A Serious Case of Hysteria

Abstract

Introduction

Histrionic personality disorder (HPD) is one of the most common personality disorders diagnosed in Psychiatry. This disorder, although not thoroughly researched, has been known to be present in more than 40 percent of patients. There is also a high tendency for those diagnosed with this disorder to be female.

Objectives

The purpose of this case is to show all the difficulties caused by this pathology, since differential diagnosis with other personality disorders, groups of characteristics from different clusters and also, complications produced in daily routine.

Methods

The purpose is to study a clinical case of a 27-years-old woman, with a degree in journalism, who began with a depressive episode after a failed relationship. After being diagnosed of infertility, she debuted with dissociative episodes and somatization symptoms. She did not remember what she had done during the dissociative episode. After that, she suffered several depressive episodes, and a pseudo hipomaniac episode, making the diagnosis of bipolar disorder, with no pharmacological response to lithium or lamotrigine.

Disclosure of interest

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.