Avoidant personality disorder is characterised by low self-esteem and a desire for affection and acceptance. Unless guaranteed, you will avoid personal relationships. An avoidant person is extremely sensitive to rejection and lives a relatively solitary life. This is not because of a desire to be alone and there may be a strong need for companionship. Avoidant personality disorder affects 1-2% of the population.
If you have avoidant personality disorder you feel awkward and uncomfortable in social situations. Others may view you as timid, withdrawn cold or strange. However, with closer relationships, their sensitivities, touchiness, evasiveness and mistrustful natures become known.
The way people with avoidant personality disorder speak is slow with hesitations, fragmentary thought patterns and confused and irrelevant digressions.
Most people with avoidant personality disorder suffer from social anxiety disorder as well. They also tend to feel depression, anxiety and anger at themselves for not being able to form social relationships.
Avoidant personality disorder appears more commonly in certain families. It appears that babies who are irritable, cranky or withdrawn tend to develop the disorder.
If you have had a childhood where you were belittled, abandoned or criticised, you stopped being optimistic and started to feel low self-worth and social alienation. Then you start to see the world as hostile and dangerous.
