Personality disorders - Avoidant personality disorder

In the description below a stereotype is used to give you an idea of the disorder. However, not all people who have this disorder display all these characteristics, and not all people have these characteristics to the same degree.

Description

People with this disorder have an intense fear of being left alone. This put a strain upon their social life. They usually do have reasonably good family ties. This is because they are more certain that they are accepted with the family.

Normal

A lot of people are anxious about talking to people they don't know (yet). This is especially the case when they are physically attracted to someone. Despite the tension that is caused by this anxiety, most people are able to make friends and more intimate relationships.

Abnormal

People with this disorder experience such an intense fear that they do not talk to people from outside their family. They often do want to establish other relationships, but they are not able to do this.