Hey there! I’d like to introduce you to my new friend group, called the PDs!
They’re a pretty motley crew, and boy do they have some issues going on amongst the nine of them.
As with any clique, there are a few little groups within the PDs. They like to call themselves the A-Team, B-Team, and C-Team.
In the A-Team, we have Paranoid Pete, who doesn't trust anybody. He's always suspicious of his friends whenever things happen to him that he can't explain, and feels as though all of them are deceiving him. Even though he's a part of the group, he's very reluctant to tell anything personal or divulge any secrets, and doubts his friends' loyalty. Even when it's his fault that something went wrong, he suspects and blames the other members of the PDs.
There's also Schizoid Scott, who is one pretty lonely fellow. Scott doesn’t say much, doesn’t much care for anyone else in the PDs, and is pretty detached from the group. He rarely goes out with them, and doesn’t care that most of the others in the group aren’t inviting him to things anymore. He’d rather sit at home and read or go on walks by himself deep in the woods, even though none of the activities he does bring him much pleasure.
Scott’s closest “friend” in the group, although they rarely talk, is Schizotypal Scooter. Scott doesn’t mind Scooter because she has a lot of social deficits and doesn’t quite fit in with the group because of her odd speech and behavior. She also has some very strange thoughts, suspicious beliefs, and tends to react to situations abnormally, like when she couldn’t stop laughing at their teacher’s funeral. Scooter’s psychologist thinks she may develop schizophrenia within the next few years.
The B-Team makes up the leaders of the PDs. They are the biggest personalities, and there are the most of them as well. Antisocial Alec is undoubtedly a leader based out of fear, because he is a deviant boy who doesn’t care about the rights of others and frequently does impulsive thing without remorse or guilt. His parents are even frightened of Alec and are disappointed by his responsibility and multiple run-ins with the local authorities. Once, he even tried to set fire to the school; yet the teachers and everyone who meets him tend to like Alec because of his initially charming attitude.
Borderline Bob has a very dramatic outlook on things, and has difficulties relating with the others in the group. He tends to see people and situations as either very good or very bad, with little leeway in between. Not to mention, his views can change rapidly, so many of the group members have been looked up to one day and then trashed the next by Bob. He is also quite depressed, and everyone in the PDs pretends to ignore the scars running down his arms and legs, just as they never brought it up when the police had to be called during a sleepover because Bob had swallowed a bottle of pills. Luckily, he lived, and now faces an intense fear of separation, but gets really pissed as soon as he is reunited with whoever he lost.
Another member of the B-Team is Histrionic Helen. She and Bob have a lot in common, but Helen has much better relationships than Bob. She is the attention-seeker of the group, who always wants to be noticed and gets frustrated if the attention is not on her. Because of this, she exaggerates aspects of her personality, including her emotions, which tend to be very shallow. Helen has been known to feign illness before and stay home from school just because her mother wasn’t paying enough attention to her.
Rounding out the B-team is Narcissistic Nathan, and between he and Helen there is enough self-importance for the entire group! Nathan often fights Helen for the admiration of the PDs, and will exaggerate his own importance to do so. He frequently sidles up to one group member or another whenever he needs them for his own benefit, uses them, and then moves on to the next person who can help him achieve his goals. When someone says that they don’t like him, he doesn’t understand the concept because he expects to be liked by everyone.
Next up, meet the C-team, arguably the most sensitive and commonly used members of the group. Avoidant Amy is insanely aware of what others think of her, and often times this leaves her feeling inadequate and anxious. Whenever somebody says something not kind about Amy, she can cry for hours on end, even if it is as simple as a comment about how her shoes don’t match her outfit. the other PDs think she may have Social Phobia because of how much inhibition she displays even among their friend group.
Another PD is Dependent Dori, who is rarely seen without her boyfriend Dane. She barely knows what to do when he’s not there, and always needs others to help her make decisions and take care of her. Even though she is a smart girl, Dori doubts her intelligence and abilities and often has others help her with homework and projects, relying on their knowledge. Although she is intensely afraid of being separated from Dane, he is a very abusive boyfriend who tends to take advantage of her and occasionally hit her when he’s annoyed. Yet she can’t be without him and clings to his verbally and physically abusive presence in her life regardless.
The last member of the PDs I’d like you to meet is Obsessive-Compulsive Olivia. Olivia is quite the perfectionist who is preoccupied by details and almost always acts as the planner and organizer of the group. She doesn’t like letting go of control, and can be very stubborn and unwilling to change once she has something set in her mind. She gets often caught up in the rules and fine print of everything, and can be a workaholic when it comes to her job and school, making it hard for her to make time to spend with her other PD friends.
There they are, the whole PD gang! Now let’s hope that they help me remember my Personality Disorders on tomorrow’s Abnormal Psychology final…
- Cluster A Disorders: Schizoid, Schizotypal
- Cluster B Disorders: Antisocial, Borderline, Histrionic, Narcissistic
- Cluster C Disorders: Avoidant, Dependent, Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD)
***BEST OF LUCK TO EVERYONE ON FINALS!***
Song of the day: Sonata Pathetique
Why: Because classical music helps me focus!
