Are HPD's sadistic?

My brother's girlfriend has all the signs of someone with Histrionic Personality Disorder, however she's very sadistic as well. But she's sadistic in a very passive-aggressive sort of way. For example, she loves to stay at other people's houses, and then to either cause a scene there, screaming, crying, etc or she likes to dictate what other people can and can't do in their own houses. For example, she'll sleep till the afternoon in someone's house, and she'll start complaining and throwing a tantrum if people create noise in their own house, or if they open up the blinds, etc. She says she requires complete silence and darkness to sleep, but she doesn't want to sleep in her own house, and she likes to dictate these things in other people's houses. And she has no shame in doing so. She'll sometimes even lock herself in one of the rooms, so you can't come in, and if she sees that you're getting upset over it, then she just gloats, and refuses to leave even more. She'll even smile, and you can see that she's just absolutely enjoying the emotional turmoil she causes in other people...So that leads me to my question, are histrionics sadistic?

JMO, but she sounds more borderline.

do you even know borderline symptoms? it sounds nothing like borderline....

omalley_cat wrote:do you even know borderline symptoms? it sounds nothing like borderline....

Why yes, yes I do. You have one opinion, I have another.

As you know, the Board can't diagnose. HPD affects 1% of the population, no two cases are the same and there are various subtypes.

http://www.millon.net/taxonomy/summary.htm
http://greensleeves34.hubpages.com/hub/ ... sorder-com

There is a grey area between HPD and BPD and they can also exist co morbidly. Very often people can have characteristics of more than one personality disorder. It is very rare to find a textbook case of pure HPD. The more disigenous types may have traits of ASPD.

This person may or may not have a personality disorder. There are some people who are just plain awkward! Not all people with HPD will be sadistic or show a lack of empathy, although there are some who will.

Perhaps the main concern here is in how to deal with a person who shows no consideration at all to other people. It is important to maintain boundaries, to remain assertive, and to be consistent in dealing with anyone who refuses to see another person's point of view.

She is not a borderline at all. I didn't mention all the things she does, but she has all the symptoms of someone with HPD. Inappropriately seductive, shallow emotions, causing scenes when she is not the center of attention, exaggerated emotionality, etc...

Regardless of whether people think this particular person is histrionic or not, I just want to know, if histrionics are sadistic in general?

I personally think they are, and I read on this forum somewhere, how they're closely related to sociopaths even, of course without all of the same symptoms.

But yes, it seems as though there is a touch of sadism or even more in histrionics, because they seem to enjoy getting any sort of reaction out of you, good or bad, as long as they are the center of attention...However I'm just curious, why they seem to actually find pleasure in other people getting upset...In this particular case, I've seen her laugh directly in my face, when I was upset by something she did....

You said

Regardless of whether people think this particular person is histrionic or not, I just want to know, if histrionics are sadistic in general?

I personally think they are, and I read on this forum somewhere, how they're closely related to sociopaths even, of course without all of the same symptoms.

But yes, it seems as though there is a touch of sadism or even more in histrionics, because they seem to enjoy getting any sort of reaction out of you, good or bad, as long as they are the center of attention...However I'm just curious, why they seem to actually find pleasure in other people getting upset...In this particular case, I've seen her laugh directly in my face, when I was upset by something she did....

HPD, NPD, BPD and ASPD are all part of the Dramatic cluster of the personality disorders, and comprise Cluster B. There may be a crossover of the disorders, and as I stated in my previous post, there are no text book cases, no two cases are the same and you can't generalise. Not ALL people with the disorder are sadistic, and not all sadistic people are HPD, although some people may have sadistic tendencies, just as may some people with other disorders.

Problems arise when people generalise and say the word "they" which implies that all people with the disorder are the same. There are many other people with the disorder who do not act in ways that are sadistic. HPD shares more similarities with BPD than it does with ASPD. It may be that this particular person has certain traits that would be appear to be ASPD like in their nature, in addition to having HPD traits, but to suggest that ALL people with HPD share these traits is to generalise.

She is a unique individual with her own set of circumstances, and as such her displays of behaviour will reflect these. If she has issues related to receiving attention, then her learnt pattern of behaviour will depend upon HER OWN UNIQUE history. How the need for attention manifests itself will vary from person to person. There may be some people who will react in similar ways to this person, just as there will also be some people with HPD who do not.

Diagnostic Evaluation

A diagnosis can be made by knowing the patient's history and by doing a psychological examination.

Individual displays five or more of the following criteria:

Is uncomfortable in situations in which he or she is not the center of attention
Interaction with others is often characterized by inappropriate sexually seductive or provocative behavior
Displays rapidly shifting and shallow expression of emotions
Consistently uses physical appearance to draw attention to self
Has a style of speech that is excessively impressionistic and lacking in detail
Shows self-dramatization, theatricality and exaggerated expression of emotion
Is suggestible, that is, easily influenced by others or circumstances
Considers relationships to be more intimate than they actually are.

Leni* wrote:She is not a borderline at all. I didn't mention all the things she does, but she has all the symptoms of someone with HPD. Inappropriately seductive, shallow emotions, causing scenes when she is not the center of attention, exaggerated emotionality, etc...

Regardless of whether people think this particular person is histrionic or not, I just want to know, if histrionics are sadistic in general?

I personally think they are, and I read on this forum somewhere, how they're closely related to sociopaths even, of course without all of the same symptoms.

But yes, it seems as though there is a touch of sadism or even more in histrionics, because they seem to enjoy getting any sort of reaction out of you, good or bad, as long as they are the center of attention...However I'm just curious, why they seem to actually find pleasure in other people getting upset...In this particular case, I've seen her laugh directly in my face, when I was upset by something she did....

So you are merely seeking validation for what you already have determined is the diagnosis. WHy ask then? Masquerades definition for your purposes is as valid as any.

HPD.

Her motives are for attention and getting away with being unruly, reflecting parent child dynamics of criticism and the child lacking positive attention with expectations of strict adherence to rules.

What's with people throwing bpd dx around. Unhinged women means bpd?

Her sadism reflects her childishness and satiating her inclinations for (negative) attention.
It's not self destructive but self indulging.

hpd not at all in my opinion