Now it is a tad different. I am quite charismatic and energetic, funny and outgoing. The main attention that I get is by making people laugh. The way I make people laugh is either by saying something funny at the right time (my mind is quick at this), saying something smart and funny and some people actually find my way of reacting to certain things as being funny (mainly because it is normal for me to put more "energy" and "feeling" into how I react to things, I guess).

I also like to be in the attention of ladies, even when I know that I have no intention of doing anything with them. It pleases me, seeing how they smile, blush, all because of me.

I also love the attention I get for being good at something.

Interaction with others is often characterized by inappropriate sexually seductive or provocative behavior
I'm slightly confused about this one. I always try to flirt with girls, only few are spared from my flirting onslaught, girls that I consider as good friends. (not that kind of friends )

As stated above, it pleases me when I see their reaction to that which is me. I have a dirty mind and I am very open towards letting it "out". It makes them laugh, it turns their cheeks red and occasionally that gentle palm on my chest is placed while they lightly chuckle out the words "Haha, seriously! ".

Though it does not always have to be me being a charmer in such ways. I turn the "funny" card most of the time but I also have the "smooth" card. I, for some reason (seeing that most other guys cannot be bothered) enjoy sitting down and listening to their problems. I enjoy offering advice and possible solutions, I enjoy the feeling I get by being regarded as a supporting pillar in their time of need.

All this I do mainly due to the feeling I get, a feeling that fuels me, it pleases me, something that I cannot easily explain.

Displays rapidly shifting and shallow expression of emotions
I did not really understand this one here. Though I am, deep down, dark and calm, sad but content. On the outside though, I shine. And even when I live through moments of happiness when my inner- self is not event present, it is quite easy for it to crawl up and remind me of its presence... if that made any sense.

Consistently uses physical appearance to draw attention to themself
"the HPD may try to create an impression by tone of voice, vocal impressions, exagerated mannerisms etc,"--- Indeed, this is relevant for me.

Has a style of speech that is excessively impressionistic and lacking in detail
I don't understand this one. :/

Shows self-dramatization, theatricality, and exaggerated expression of emotion
Yep, that be me. It goes well with my humor and my story- telling, it adds flavor to it all and yes I do it plenty of times, if not all the time.

Is highly suggestible, i.e., easily influenced by others or circumstances
I am easily influenced, yes, but only by things that I allow myself to be influenced by. For instance, I am capable of knowing what is bad and what is good, lately I've actually got better and better at this.

Considers relationships to be more intimate than they actually are
"if a person gives them the attention they are so hungry for, they may mistake this attention for friendship or love."--- So very true in my case. This has been an issue for a long time, still is though due to recent experiences I've learned how to deal with it and how to, hopefully, avoid such happening as often as it usually does.

Does it sound like I might suffer of HPD? Do ask for more info of me, I am very open about this and I wish to know more. Thank you, cheers.

Well, you might be. But many people exhibit those characteristics, including me, and I believe it just depends on how much, how far, and how often you exhibit those.
How do you feel about it? do you feel like the symptoms you mention apply to you? if they do how much does it apply? is it 10% or 100%?
You might have HPD to a point and you might have other characteristics of the Cluster B too, and maybe more.
It's plenty OK to be who you are no matter who you are. You have to figure out who you are to be strong in life and in love. You are only 22 years old and if you do have HPD or whatever it's a matter of pinpointing it out and accepting who you are and how you can manage your symptoms if they are a hindrance on your life. The behavioral deviation from "normal" is what you will have to work with to the best of your abilities, choices, objectives etc..
Psychologists can give you objective and impartial tests to determine who you are as of now. Then it's up to you to do what you want with it. I think it is well worth the cost to give you guidance.
Good luck.

Hi Cosmin,

We are not able or capable of diagnosing here, but if you feel your personality is causing you problems in life or with others, then the next step is to decide if it's worth talking with a professional.

Regarding your questions about the criteria, there is a really good sticky here regarding symptoms:

histrionic-personality/topic92768.html

Keep in mind that many of the diagnostic criteria for HPD are written from the point of view of others, what they observe, what they perceive. The sticky was written by masquerade, who is also a moderator here, has a good understanding of the disorder, from the point of view of someone who had the disorder, and now from the point of view of someone who has been through a therapy, and understands the disorder from the point of view of others too.

I can't say whether or not you suffer from this condition, but I would take a guess that your personality exists in the SPH domain of personality (social style, pleasurable type, histrionic disorder). I am affected by HPD myself, so I didn't read your entire post because it's hard for me to focus on things other than the basic ideas.

I'm looking at it again, however, and I don't know, thinking about it.

I'll just clarify some of the criteria which you say you don't understand.

3. Rapidly shifting and shallow expression of emotions. Histrionics, or hysterics as they are historically known, do a lot of conversion. Conversion is the manifestation of psychic conflict through the loss of some other ability, precipitated by indifference. These emotions are a high functioning form of conversion, where the indifference is the conversion itself. Hysterics may report paralysis or blindness, while actually losing these abilities, but they don't care (la belle indifference, beautiful indifference). The real issue is that they don't care if they can see or if they can speak or hear. With these emotions, then, the histrionic issue is that they don't care how emotional they are being. There is a disconnect between the sufferer and their emotions, which you explain as feeling ultimately calm or cool. Histrionics use emotions not as a way to tell themselves how they feel about something, but to indicate their opinions to others. La belle indifference is the most interesting symptom of HPD to me, so that's why I rambled.

5. Impressionistic style of speech: Hysterics, in my opinion, perceive reality in an excessive amount of vividity, which leaves them unable to describe things except by implying what they mean.

Imagine you meet a really beautiful girl and you are pretty sure you're in love or something. The next day, your friend asks what she looked like. Someone who isn't histrionic might say "she was tall, skinny, blonde hair and blue eyes. She smelled really good." Someone who is severely histrionic might say "She was just, like, damn!" 'Damn' is not an adjective, but an impression. Basically, impressionistic speech is superficial and vague but stimulating. It excites others with minimal risk of being incorrect (being invalidated). Imagine a histrionic as a music album with amazing titles but stupid or repetitive lyrics, though the songs are produced well.