There are different personality disorders outlined by mental health professionals. A less-known personality disorder is histrionic personality disorder. This particular personality disorder is a mental health condition defined as, “ a mental health condition marked by unstable emotions, a distorted self-image and an overwhelming desire to be noticed.”
Symptoms of the condition include:
- Difficulty maintaining relationships
- Need for validation and gratification
- Frustration at lack of attention or potential rejection
- Frequent boredom and frustration
- Excessively expressive, beyond the norm
- Rapid change in mood
- “Attention-seeking” actions
Histrionic personality disorder is difficult and distressing to live with, despite what it might look like from the outside in. It is not uncommon for people with this disorder to feel unhappy and distressed despite appearing confident and expressive. People with this personality disorder are misunderstood and stigmatised by the general public and are negatively portrayed in the media, even more so than the other personality disorders we know of.
People with this condition need support and extra resources in order to be safe and comfortable, particularly so in work. On this page of our Disability Advice Hub, we hope to shed some light on how this may be possible.
Stigma and the Social Context of Personality Disorders
There is a lot of stigma associated with the mental health condition of personality disorders. This is particularly true for histrionic personality disorder. People with the disorder may be avoided or rejected due to a lack of awareness and education. The symptoms displayed by the person living with the condition may also push people away. It doesn’t help that when we see depictions of this disorder in the media and on TV, it is a destructive and harmful portrayal.
Such stigma and social rejection often make the symptoms associated with the personality disorder worse. It also acts to make someone with the condition withdraw from society and isolate themselves. Many people with histrionic personality disorder may feel that there is no point in applying for a job with other people as they feel they will be immediately rejected.
However, with the support you deserve in place, people with this personality disorder are more than capable of working steadily and being happy in their job. Counselling, psychiatric help, self-help techniques, family support, and work support can all come together to provide someone with histrionic personality disorder the best chance possible.
Support for Employees with Histrionic Personality Disorder
It is completely achievable to find a job where you are happy and feel supported, even if you have HPD. The best way to find such a job is to look for disability-friendly and accessible opportunities posted by inclusive employers. If you want to be supported, respected, and listened to at work, then working for someone disability-friendly is the most foolproof way to do so.
Disability-Confident employers can help to provide the environment you need. The provision of reasonable adjustments can help you tailor your job role and environment to what helps and supports you as an individual. This makes a big difference to how you feel and act at work.
Reasonable adjustments that may help support people with this mental health disorder include:
- Time off for counselling/doctor’s appointments
- Flexible working hours
- Flexibility of deadlines around symptomatic periods of time
- Remote/hybrid working
- Changes to seating plan/work desk if needed
Personality disorders are disabilities in the U.K. Under the Equality Act of 2010, reasonable adjustments are legal entitlements. If your employer is reasonably able to implement them, then they must. If finances are an issue, the Access to Work scheme may be able to help.
How Employers Can Help
The number one way for employers to help employees with histrionic personality disorder is to gain awareness and learning about the disability. So by reading this page, you have taken your first step with this.
The more we know and understand about certain disabilities, especially those that are hidden and/or have to do with mental health, the better we can treat people with those disabilities. With appropriate awareness, we can reduce stigma and increase the quality of support.
People with histrionic personality disorder deserve to be listened to, understood, and respected at work. Employers should avoid stereotypes and generalisations and instead focus on each individual employee’s case. Listen to them openly and then get to work on collaboratively finding the best systems of support for that employee.
Granting reasonable adjustments quickly and being flexible will also be great tools in your kit. It is important not to make disabled employees have to ask repeatedly for support as this can affect their confidence in speaking up for what they need and can cause distress.
Put your employee’s needs as a priority and you will succeed in supporting them as they deserve. For more information on supporting a disabled employee, you can check out our resources for employers on our main site.
Further Support with Careers with Disabilities
At Careers with Disabilities, we can support people with mental health conditions in finding work. You can find accessible job opportunities from inclusive employers on our live job board. You can also find a range of resources and avenues for support on our site. Anything you need to find accessible work, we can provide. Take a look at our jobs for people with histrionic personality disorder.
We have support and resources for employers too. We can help you become a Disability-Confident employer and connect with a wide and diverse talent pool. You can post inclusive jobs on our accessible job board and you can have your company profile featured on our site for disabled candidates to consider.
We want to connect the people who need support at work with the people who will provide support at work.
