Untangling personality disorders and substance use issues

CrossCurrents

Diagnosing personality disorders among people with substance use issues is a challenge. Dr. Samuel A. Ball, an associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the Yale University School of Medicine, indicates certain behaviours that should be excluded as a personality disorder symptom, including:

• behaviours when intoxicated or withdrawing
• behaviours only engaged in when seeking substances or concealing use
• behaviours that began after substance onset and are inconsistent with prior personality
• behaviours that cease after a couple of months of abstinence

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