Drama Queen
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. If they don't keep their need for an adrenaline rush and a captive audience in check, they risk spinning themselves into caricatures. They are rarely respected and eventually resented for their selfishness and the chaos they create.
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.
There is evidence that parents who are too attuned to their own emotions and not enough to their kids, tend to produce children who are insecurely attached. These kids will, understandably, make noise and flail around to get others focused on them and their needs, fearing that it is the only way they will be taken care of.
A glance at the clinically diagnosable varieties of dramatic personalities, though, can help us understand milder divas.
The extreme drama queen likely suffers from histrionic personality disorder. They require excessive approval and reassurance, and they may also exhibit dramatic speech. They tend to exaggerate their thoughts and feelings, making everything sound more important than it really is. They are often extroverted. They throw tantrums if they are not the center of attention. It is very common among actresses, as this behavior is advantageous for them. They tend to be unaware of their real feelings, are usually overly concerned with physical attractiveness, and dress provocatively.
Drama queens also share some features of borderline personality disorder, which is characterized by instability in identity and relationships.
Another related personality type, not necessarily pathological, is the hysterical personality. They can be overly enthusiastic cheerleaders and not terribly self-knowing. They keep negative emotions away by denying negative things, which makes them seem shallow or superficial.
High drama triggers a fight-or-flight reaction in other people. That means the drama queen's audience tends 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. You may feel better, temporarily, after an outburst. If everyone else is off-kilter, this is not an effective way to get your needs met, nor will it strengthen your connections to others. While those with strong emotions can be gripping, they also wear us down.
Psychology Today
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