Negativistic Personality Disorder

The negativistic personality disorder, also known as the passive-aggressive personality disorder, is a chronic condition, wherein an individual acknowledges the needs and desires of others, but resists them in a passive manner. Whilst doing this, the individual tends to become increasingly hostile and angry.

When a person suffering from this disorder is assigned some task, he responds with some sort of passive resistance, such as deliberate inefficiency or unreasonable criticism.

As we mentioned before, negativistic personality disorder is typically characterized by a contradictory and inconsistent behavior. Even though the person suffering from this disorder displays a great deal of enthusiasm when he is allotted a particular task, he will seldom show the same enthusiasm at the time of execution.

As a cover for his inability to finish this task, the person will not hesitate to feign forgetfulness and inefficiency. Other than this, the individual will also display a wide range of passive aggressive traits. These include ...

• The tendency to resist commitments towards routine tasks.
• Showing resentment towards other people, especially those in charge.

• Being resentful to suggestions, as well as towards people who offer suggestions.
• Always complaining about being misunderstood.
• Always indulging in arguments and, at times, even turning hostile.
• Always blaming other people for failure.
• Being very stubborn and getting offended quite easily.

Those suffering from this, tend to alternate between dependence on others and interdependence. They feel they can't function on their own makes them depend on others, but, they tend to see other people as the cause of their problems. At the end of the day, they are caught in a dilemma, which makes them express their anger in a hostile, but passive manner.

As in case of other personality disorders, even people suffering from this disorder have a hard time acknowledging the fact that they need help. While individuals who are not ready to admit that they are suffering from some problem are coaxed into externally leveraged treatment, the ones who do, resort to self-referral for the same.

People diagnosed with this disorder are mostly subjected to cognitive therapy and antidepressant drugs as a part of the treatment. Counseling is quite an effective tool of treatment for this condition, especially when the person knows that he needs help.

When the disorder is accompanied by problems, like anxiety or depression, the medical practitioner will prescribe some antidepressants to treat the same. In several cases, this condition is considered a symptom of other personality disorders, like the borderline personality disorder or avoidant personality disorder.

In order to deal with this problem, the individual needs to find out the underlying anger and resentment causes, which results in his negativistic behavior. Though it is possible to deal with this problem on your own, it is better off to consult a therapist, as the latter is likely to be a lot easier.