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If you ask the average person what they know about personality disorders you could get a strange look. Personality disorders are grossly misunderstood in our culture and unfortunately, the media drives the condition with sensational stories and headlines that affect the public’s perception.

Most of us know our feelings and moods and can manage them, but those suffering from personality disorders have a tendency to get locked in the emotional state they are experiencing, which can increase in intensity at times and cause unusual behaviors. The reality of these disorders is that the majority of individuals are at a greater risk to themselves than they are to others and they suffer high rates of self-harm and attempted suicides in order to handle their often confused emotions. Obviously, the exception is those with severe traits such as psychopaths, who are prone to commit criminal acts, according to a blog by The Independent.

Many of the media’s portrayals are often attention-grabbing and manipulative when really we all share many of these behaviors, just at a less amplified state. Personality disorders only affect about 1 percent of the total population with some conditions being more common than others, such as obsessive compulsive disorder and borderline personality disorder.

There has been a lot of debate focusing on the stigma of labeling those with personality disorders but doctors find that most often families are relieved to find a tangible diagnosis they can come to grips with. Two of the biggest challenges those in the mental health profession constantly face are discovering effective ways to measure the depth of the disorder and how to treat them so there can be greater awareness both inside and outside the healthcare community.

In order to fully understand personality disorders, we need better public awareness as well as more compassion to offer those who are dealing with these types of disorders.