As many of you know, I'm fascinated by all things neurological, psychological, and emotional. Since my ASD diagnosis a few years ago, I've loved studying more about the human brain, mind, and psyche—both what makes us tick like healthy clocks, and what throws off the inner works. This, of course, includes personality disorders. I found this fascinating article on Psychology Today that lists the eight qualities of personality disorders. These include:

• Domineering
• Vindictive
• Cold
• Socially avoidant
• Nonassertive
• Exploitable
• Overly nurturant
• Intrusive

What's interesting is that most of the personality disorders listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) feature two or more of these traits. But the specific combination of traits change according to the type of disorder. People with Paranoid disorders tend to be vindictive or cold. People with Schizoid disorders tend to combine social avoidance with a sort of coldness. Schizoid individuals are far less likely to try to exploit you than others on this list. People with Schizotypal disorders tend to combine coldness, vindictiveness, and avoidance. These people are usually to be odd, eccentric, and socially awkward. People with Antisocial disorders tend to be highly domineering, vindictive, and intrusive, and often can be cold. These are the "extreme of the psychopathic personality". People with Borderline disorders tend to be intrusive and vindictive. People with Histrionic disorders tend to be domineering and intrusive, but NOT socially avoidant or cold. People with Narcissistic disorders tend to be domineering, intrusive, cold, and vindictive. People with Avoidant disorders tend to be socially avoidant and cold, but very unlikely to be intrusive or domineering. People with Dependent disorders tend to be highly intrusive, with almost no risk of domineering personalities. They're also highly exploitative and vindictive. People with Obsessive-compulsive disorders can feature any combination of the eight. According to the article, "Individuals who fit the criteria of excessive perfectionism, inflexibility, and restricted expression of emotions may have trouble at work or in relationships. They may also, however, achieve higher status and wealth, as other research has indicated. There’s a trade-off, then, when an individual has such an extreme work ethic that he or she may pay less attention to relationships."