People who suffer from Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD), who are also often referred to as sociopaths, have a habit of behaving without considering the interests of others.
Some people also refer to aloof people as antisocial, even though an official diagnosis of ASPD must come from a healthcare professional.
There is also a misconception that makes people believe that all people with ASPD are perpetrators of crimes and acts of violence. However, this does not apply to all people with ASPD.
There are still many myths circulating in the public about this ASPD personality disorder. In fact, this actually makes ASPD sufferers reluctant to seek expert help.
Therefore, it is necessary to have a good understanding of ASPD in order to distinguish between myth and fact. Some of them were revealed by The Recovery Village. Here's the review!
ASPD Can't Be Treated
In fact, treatment for ASPD personality disorder is difficult, but not impossible. Even the treatment given to people with ASPD can improve symptoms that are usually shown by sufferers.
Common treatments for ASPD include aggression-reducing drugs such as phenytoin, mood stabilizers such as quetiapine, and various therapies including cognitive therapy, behavioral therapy, family therapy, and group therapy.
ASPD and AVPD are the same disease
AVPD or Avoidant Personal Disorder is a personality disorder that falls into cluster C, while ASPD falls into cluster B.
The classification of personality disorder types is based on the professional guide to mental health, DSM-5.
Both types of personality disorders are equally difficult to do social interaction. However, the two have very different symptoms.
People with ASPD tend to act without thinking about other people's feelings, while people with AVPD tend to avoid relationships because of feelings of fear of rejection and fear of being judged.
ASPD is the Reason Someone Misbehaves
People with ASPD can distinguish between right and wrong like normal people, but choose to ignore that awareness. Therefore, ASPD is not an excuse for a person to exhibit bad behavior.
People with ASPD are Psychopaths
A psychopath is usually defined as someone who is immoral. Meanwhile, as previously mentioned, people with ASPD still have a working conscience. Rather than psychopaths, people with ASPD have symptoms that are more similar to those of a sociopath.
ASPD Can't Be Prevented
In some individuals, ASPD personality disorder is preventable. The intervention carried out by researchers to a group of children who had shown antisocial behavior was proven to prevent ASPD when they were in their teens.
In the study, the main key to preventing ASPD was parents. Parents of children with ASPD should be given training on how to play with their children, how to give praise, how to set boundaries, what to do when a child misbehaves, and what gifts are appropriate to give.