The information we need to remember about the subject of personality, as I mentioned in my previous article; that every person has a pattern of certain personality traits, and that personality traits range from healthy/normal levels to pathological levels.
The personality type mentioned in this article is hysterical personality; It is a personality type defined by exaggerated reactions, excessive efforts to be the center of attention, sexually seductive behavior, rapidly changing moods, and superficial, often acting-like behavior. A hysterical person is a personality type who experiences events exaggeratedly, can show exaggerated emotions and behaviors, is easily influenced by others, is dependent, susceptible to suggestion, is self-centered, has a high need for love and attention, and has childish characteristics.
Hysteria has recently been referred to as histrionic. We see that it is expressed. The word histrionic has different meanings than hysteria; It is known that 'histriyo' corresponds to the word actor. Thus, emphasis was placed on the playful appearance, which is one of the most distinctive features of the histionic personality. It may have been intended to draw attention to the 'exaggerated behavior that seems to be acting', which is one of the most distinctive features of hysteria that distinguishes it from other personalities.
Like other personalities, hysteria can be seen in a wide range of different doses. The 'disorder', which is at the extreme end of this spectrum, is clearly stated in DSM-5 with criteria under the name hysterical personality disorder (American Psychiatric Association, trans. Köroğlu, 2014, p. 333). Accordingly, we know that for a diagnosis of histrionic personality disorder, at least five characteristics must be seen in a person. If the person shows fewer than the five characteristics mentioned, we can talk about histionic personality structure instead of histionic disorder. What is important here, as in all other pathologies, is the intensity, severity, in other words the 'dose' that occurs in the person.
As it is known, Freud was influential in the emergence of psychoanalysis by researching hysteria. The hysterical personality, which was very striking for Freud, caused him to be studied. Hysterical personality organization is a structure that is famous for attracting attention. It has been a personality group that has attracted the attention of all scientists interested in psychology throughout history. For this reason, Freud and other analysts have conducted studies focusing especially on hysteria.
When we look at the reasons for the emergence of hysterical personality; Object relations will definitely be mentioned. When looking at object relations in hysterical personality, the father's narcissism is often mentioned. The inadequate mother role accompanying this narcissistic father figure has a significant impact on the hysterical child structuring (McWilliams, trans. Kalem, 2013, p. 374). In fact, what is often mentioned is healthy parent-child relationships that cannot be established with the mother and father. For the girl, falling in love with the father, perceiving the mother as a rival at the beginning of the process, and then establishing a healthy identification with the mother and a compassionate and sufficient love exchange relationship flow with both the mother and father are the natural development process defined especially for the phallic period. However, the narcissistic and rejecting father figure prevents this process from occurring in its natural flow. Thus, the basis for the hysterical organization process is prepared. Similarly, the mother or father figure (usually the mother) who shows insufficient love for the boy is often mentioned.
In the formation of the hysterical personality, gender roles imposed since childhood are also emphasized (McWilliams, trans. Kalem, 2013, p. .375). Especially when we look at the gender roles in which being a woman is devalued and the powerless, dependent, worthless, weak and immature nature of women are taught and taught, it is not surprising to see hysterical personality structure in many women. The roles that gender roles impose on women are actually quite compatible with the definition of the hysterical personality. In my study in 2013, I mentioned that gender roles have a negative impact on women's mental health (Cengiz, 2013).
Various methods used to increase self-esteem in hysteria are mentioned. In other words, in hysteria, it is said that histrionic people have an idealized person or persons of the opposite sex, and that they try to complete their self-esteem with the idealized person of the opposite sex. In addition, reversal, counterphobic argument It is seen that she tries to cope with her current situation by using memory mechanisms (The hysterical woman being overly dependent on her husband, idealizing him, or choosing a husband who resembles the authoritarian father in her childhood story (unconsciously, of course) and trying to change him are examples of these mechanisms.
Essentially, hysterical women are excessively preoccupied with the lack of power in their own female identities, and in addition, the idea that there is no power in a woman other than sexual attraction and attractiveness is common in hysterical women (McWilliams, trans. Kalem, 2013, p. 377). It is expected that they will have excessive preoccupations, focus on beauty and sexual attraction, and strive to attract attention and be desired.
The attention-seeking and self-displaying behaviors of hysterical people are protective against feelings of depression (McWilliams, trans. Kalem, 2013, p. 378). In other words, they use self-assertion and attention-seeking behaviors as a kind of defense mechanism. This defense mechanism is sexualization and acting out. The most common mechanism in hysterical people is repression. Repression, sexualization, and dissociation are defense mechanisms frequently seen in hysterical people. The person tries to cope with his/her internal conflicts by using these defense mechanisms.
In hysterical people, transference and countertransference situations will be more evident depending on gender, as expected. Especially when the hysterical female client is the client and the male therapist is the hysterical client, the hysterical client will exhibit exciting and attractive behavior. In the case of a female therapist and a female hysterical client, there may be competition. On the other hand, regarding countertransference, the two things to be considered are; male therapist with narcissistic features and hysterical female client (McWilliams, trans. Kalem, 2013, p. 380-381). This is a situation that requires attention in terms of both transference and countertransference. During the therapy process, the therapist will need to regulate the client's reactions in the manner of a 'healthy' parent. At the same time, it is important and necessary for the therapist, in his role as a healthy parent, to reconsider transference situations in a useful way during the therapy process. In short, as with many personalities, transfer The question will depend on which important childhood character the therapist is referring to, such as mother or father. Therefore, the therapist will need to know his own backyard well in terms of countertransference. As can be seen, transference and countertransference issues are of particular importance for hysterical personality.
Other conditions that require differential diagnosis for hysterical personality are mentioned. When we look at their personality traits, we see that there are other personality groups that share common characteristics. It has been emphasized that histrionic personality can be confused with narcissistic and borderline personality (Öztürk and Uluşahin, p. 432). At the same time, it is emphasized that hysterical personality can confuse psychopathy with dissociation (dissociative personality) and narcissism (McWilliams, trans. Kalem, 2013, p. 385). In addition to this information, my clinical observation is that hysteria may be confused with other personalities, such as dependent personality, especially for clinicians who are starting to see new clients. Considering all this, when distinguishing hysterical personalities, it would be useful to look at whether other personalities have distinct characteristics. For example; A client who has attention-seeking behavior, impulsivity, and who also uses sexualization cannot be immediately diagnosed with hysterical personality disorder. If this person also has psychopathy, the possibility of antisocial personality should also be mentioned. In addition, it should not be forgotten that there are antisocial personalities who are quite good at role-playing (although their role-playing behavior does not suggest hysteria). To give another example, not every client with a need for attention and attention can be diagnosed as hysterical because this person may also have a narcissistic personality. In order to diagnose hysterical personality, it will be necessary to focus on how predominant the above-mentioned hysterical personality traits are in the person, in other words, how pronounced they are.
In addition to all this, just as narcissistic personality is not a personality type specific to men, hysterical personality is It would be useful to know that it is not a personality type specific to women, but is also seen in men.
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