#avoidant pd

[npd-avpd-culture-is]

This post ^ is NPD + AvPD culture

[avpdpossum]

current mental state

[gradivpd]

Me after hanging out with friends:

Omg I had such I great time with you all however after analyzing our conversation I’ve come to the conclusion that you all didn’t want me there and hate me... Same time next month?

[avoidantblob]

reaching peak avoidant by avoiding the account i made to vent about my avoidant personality disorder because i think other avoidant people looking in the avoidant personality disorder tag will think that i’m weird. this is great. i’m going to get a good grade in avpd, something that is both normal to want and possible to achieve

[npd-avpd-culture-is]

NPD + AVPD culture is being in a public setting and simultaneously thinking "if nobody compliments me for how i look or act or style or breath or SOMETHING i will die" but also "if anybody even looks at me i'll die."

-🌷

.

[loser-pet]

Avoident Personality Disorder Adjacent

Avoidant Personality Disorder (AVPD) adjacent flag. This is left vague so anyone who has, is questioning, or displays traits of the disorder may use it. This was made with people who have trouble pinpointing neurodivergencies and is NOT for transid supporters

Flag made by me! Colours picked from this post

[astrangerthatlovesyou]

Having AvPD is like: I’m so open, everyone knows everything about me. That’s terrifying, everyone must hate how much I share. God I feel so exposed I feel sick. And the last time you opened up to someone was October of 2021 when you told your mom you were a little stressed.

[dead-orange-club]

Cluster C Personality Disorder userboxes

Flags from this post!

Free to use!!

[dependently-schizotypal]

I am currently making a 《Therapy Diary》...

And the first thing I'm putting in it is a graphic(❔️) of all Personality Disorders together, to make a global assessment on my issues. [I call it the C-PTSD wheel, because I believe that all PDs are just C-PTSD in different fonts, but I think no one's ready to have this conversation yet.]

Anyway, since I believe it can be helpful for some people to track their overall PDs symptoms in order to compare them, here it is❕️

[you can use it and/or take inspiration from it] [credits would be appreciated, but not necessary]

Yeah I know it's wacky and kinda ugly, but it makes the job. Each Personality Disorder is classed in alphabetical order, and each dash on the PD's line is for 1 symptom of the diagnostic criteria. For example:

OCPD have eight diagnostic criterias, so it has seven dashes + the border as the maximum & the shared center to indicated a lack of symptoms.

In the end, it should look like something like this:

I personally put a color-code to distinguish when I can be diagnosed with the PD, have traits of the PD, or nothing at all... But it's not a must, as long as you have a shape, it tells enough. If you want to have a checklist for all personality disorders at one place, I'm putting them below:

AsPD checklist

AvPD checklist

BPD checklist

DPD checklist

HPD checklist

NPD checklist

OCPD checklist

PPD checklist

StPD checklist

SzPD checklist

[aspdculture-is]

ASPD + AvPD culture is getting angry when people vent because it's just so annoying and makes them look so worthless to you, despite knowing that you're just as neurotic as they are, if not moreso.

ASPD Culture is

[avpdpossum]

can we talk more about avpd being a (proposed) schizospec disorder? because i almost never see that theory talked about but i wish it was. like…

avpd makes me censor my thoughts because i think someone might hear what i’m thinking and see what a horrible person i am on the inside or judge me for thinking embarrassing things.

avpd makes me so afraid of someone walking in on me doing something i Shouldn’t Be Doing that my brain twists background noise into the sounds of whispers and footsteps behind me.

avpd makes me so worried about people staring at me that in my peripheral vision, anyone near me looks like they’re already staring at me, and it’s only when i look at them directly that i realize they’ve been looking in a totally different direction the whole time.

avpd makes me so convinced of how much everyone must secretly hate me that i often start thinking everyone secretly wants to hurt me too, to the point where i’ve had panic attacks from a person walking too close behind me because i feel like they’re getting ready to attack me (when i haven’t had any kind of trauma that would create that fear), and the paranoia just serves to reinforce my need to avoid people.

avpd makes me lose my ability to speak or reduces it to nothing more than one word answers only when spoken to, turning the thoughts i wanted to express into a jumble that’s impossible to turn into words or just throwing them away completely and making my mind go blank, so i end up just staring at people silently or even acting like i don’t see them standing there at all (not on purpose but because my brain won’t let me engage with them).

avpd makes me look damn near emotionless around everyone but my safe person (and sometimes even around my safe person) because showing my emotions would be far too vulnerable for its liking, so it completely takes away my ability to express them.

and i could keep going! there are so many things i experience because of avpd that i’ve seen really closely reflected in the experiences of schizospec people. i don’t know how common these kinds of things are in avpd overall, but they’re a really prominent part of my experience with it, so when i found out that some research suggested it could be considered a schizospec disorder itself, that made so much sense to me! and i’d be so curious to see how many other avoidants have dealt with this stuff but haven’t talked about it because it’s never mentioned as being part of avpd.

[therapeutic007]

🌟 How to Practice Self-ERP and CBT for AVPD

Step 1: Identify Your Triggers

What situations do you avoid (e.g., speaking in groups, meeting new people)?

Write them down and rank them by how much anxiety they cause.

Step 2: Start with Small Exposures (ERP)

Pick a low-anxiety trigger and plan to expose yourself to it.

Example: Say hello to a coworker instead of avoiding eye contact.

Resist the urge to “escape” or self-criticize during the exposure.

Celebrate the effort, not the outcome.

Step 3: Challenge Your Thoughts (CBT)

When avoidance or anxiety strikes, ask yourself:

“What’s the evidence that my fear will come true?”

“What’s a more realistic way to view this situation?”

Replace critical self-talk with affirming statements: “I am learning and growing. Perfection isn’t required.”

Step 4: Track Your Progress

Keep a journal of your exposures and thought challenges.

Reflect on your wins, no matter how small.

Step 5: Practice Self-Compassion

Healing takes time, and setbacks are part of the process.

Treat yourself with kindness, as you would a close friend.

💡 The Path to Healing

While AVPD might make the world feel like a scary, judgmental place, it doesn’t define your future. Self-guided ERP and CBT give you the tools to rebuild your relationship with yourself and others, step by step. Over time, those walls of avoidance can come down, revealing a life where connection feels possible—and safe. 🌱💛

Start Your Recovery Plan Now 🐾

[avpd-thoughts]

For anyone who has had an avpd diagnosis for a long time, I’d really like to know something:

Have you ever had a satisfying relationship with someone? Do you think it’s possible? What kinds of people might/have been ideal who can put up with avpd tendencies?

I don’t have an official diagnosis myself, but I was told that I have ‘traits’ of avpd by a professional. I’ve always felt that close, intimate, reciprocal, longterm relationships are out of reach, even though I have many acquaintances/casual friends. I know its a me problem, but I don’t know to what extent. I feel like I should just accept the inevitable at this point.

[npd-avpd-culture-is]

NPD + AvPD Culture Is thinking that your opinions are the correct ones but not being brave enough to actually defend them to anyone ever

[astrangerthatlovesyou]

If you have AvPD, something you’re going to have to face is that, yes, plenty of people are going to dislike you. They’re going to hate you, they’re going to reject you. It’s a fact of life that everyone faces.

There isn’t a form you can beat yourself into that’s going to change that. You can’t bully yourself into being palatable to everyone, you won’t ever even be that palatable to most people, nothing is.

But you won’t get the connection you want if you reduce yourself to almost nothing. There has to be something real for people to connect to.

In the end, you have to be a version of yourself you’re comfortable with when nobody is looking. You are the only person you can’t avoid, make friends with yourself, I promise the rest will come if you let it.

You are important! You deserve to love yourself. You deserve to be yourself. You do NOT have to do anything before you’re allowed to show yourself compassion. As long as you’re not hurting anyone, you’re allowed to be you. You’re perfect.

I love you, exactly as you are, I’m excited to love the person you are when not hiding.

You’re doing great.

[fruitfulchaos]

Experiencing any and all relationships while being someone with an anxious-avoidant (or fearful avoidant or whatever you call it) personality disorder is just having to go "shhh shhh it's okay, it's okay" like every other second. After some time it might quiet down, but then you get hurt – like one naturally does, because it's a normal thing to not always be treated the best ever – and it feels like you got shot. So then, for the next few months (or even years), every loud sound feels like a gunshot echoing through the air, every object moved towards you feels like a weapon and every hand reaching out feels like it's about to reload the ammo. And also there's people online calling you an unlovable piece of shit for Reacting Badly To That and you get yelled at when you flinch, btw.