Enneagram type 6 and Dependent Personality Disorder

[fen]

I've come to the conclusion that I have Dependent Personality Disorder. I don't think I was always like this..but..I feel like it's gotten worse since I've recognized I am an Enneagram 6. It instilled in my mind that that's just how 6s are; they check for validation, ask people their opinion of everything...they feel like they can't run their own lives at times. And that validation that "that's just how 6s are" just furthered my dependency by making it seem okay.

As a 6 and someone with this personality disorder, I feel like phobic 6 relates to that dependency. I am like that much of the time, dependent. But, sometimes I realize this, and attempt to overcome it. I suppose that would be counter-phobic 6. But my counter-phobia is usually unsuccessful in helping me get free from this dependency. Before I even go into "cp mode" I ask people what they think of it. It's all so absurd.

Anyway,
I suppose my question is, do any other 6s here relate to this, or have this disorder?
Is 6 even an appropriate type? Because to me, it just seems like this disorder with a different name. And in the case of this personality disorder, I think the recognition of "being a 6" just makes behaving this way seem...normal. And that just lets it get worse.

[DirectorAbbie]

I like 6s.

[Galen]

I personally don't relate to DPD, but I definitely see how it can play into and enhance the primary E6 fixation. I wouldn't call being 6 and having DPD interchangeable though, as each type can exhibit a wide variety of mental health levels.

[Gilly]

I personally don't relate to DPD, but I definitely see how it can play into and enhance the primary E6 fixation. I wouldn't call being 6 and having DPD interchangeable though, as each type can exhibit a wide variety of mental health levels.

True, but most mental illnesses are just exacerbations of instincts that have been "stretched" by excessive stimuli. Seems analogous to the way e-types exist; the way I see it, e-types just represent the instinct and fixation that were most overstimulated during childhood/developmental stages.

[fen]

So perhaps E6s with DPD just are..more 6ish? Or less healthy 6s?
I'm sure other types can have DPD. But 6 and DPD are both fueled by anxiety. I guess I was just wondering if 6s would be more susceptible to DPD..or something.

There is some research that suggests DPD develops more often in people who had over-protective parents. In my Enneagram book it says that 6s were connected to the protective figure while developing. I think there is some correlation between the childhood connected orientation with the protective figure that yields E6s...and how children with an over-protective parent are more likely to develop DPD.

[Roro]

I don't know that they are particularly related, though I can see how they might tie into each other. I would think a highly phobic 6 would be more likely to experience the typical traits of DPD, though. I am highly counterphobic and don't particularly relate to DPD. I can hardly relate to the high anxiety levels that a lot of 6s claim to feel, but again it could be phobic vs. counterphobic, and possibly even tying into other disorders or prior mental/emotional trauma of some sort.

[Gilly]

So perhaps E6s with DPD just are..more 6ish? Or less healthy 6s?

Well, for starters diagnoses of E-types have different criteria than those of mental illness, but I think anyone with a brain can see the connection of them being intertwined and sharing similar mechanisms, if not necessarily root causes.

[fen]

I guess they both stem from dependence on a parent/protective figure for guidance.
In the case of DPD, the individual feels inadequate and unable to make decisions without support of others.
But this is the same in descriptions of E6.
I do agree with Aero in that phobic 6s are more likely to relate than counter-phobic 6s.

[Galen]

True, but most mental illnesses are just exacerbations of instincts that have been "stretched" by excessive stimuli. Seems analogous to the way e-types exist; the way I see it, e-types just represent the instinct and fixation that were most overstimulated during childhood/developmental stages.

Isn't that how Oldham styles work? I have my own conceptions of how enneatypes are formed, but I have neither means of providing evidence for my ideas nor counterarguments for yours.

[Creepy-pokeball]

I think aligning Enneagram or Socionics w/a psychiatric disorder is a dangerous game.