What Fits, What Doesn't: Taking Stock
For this post I'm taking text/bulletpoints/descriptions from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schizoid_personality_disorder, from the top of the article to the bottom (because I can't explain things any better), and doing a (very long) yes/no checklist of symptoms/traits/qualities (which I'll further expound on in later posts):
"... a lack of interest in social relationships..."
"... a tendency towards a solitary or sheltered lifestyle..."
"... may be unable to form intimate attachments to others..."
"... a lack of deriving enjoyment from most activities..."
"... a degree of asexuality"
"... an inability to tolerate emotional expectations of others..."
"... idiosyncratic moral or political beliefs..."
YES (and I'm adding spiritual beliefs and superstitions to this)
"... difficult to distinguish SzPD from other mental disorders or conditions (such as autism spectrum disorder, with which it may sometimes overlap)..."
"... SzPD is linked to negative outcomes, including a significantly compromised quality of life... and one of the lowest levels of "life success" of all personality disorders (measured as "status, wealth and successful relationships")..."
"... Bullying is particularly common towards schizoid individuals..."
"... Suicide may be a running mental theme for schizoid individuals, though they are not likely to attempt it..."
fondness of nature and books
"... the majority of schizoids are not either oversensitive or cold, but they are oversensitive and cold "at the same time" in quite different relative proportions, with a tendency to move along these dimensions from one behavior to the other..."
"... the need to regulate interpersonal distance as a central focus of concern..."
"... the ability to mobilize self-preservative defenses and self-reliance..."
"... a pervasive tension between the anxiety-laden need for attachment and the defensive need for distance that manifests in observable behavior as indifference..."
inability to express aggressive feelings
"... autistic thinking... updated definition to include daydreaming, detachment from reality, and sensitivity..."
"... A University of Colorado Colorado Springs study comparing personality disorders and Myers–Briggs Type Indicator types found that the disorder had a significant correlation with the Introverted (I) and Thinking (T) preferences..."
"... neglectful, and distant parenting contribute to the onset of SzPD... their parents likely were intolerant of their emotional experiences. They may have been forced to... compartmentalize their emotions, possibly resulting in the onset of difficulties expressing and processing emotional experiences. These difficulties lead to the child... developing the belief that the only safe environment is one where they are alone and inexpressive..."
"... People with SzPD may... have internalized the belief that their emotions are dangerous to themselves and others due to the negative responses received from others..."
"... In their status of isolation and emotional bluntness they can be self-sufficient and safe..."
"... Genetic relationships with people who have schizophrenia spectrum disorders increase the risk of developing schizoid personality disorder..."
"... It is common for people with SzPD to have had major depressive disorder in childhood..."
"... often exclusively choose to participate in solitary activities..."
"... People with schizoid personality disorder typically have no close friends or confidants, except for a close relative on occasions..."
"... may be averse to social situations due to difficulties deriving pleasure from physical or emotional sensations, rather than social anhedonia..."
"... are often independent and turn to themselves as sources of validation..."
"... tend to be the happiest when in relationships in which their partner places few emotional or intimate demands on them and does not expect phatic or social niceties..."
"... want to avoid... negative or positive emotional expectations, emotional intimacy, and self-disclosure..."
"... can form relationships with others based on intellectual, physical, familial, occupational, or recreational activities, as long as there is no need for emotional intimacy..."
"... schizoid individuals "prefer to make relationships on their own terms and not in terms of the impulses of other people. Failing to attain that, they prefer isolation..."
"... friendship among schizoids is usually limited to one person..."
"... people with SzPD are at a higher risk of facing... homelessness..."
"... little interest in sexual or romantic acts. They rarely date or marry..."
"... Sex often causes individuals with SzPD to feel that their personal space is being violated, and they commonly feel that masturbation or sexual abstinence is preferable..."
Masturbation: NO, abstinence: YES.
"... Significantly broadening this picture are notable exceptions of SzPD individuals who engage in occasional or even frequent sexual activities with others..."
In the past: YES, currently: NO
"... Individuals with SzPD have long been noted to have an increased rate of unconventional sexual tendencies, though if present, these are rarely acted upon..."
"... Sensory or emotional experiences typically provide little enjoyment for people with SzPD..."
"... They rarely display strong emotions or react to anything..."
"... can have difficulty expressing themselves..."
"... difficulty understanding others' emotions and social cues..."
Others would say YES. I say NO (I understand perfectly, I just act obtuse to discourage people from sharing their emotions with me).
"... It can be hard for people with SzPD to assess the impact of their actions in social situations..."
"... may feel inadequate..."
"... are often indifferent towards criticism or praise..."
"appear distant, aloof, or uncaring to others..."
"... Expressing themselves can make them feel shame or discomfort..."
"... difficulties understanding one's own emotions..."
"... people with SzPD may possess a hidden sense of superiority and lack dependence on other people's opinions..."
"... Unlike the narcissist, the schizoid will often keep their creations private to avoid unwelcome attention or the feeling that their ideas and thoughts are being appropriated by the public..."
"... When forced to rely on others a person with SzPD may feel panic or terror..."
"... often feel unreal, empty..."
"tend to perceive themselves as fundamentally different from others..."
"... can believe that they are fundamentally unlikeable..."
"... Other people often seem strange and incomprehensible to a person with SzPD..."
"... Reality can feel unenjoyable and uninteresting to people with SzPD..."
"... difficulty finding motivation and lack ambition... often feel as if they are "going through the motions" or that "life passes them by..."
"... comfortable with their aloof lifestyle and consider themselves observers, rather than participants in the world around them..."
"... many... recognize themselves as socially deviant (or even defective) when confronted with the different lives of ordinary people..."
"... often experience feeling "like a robot..."
NO (although I've been referred to as such).
"... may try to avoid all physical activity in order to become nobody and disconnect from reality..."
"... This can lead to spending a large quantity of time sleeping and ignoring bodily functions such as hygiene..."
"... may engage in excessive daydreaming and introspection... Real life can become secondary to their fantasy, and they can have complex lives and relationships which exist entirely inside of their internal fantasy..."
"... Common themes in their internal fantasies are omnipotence and grandiosity..."
"... people with SzPD are helpless at many practical activities because of their symptoms..."
"... the anhedonia of SzPD may also cover eating, leading schizoid individuals to not enjoy it. Alternatively... schizoid individuals may not feel hunger as strongly as others or not respond to it, a certain withdrawal "from themselves"..."
"... substance abusers who showed schizoid symptoms were more likely to abuse one substance rather than many..."
"... more likely to use alcohol or cannabis alone than for social disinhibition..."
"... Antidepressants, SSRIs, anxiolitics, bupropion, modafinil, benzodiazepines, electrocardiography, and biofeedback may... be effective treatments..."
YES to modafinil, NO to the rest.
"... Many schizoid individuals display an engaging, interactive personality, contradicting the observable characteristic... definitions of the schizoid personality..."
"... secret schizoids"... behave with socially available, interested, engaged, and involved interaction yet remain emotionally withdrawn and sequestered within the safety of the internal world..."
"... the schizoid individual can express a great deal of feeling and make what appear to be impressive social contacts yet, in reality, gives nothing and loses nothing. Because they are "playing a part", their personality is not involved..."
"... the schizoid individual seeks to preserve their personality intact and immune from compromise. The schizoid's false persona is based on what those around them define as normal or good behavior, as a form of compliance..."
*** I'm really surprised the article doesn't touch upon low empathy in individuals with SzPD, because that bulletpoint would get a YES YES YES from me. I used to suspect that I was a sociopath (I know now that I'm not) or suffered from mild ASPD (Antisocial Personality Disorder) because I had no other points of reference and sociopathy or ASPD seemed like the closest fit (due to how low my level of empathy is). But more about that later.
