are this woman's concerns type related?

[xerx]

This passage is taken from a therapy session.

"I would like to be normal" - says Gladys and blushes purple. In which sense is she abnormal? She prefers reading books and watching movies with her elderly mother to going out with her colleagues to the occasional office party. Maybe she doesn't feel close to them? How long has she been working with these people? Eight years in the same firm and "not one raise in salary" - she blurts out, evidently hurt. Her boss bullies her publicly and the searing shame of it all prevents her from socializing with peers, suppliers, and clients.

Does she have a boyfriend? I must be mocking her. Who would date an ugly duckling, plain secretary like her? I disagree wholeheartedly and in details with her self-assessment. I think that she is very intelligent. She half rises from her seat then thinks better of it: "Please, doctor, there no need to lie to me just in order to make me feel better. I know my good sides and they don't amount to much. If we disagree on this crucial point, perhaps I should start looking for another therapist."

A glass of water and mounds of tissue paper later, we are back on track. She dreads the idea of group therapy. "I am a social cripple. I can't work with other people. I declined a promotion to avoid working in a team." Her boss thought highly of her until she turned his offer down, so in effect it's all her fault and she has earned the abuse she is being subjected to on a daily basis. And, anyhow, he overestimated her capabilities and skills.

Why can't she interact with her co-workers? "Well, that's precisely what we are supposed to find out, isn't it?" - she retorts. Everyone is too critical and opinionated and she can't stand it. She accepts people as they are, unconditionally - why can't they treat her the same way? She fantasizes about getting married one day to a soulmate, someone who would love and cherish her regardless of her blemishes.

I ask her to describe how she thinks she is being perceived by others. "Shy, timid, lonely, isolated, invisible, quiet, reticent, unfriendly, tense, risk-averse, resistant to change, reluctant, restricted, hysterical, and inhibited." That's quite a list, I comment, now how does she view herself? The same, she largely agrees with people's perceptions of her "but it doesn't give them the right to ridicule or torment her just because she is different."

[Not A Communist Shill]

That's probably Avoidant personality disorder.

[xerx]

That's probably Avoidant personality disorder.

I was going to say that after everyone gave their opinion.

[Not A Communist Shill]

I was going to say that after everyone gave their opinion.

Shit. It could probably describe an INFj best. It's the disorder I associate the most with myself also.

[xerx]

The depressive personality disorder.

Edward has a lumbering, numbed presence. He walks as if in a dream, his gait robotic, his eyes downcast. Within minutes, it is abundantly clear to me that he is gloomy, dejected, pessimistic, overly serious, lacks a sense of humor, cheerless, joyless, and constantly unhappy.

How does he react to good news? - I ask him - What if I had just informed him that he has won a million bucks in a game of chance? He contemplates this improbable good fortune and then shrugs: "It wouldn't make much of a difference, Doc." A million bucks wouldn't make a difference in your life? - I am astounded. This time, he doesn't even bother to respond.

Let's try another tack: What would you have done with the money? "Probably fritter it away." - He laughs mirthlessly. I am no good with finances either, I confide in him. "I am not good at anything." - He counters. That's not what I hear from his wife and close friends whom I have interviewed, I try to reassure him. It seems that you are outstanding at your work, a loving husband, and a chess champion. "What do they know!" - He sneers - "I am a loser. The only thing I am really good at is disguising it."

Failing from time to time does not make you a failure, I try to reintroduce perspective into the fast-deteriorating conversation. He suddenly snaps: "I am worthless, OK? Inadequate, you get it? I consume scarce resources and give very little in return. I am too cowardly to put an end to it, is all. But don't give me these fake, sugary pep talks, Doc."

I am merely trying to understand, I reassure him. Can he provide examples of failure and defeat that prove conclusively his self-assessment and substantiate it? He slips into a bout of brooding and then reawakens: "I am afraid to lose my job." Why is that? His boss praises him to high heaven! He dismisses this contrary information: "When he finds out ..." Finds out what? "The REAL me!" - he blurts and averts his gaze.
Can he describe this stealthy, penumbral entity, the REAL he?

He feels - no, he knows - that he lacks perseverance, is hypocritical, obsequious, obstructive, and full of suppressed rage and violence. It worries him. He is very judgemental of others and, given authority or power over them, is sadistically punitive. He enjoys their writhing pain and suffering when he criticizes or chastises them but at the same time he hates and despises himself for being such a lowlife. He often apologizes to the victims of his abusive conduct, even crying as he does. He really feels bad about his behavior and because he is sincere, they forgive him and grant him another chance. He also claims knowledge, skills, and talents that he does not possess, so, in effect, he is a scammer, a con-artist.

That's along list, I observe. "Now you understand." - He concurs - "That's why I will likely end up unemployed." Can he try to imagine the day after he is sacked? He visibly shudders: "No way. Don't even go there, Doc." I point out that he has been leading the conversation inexorably to this topic. At which point he sulks and then rises from his chair and walks towards the door without a word.

"Where are you going?" - I am genuinely surprised.
"To get myself a real psychiatrist." - He triumphantly calls out - "You are as much of a sham as I am, Doc. It's no use one fraudster trying to cure another." And he is gone.

[CILi]

Shit. It could probably describe an INFJ best.

Agreed.

I'd probably generalize it to any -leading (maybe even an ultra-glum IEE), but I can't vouch for 'em with experience.

What's the consensus on PDs and type here, though?
I'm guessing the smart folk say "absolutely not," but there's gotta be trends of some sort.

The Depressive

...Then again, this one's a heck of lot harder.

Sounds like a much more -adept (if not genuinely -oblivious) person.

[Not A Communist Shill]

The criteria for the various personality disorders obviously represent 'personality traits' observed in people - some more extreme than others...and I don't see why the affected regions in the brain which are related to a personality disorder would not also be responsible for certain categories of behaviour in 'normal' people!