Avoidant Personality Disorder

Avoidant Personality Disorder is a pervasive pattern of social inhibition, feelings of inadequacy, and hypersensitivity to negative evaluation, beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by four (or more) of the following:

• avoids occupational activities that involve significant interpersonal contact because of fears of criticism, disapproval, or rejection;
• is unwilling to get involved with people unless certain of being liked;
• shows restraint within intimate relationships because of the fear of being shamed or ridiculed;
• is preoccupied with being criticized or rejected in social situations;
• is inhibited in new interpersonal situations because of feelings of inadequacy;
• views self as socially inept, personally unappealing, or inferior to others;
• is unusually reluctant to take personal risks or to engage in any new activities because they may prove embarrassing.

Source: The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)
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