In the first study of its kind, researchers have asked people to describe in their own words what its like to live with Avoidant Personality Disorder-a diagnosis defined by psychiatrists as a pervasive pattern of social inhibition, feelings of inadequacy, and hypersensitivity to negative evaluation." Like all personality disorder diagnoses, AVPD is controversial, with some critics questioning whether it is anything other than an extreme form of social phobia.
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