Drama queens also share some features of borderline personality disorder, which is characterized by instability in identity and relationships. These people experience intense mood swings. "You often feel when you're with them they're terribly engaged with you and as soon as you're out of sight, you're out of mind," says Spirt.
Drama queens and kings enliven dull parties and crack the best jokes during staff meetings. They add a welcome splash of color to a black-and-white scene. But their insatiable hunger for attention can look a lot like arrested development.
So drama queens and kings may be naturally emotional and expressive. But it's likely a combination of genes and family environment that foster this outré personality. Do neglectful adults spawn little divas?
dependent personality disorder Which personality disorder is currently of great concern for many theorists since they believe that gender and other cultural differences are significant in its development and diagnosis? borderline personality disorder
High drama triggers a fight-or-flight reaction in other people , notes McGrath. That means the drama queen's audience members tend to get riled up themselves or they shut down completely. "It's nice to discharge a lot of feelings and dump them on somebody else," McGrath says.
Westen points to another related personality type, one that isn't necessarily pathological: the hysterical personality. "They can be cheerleaders who are overly enthusiastic and not terribly self-knowing, who keep negative emotions away by denying negative things, which makes them seem shallow or superficial.".
Baby Drama. How intense your feelings are is largely biological, says Drew Westen, a professor of psychology and psychiatry at Emory University in Atlanta. So drama queens and kings may be naturally emotional and expressive. But it's likely a combination of genes and family environment that foster this outré personality.