Mayo Clinic Health Manager
Get free personalized health guidance for you and your family.
Get Started
About our e-newsletters
- Free e-newsletters
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- We do not share your e-mail address
Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
Housecall Archives
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Tests and diagnosis
By Mayo Clinic staffWhen doctors believe someone has a personality disorder, they typically run a series of medical and psychological tests and exams. These can help rule out other problems that could be causing your symptoms, pinpoint a diagnosis and also check for any related complications. These exams and tests generally include:
- Physical exam. This may include measuring height and weight, checking vital signs, such as heart rate, blood pressure and temperature, listening to your heart and lungs, and examining your abdomen.
- Laboratory tests. These may include a complete blood count (CBC), screening for alcohol and drugs, and a check of your thyroid function.
- Psychological evaluation. A doctor or mental health provider talks to you about your thoughts, feelings, relationships and behavior patterns. He or she asks about your symptoms, including when they started, how severe they are, how they affect your daily life and whether you've had similar episodes in the past. You'll also discuss any thoughts you may have of suicide, self-injury or harming others.
Pinpointing which personality disorder you have
It sometimes can be difficult to determine which particular personality disorder or personality disorders you have. For one thing, some personality disorders share similar symptoms. Also, a diagnosis is often based largely on how you describe your symptoms and behavior, along with how your doctor interprets those symptoms and observes you behaving. Because of this, it can take some time and effort to get an accurate diagnosis. Be sure to stick with it, though, so that you can get appropriate treatment designed for your particular illness and situation.
Diagnostic criteria
The symptoms and clinical features for each personality disorder are detailed in a book called the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). This manual is published by the American Psychiatric Association and is used by mental health providers to diagnose mental illnesses and by insurance companies to reimburse for treatment.
To be diagnosed with a particular personality disorder, you must meet the criteria for that disorder listed in the DSM. Each personality disorder has its own set of diagnostic criteria. Your mental health provider will review your signs and symptoms to see if you meet the necessary diagnostic criteria for a particular personality disorder. Some people may not meet all of the criteria but may still have a personality disorder and need professional help to overcome or manage it. Also, it's not unusual to have more than one personality disorder at the same time.
