Wounded Personalities: A Practical Guide to Understanding Personality Disorders, Paperback

"It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men." Frederick DouglassThis book focuses on an area in abnormal psychology known as "personality disorders." In both psychology and psychiatry, personality disorders are a special kind of mental health condition. This book takes a sensitive thoughtful approach to the subject of personality disorders. Psychiatrists use terms such as narcissist, borderline, schizoid, and histrionic to describe types of dysfunctional human personalities. What do these terms mean and what distinguishes these individuals from the rest of us? This book explores these personality types, and others, in term of behaviors, traits, and thought processes. In addition, it seeks to explain the possible roots of these unique disorders.Borderline NarcissismHistrionicSchizoidAvoidantDependentSelf-DefeatingCodependency "Wounded Personalities" seeks to explain what is meant by the psychological concept "personality disorder." In this book, Gregory has managed to synthesize all the pieces of his growing understanding of these personality disorders, beginning with an understanding of the vital importance of attachment and empathy to the growing child and the poisonous effect of shame to the developing Self. He explains the various signs of personality disorders in a way that helps us to recognize these traits in others or in ourselves.He also explains the process of healing that must occur if we are to allow ourselves to develop in healthier ways.His explanations are clear and aimed at helping the general population to understand this very complex aspect of mental health.Edward Livingston Hicks, M.D. Psychiatrist and Psychoanalyst

Gregory Pacana was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pa. in the Northern Liberties area. He is an avid reader, writer, and student of both psychology and psychiatry. He has been studying psychology formally and informally for nearly twenty years. He has been a contributing writer and reporter for the Philadelphia SPIRIT, the Philadelphia STAR, and the Philadelphia Public Record newspapers. He has written over 200 articles on human behavior on the online EXAMINER platform. Gregory sits on the Patient Safety Committee at North Philadelphia Health Systems (NPHS). Gregory's life took an unusual turn in 2007 when he decided to explore the growing world of online dating. He frequently found himself getting involved with a certain type of woman. These women tended to be very sensitive, romantic, and exciting. However, they also exhibited dramatic mood swings, anxiety, inappropriate jealousy, bouts of intense anger, and a tendency to self-medicate with alcohol. He would later discover that many of these women suffered with a complex psychiatric condition known as borderline personality disorder. More so than any other single experience it was his encounters with these women and the powerful and sometimes damaging effect they had on him that drove him to begin studying psychology and in particular personality disorders. Later he would discover that he too possessed "borderline traits."