A person with dependent personality disorder has a pervasive and excessive need to be taken care of, that leads to submissive and clinging behavior and fears of separation, beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts.
While ordinary adults have the ability to make their own decisions, people diagnosed with dependent personality disorder do not. They have a passive orientation to life, need continuous support from others, refuse to take up responsibilities, and tend to be look down on themselves and disapprove of themselves.
People with dependent personality disorder will have a majority of the following symptoms:
unable to make decisions without a great amount of reassurance and advice from others
expect others to be responsible for most areas of their lives
need an excessive amount of approval and support, and have difficulty expressing objections due to fear of loss of support
their minds are filled with unrealistic fear of being left to take care of themselves
feel helpless and miserable when alone
might do things that they do not want to do to gain support and care from others
when a close relationship ends, they seek desperately for another source of support and care
