Histrión is a word that refers to the actor of the Greco-Latin theater. One of his characteristics consisted of speaking and gesturing in an exaggerated and feigned way. Consequently, the idea of histrionics indicates the inclination towards excessive, theatrical and unnatural behavior. Sometimes this term is used as a synonym for hypocrisy and falsehood.
A melodramatic attitude
A histrionic person behaves as if he were performing a performance before an audience. Speaks, moves and gestures in an exaggerated way to get the attention of others. His emotions are communicated in an intense and passionate way. The histrionic is generally a seducer with good social skills.
This type of behavior shows little naturalness. In this sense, histrionics is frequent among some political leaders who try to attract attention with bombastic attitudes. Obviously, show business is the natural context of histrionics.
A behavior that in some cases turns into a personality disorder
There is a personality disorder when someone has attitudes and emotions that are far removed from the general patterns of society. One of these pathologies is histrionic personality disorder or HPS.
THP is a behavior disorder. It is characterized by a series of traits: a tendency to tell lies, theatricality, and a confusion between reality and fiction. Likewise, people with this disorder tend to be manipulative and with sudden mood swings.
If the individual with THP fails to attract the attention of others, he or she feels misunderstood and undervalued. These people are very concerned about their physical appearance, they are not very tolerant of frustration and very sensitive to any type of criticism towards them.
In the case of women with THP, they are manipulative people, very concerned about their physical appearance, compulsive shoppers and with a tendency to fake orgasm. The histrionic personality of some women is very present in the history of literature with characters like Madame Bovary or the sirens who seduced men in Homer's stories.
Although the specific causes of this disorder have not yet been identified, it is believed that genetic factors and early childhood experiences may be determining factors in developing THP.
Photo: Fotolia - Katrina Brown
