honestlyhistrionic

[honestlyhistrionic]

HPD seeking / withdrawing

I've been going back and forth on coining some terms like these, but I figured I'd give it a shot!

These terms describe two sides of the histrionic experience. The first, seeking, refers to a period where a person with HPD needs more attention than they usually need. They may be more prone to acting out to get that attention, and they likely will feel more distressed than usual when they don't get the attention they need.

The second, withdrawing, refers to a period where a person with HPD pulls away from others. They might delete social media, unfriend people, skip plans, ignore messages, not leave the house, etc.

Both experiences can be related to feeling ashamed or criticized. Some histrionics will be more likely to react to shame with seeking, and others may be more likely to react with withdrawing. They can also be unrelated to shame; some histrionics may find they end up seeking or withdrawing with seemingly no cause.

These terms are exclusive to people with HPD or HPD traits.

[honestlyhistrionic]

anon who asked about the diagnostic criteria: i'm not ignoring your ask, i'm actually really excited to answer it!! just need a few days to collect my thoughts and write up a comprehensive answer.

[honestlyhistrionic]

Hi! I write characters with HPD from time to time so I think itd be appropriate to ask a pwHPD:

What, in your opinion, are Do’s and Dont’s of representing people with HPD??

-⚰️ (can I claim this sign off?)

thanks for the question anon!

i don't really think there's too many absolute Do's and Dont's, but a few suggestions that come to mind are:

focus on both external and internal symptoms. HPD is not just an external presentation, but also an internal experience at the same time. while we may outwardly appear confident and charming, many of us struggle with poor self esteem, sensitivity to criticism, low persistence (refers to the ability to stick with a task or activity when obstacles arise or when the activity becomes difficult), mood swings, and more.

with that in mind, make sure you know what struggles you want your character to have that relate to their HPD. we can have very different presentations depending on what exactly it is we struggle with, and it's important that you have a solid idea of what your character has a hard time with so that you can portray their disorder in a realistic way.

it's more common for people with a PD diagnosis to be diagnosed with more than one, rather than just a single PD. DPD, BPD, NPD, and ASPD are the most common PDs to be diagnosed alongside HPD. don't be afraid to give your character traits of another PD, especially since PDs overlap a lot and there can be a lot of blurriness between symptoms.

if you aren't intimately experienced with writing characters with HPD, i'd personally avoid making the character fill a comic relief role. if not done carefully and skillfully, turning HPD characters into comic relief characters can often feel mocking and belittling. while i have seen some characters with HPD-like traits successfully fill a comic relief role, it's hard to pull off respectfully and probably not a good idea for someone still getting the hang of HPD representation.

allow the character's HPD to create tension in the story, don't be afraid to use their attention-seeking traits to bolster an unexpected twist or even conflict amongst the characters! in reality, it's not uncommon for people with HPD to have strained relationships. while it is absolutely true that we can be wonderful friends and partners, it's also true that our disorder can put stress on our relationships, particularly for histrionics who aren't very self aware.

don't be afraid to show the bad parts of the disorder. HPD is a disorder for a reason, we often struggle a lot interpersonally, behaviorally, and psychologically. a lot of people claim that representation that shows the ugly parts of disorders is "bad", but personally i believe differently. i think there is no perfect representation for one, and for two i think that at the very least representation should make an effort to be honest about reality.

these are the main points i can think of right now. this is kind of open ended and vague i'm aware, but like i said there is no perfect representation. what might be accurate to one pwHPD may be totally inaccurate to another. this doesn't mean the representation is objectively bad, just means representation is not one size fits all. definitely let yourself explore the disorder and the dynamics it can create for an individual as well as their relationships.

good luck, and ofc thanks for making an effort to represent such an underrepresented disorder!

[honestlyhistrionic]

Honestly it's ironic that we are the least acknowledged

- 🎭🐾

i never thought about the irony there but yeah it is pretty silly!

i wish there was more information about us, i myself had a hard time realizing my own HPD because of the lack of information out there and i know i'm not the only one

[honestlyhistrionic]

It's good to see other pwHPD around!

- 🎭🐾

hell yeah! i love seeing other histrionics, it's very nice to have a sense of community surrounding the disorder and the struggles that come with it

[honestlyhistrionic]

information

hi there! you can call me whatever you like. i have histrionic personality disorder (HPD) and this blog will serve as my place to talk about it, educate others, and maybe even help some people.

this blog is self dx friendly and welcoming to people with all personality disorders.

HPD is one of the lesser known personality disorders, and the least known of cluster B. many people mistake this lack of information and research for HPD being an illegitimate disorder, but our struggles are real and distinct.

asks are almost always open, if you have a question on the disorder feel free to send it in.

claimed sign offs under the cut!

-⚰️ -🎭🐾