sz.

a place for the szpd thoughts !! i like leaving tags a whole lot

[elphaboq]

Me when the neurodivergent safe space is only a safe space for people with very mild versions of disorders and call their neurodivergent disorders "silly" and "cute". You can't be a neurodivergent safe space if you believe in narcissist abuse. If you don't allow autistic people who can't explain things well. If you don't allow people with IDs. If you don't like schizophrenics, schizoids and schizotypals. Don't say you're neurodivergent safe if you just mean mild ADHD and Autism

[romance-incubomp3-deactivated20]

can our next mental illness symptom advocacy be for people whose symptoms make them aloof and detached and not emotionally expressive or scared of intimacy and vulnerability cause some of y’all really like to make fun of that shit and as an autistic schizoid I’m fucking tired of it. not being able to feel and express emotions genuinely or be vulnerable with others is exhausting and difficult and is way more complex than like toxic repressed “too cool for everyone” male bullshit you treat it as in your jokes.

[bleakbeauty]

I'm a medium-to-high support needs autistic adult, diagnosed in my 30s, and I have a story idea for Hollywood. An autistic person grows up in the 80s and 90s with no diagnosis, in part because less is known about autism then and in part because the adults in his life think science and medicine are scams. He realizes that he's different, and this makes him miserable, but the people around him tell him that he's just a normal person with a bad attitude. He endures complex child abuse, both physical and emotional, and is ostracized by both his classmates and his teachers at school. This person slips through the cracks of care and grows up feeling humiliated and worthless. As an adult, after he's diagnosed with ASD, he reaches out to his family, but they don't want to get to know him. He can't make any human connections, state-run disability support systems fail him, and nobody cares whether he gets the support he needs. The world is so alien that he begins to feel like he isn't even a human. He withdraws from people and begins spending as much time as he can walking in the woods, trying to connect to the non-human world. Eventually, he abandons his relationship with humanity altogether and disappears into the forest, and no one remembers that he even existed. It's a story about what autism really feels like to a lot of people. You can't win care, you're isolated from everyone, and you feel like an alien. You don't see yourself in anyone, and you hear the world saying that none of this is for you. People seem so strange that you lose faith in your grip on reality. For many, autism is not about being awkward in an endearing way and having esoteric interests; it's about your personhood being built on entirely different fundaments. Filmmakers could could show that many of us have no access to compassion because this society hates anyone who needs help, and it prioritizes independence and sharp social acumen above patience, love, and curiosity. Happy stories about autistic kids are great, but there are millions of unhappy autistic adults who struggle every day to assert that they even exist.

[aurangg]

What if we schizoid nation say “zoid out” instead of “peace out” (you know, the slang for farewell). For example, {insert text here}, zoid out.

[astrangerthatlovesyou]

Just a gentle reminder that it’s okay and healthy to like and even love parts of your personality disorder. (Or any other disorder)

Nothing is ever all good or all bad. Your PD(s) is a part of your very make-up. It plays into every part of you at least a little, and you are not obligated to hate every part of yourself. Many of the few things I like about myself were catalyzed by AvPD. I feel that it has made me very considerate and gentle for example.

You can love parts of your PD while still recognizing and addressing the destructive parts. Curing and getting rid of your PD isn’t a realistic or healthy goal. Learning to love and accept yourself while minimizing the negative impact of your harmful symptoms is.

I love you, and that means that I love your PD too.

[malicious-vampire]

Trying to beat this constant feeling of boredom. It's never enough. I can spend the day studying, tending to art and literature, making music... hell, even socializing. I am productive. I am busy. Yet I'm always on edge, looking for something more appealing, more consuming, craving the adrenaline and dopamine. It's a bottomless pit.

[arozoid]

Does anyone else get in a mode where they are fighting every nerve to not self isolate

[drgnswflblldrchv]

[coldresolve]

How to Write a Schizoid Character

Schizoid Personality Disorder (SzPD) affects an estimated 1% of the population, similar to rates of autism, but is widely overlooked both in real life and in fiction - to the point where it is often colloquially labelled "the silent disorder". This is a somewhat comprehensive guide in how to write a character with SzPD, from someone who has it.

Quick research guide

I'm writing this guide with the underlying assumption that you've already done some cursory reading into the basics of SzPD. At this point, you need to understand two things: One is that this disorder is incredibly poorly researched, due to schizoids often not seeking treatment for the disorder itself (they sometimes seek treatment for comorbidities like depression or anxiety); and two, as a result of this, there is a lot of over-simplified misinformation out there about SzPD. This disorder often gets boiled down, even by mental health professionals, to the DSM-V or IDC-10 diagnostic criteria, which are criticised widely in the schizoid community for being incredibly superficial descriptions of overt SzPD. This is the kind of case where you need to seek out the SzPD specialists or the schizoids themselves for information about the disorder.

Akhtar's profile is a good overview. Psychologist Elinor Greenberg has a quora where she answers all sorts of questions about SzPD, and she typically hits the nail on the head. Other resources include Schizoid Angst, a youtube channel run by a man who has SzPD (this convo in particular is really good). If you're interested in a deep dive, I recommend reading The Divided Self by R.D. Laing for a deeper understanding of the inner workings of schizoids, as well as the relationship between SzPD and the rest of the schizophrenia spectrum.

Understand the "root" of SzPD

SzPD typically forms as the result abuse, neglect or abandonment in childhood. Schizoids have learned through trauma that emotional intimacy, vulnerability, and dependence on other people all have the potential to harm them badly, and as a result, they tend to avoid those things. In that sense, schizoids don't have a problem with other people, per se. Understanding this fact can help you write your schizoid character with more realism and nuance.

For example, it's a common misconception that all schizoids are averse to having sex. Many schizoids are, to be fair - but plenty of schizoids also frequently engage in hook-up culture, or form other sexual relationships. Physical intimacy can be entirely seperate from emotional intimacy, and thus pose no real risk to a person with SzPD. It's also possible for schizoids to form good relationships with other people, if those relationships are based on non-emotional grounds, such as recreational interests, work, religion, etc.

You can show this in your schizoid character by thinking about which of your other characters your schizoid might gravitate towards. In general, they will feel safest with characters who place few (or no) emotional demands on them, don't place high value on phatic gestures, don't pry into their emotional state or background, respect their need for independence and agency, and so on.

Overt or Covert?

Once you've researched the disorder a bit, you need to decide whether your schizoid character is overt or covert. The overt/covert split is about 50%/50%, so neither is more likely than the other.

Overt schizoids tend to be a lot more blunt about their indifference, visibly detached and aloof, and are typically way less likely to engage in social settings (or be in social settings at all). These are the characters who have blunt affect, ie. won't have much of an emotional reaction to their surroundings, even if it directly involves them (ex. getting praised/criticised). They may have odd speaking patterns, such as stilted or vague speech, and can sometimes come across as cold and uncaring. Overt schizoids are noticably reluctant to reveal what's going on in their internal world, so they might also come across as enigmatic, secretive, or mistrustful.

If your character is an overt schizoid, think about how their behavior and personality are percieved by other characters, what kind of reactions might arise. Think about how your schizoid character might navigate these reactions - after all, they're probably used to getting comments. How do they react if someone comments on how disinterested/moody they seem? Do they tell the person to fuck off? Do they raise an eyebrow, and that's that?

Covert schizoids, or "secret" schizoids, experience the exact same symptoms as overt SzPD, but they hide it behind what's called a false-self system. You can think of it as a form of compulsive masking. Apart from perhaps vaguely eccentric behavior, you typically won't be able to tell that a secret schizoid has SzPD unless you know what you're looking for. If your character is a secret schizoid, they will behave in a way that seems socially engaged and interested, maybe even extroverted, but they will be emotionally withdrawn and safe within an internal world.

If your character is a covert schizoid, your other characters might not notice that anything is out of the ordinary with them at all - until they learn more about your character's lifestyle. Secret schizoids are not as used to being confronted about their odd behavior as overt schizoids are, and, depending on the character overall, might respond to these confrontations with awkwardness, defensiveness or confusion. Many secret schizoids are also unaware that they have SzPD, but are instead just vaguely aware that their behavior and preferences seem strange and different to other people.

Figure out the internals

An intricate internal fantasy life makes for a well-thought-out, sharply self-aware character. Schizoids spend most of their time in their own heads, so you need to have a good understanding of your character's internal world, fantasies and reflections, and how these things affect their behavior, priorities and decisions.

For many schizoids, their fantasy life is rooted in their own lives, either their past, present, or future - what-ifs, what-if-nots and could've-beens. They'll have internal "interactions" with other people they know, play out entire conversations and scenarios, and respond and react much more vividly than they tend to in real life. For other schizoids, their fantasies exist in a world entirely seperate to our own, with its own rules and structure, which they can explore to their own liking. For others yet, they think up fictional stories, sometimes inspired by real life, sometimes not.

Themes in the internal world often reflect the schizoid's own struggle with independence and intimacy. A lot of schizoids use their fantasies as a safe and sufficient way to feel "connected" to others. Others have violent, vengeful fantasies, which often juxtapose the indifferent demeanor - these fantasies tie in to the need for independence and emotional control, sometimes referred to as schizoid omnipotence.

Beyond the intricate fantasies, consider your character's moral beliefs. Schizoids tend toward idiosyncasy - we're in the "odd and eccentric" cluster for a reason. Akhtar described this quality as "occasionally strikingly amoral, at other times altruistically self-sacrificing." Take some time to figure out how this might express itself in your character, and how it is percieved by the characters around them.

Schizoids and relationships

You know how borderlines have their favorite person, and narcissists have their chosen person? A schizoid might just stumble upon someone who will become their interest person, or IP.

An IP is someone outside their immediate close family who the schizoid feels safe enough to be vulnerable with, are genuinely interested in, and who the schizoid forms an honest-to-god emotional connection to. This relationship can be either romantic or platonic in nature. If you choose to give your schizoid character an IP, make sure to emphasize how much this relationship stands out as uniquely meaningful to the schizoid - this is the one person they are even capable of having a genuine bond with, and that bond alone can keep them grounded against feelings of cosmic isolation. Your schizoid isn't likely to take this for granted.

An interesting tidbit of information is that schizoids paradoxically tend to gravitate towards relationships with highly extroverted, emotional people, to the point where the schizoid-hysteric relationships are an entire category of psychological research. Here's a really good snippet that describes how that dynamic tends to play out.

(Also keep in mind that just because a schizoid doesn't have an IP does not necessarily mean they are miserable. A lot of schizoids are capable of finding their own peace with whatever tools they have available.)

Another notable term for schizoid relationships is the controversial stock friend. A stock friend is a person who considers themself friends with the (typically covert) schizoid, and who thinks they have an emotional connection with them, but who the schizoid feels no emotional connection to, has no real interest in, and only interacts with out of convenience or happenstance. Is this immoral? Are schizoids leading people on, or are we justified in masking to avoid a constant stream of awkward confrontations, that have the potential to hurt other people's feelings? Who knows.

Splitting

You might have heard of idealization/devaluation-splitting as it pertains to borderline PD (bad/good) or narcissistic PD (worthy/unworthy). Splitting happens in SzPD as well, along the axis of safe/unsafe.

Schizoids will occasionally cut other people out of their lives, and this usually happens when they get overwhelmed with another person's attempts at emotional intimacy, or their boundaries have been deliberately or repeatedly crossed. They will often view the person as relentlessly prying, controlling, demanding, or dangerous, and will desperately seperate themself from that person as a way to avoid being consumed, or "smothered". At this point, if the other person doesn't let the schizoid get away, the schizoid might become overtly hostile. This is a fear response.

If you want to write a schizoid splitting, be aware that a split with a schizoid usually marks the end of the relationship altogether - especially if the relationship hasn't lasted for very long, and double especially if the person isn't the schizoid's IP. Once a schizoid has lost trust in someone, that trust is very, very difficult to build back up, even if both parties agree to try. Your schizoid character is going to be incredibly wary of the other person, and the relationship is probably never going to feel like it did before.

Beware of stereotypes

Every once in a while I'll encounter a story that features a character who has very obvious schizoid traits, and almost every single time, their arc leaves me disappointed and frustrated. Here are some tropes I would personally avoid writing for a schizoid character.

"He just needed love all along." Kill this trope, no exceptions. Strong emotional intimacy can erode or overpower a schizoid's sense of self, and usually leads to feelings of smothering, being trapped/crushed by the other, and losing autonomy and independence. A schizoid is capable of love on their own specific terms, but if it's on the terms of other people, they will strongly feel like it's something being forced on them against their will. They might still outwardly "accept it" as a form submission or compliance, but it will not be out of love. This trope gives me psychic damage.

"He sacrificed his life for others, which proves that he cared all along." This trope isn't necessarily bad, it just always leaves me with this impression that neurotypicals can only interpret caring when it happens in the extremes. And while it's true that schizoids can sometimes be altruistically self-sacrificing, it's kinda depressing to see schizoid-like characters die all the time. There are other ways you could show schizoid altruism that would also leave the door open for more closure for the character themself.

"He turned evil and violent." While this trope isn't quite as common as it is with other disorders, notably those from cluster B, it does still exist. So here's your friendly reminder that mentally ill and neurodivergent people are more likely to be the victims of violence than to be perpetrators, by far. I'm not saying you should never write a schizoid bad guy, you certainly can - I'm just telling you to be very careful about how you go about it, so you don't end up sending the wrong kind of message.

Conclusion

Schizoid characters are cool, and I wish there were more well-written canonically schizoid characters out there. But I'm also clearly biased, so what do I know

[arozoid]

The strangest thing about losing my emotions is that most of the thoughts are still there. I don’t get upset with people anymore, because why bother, but I still have thoughts as if I were scared/grossed out/etc. I just don’t have the physical part so it has no actual power

[boypunisher]

szpd culture is blocking the szpd culture page because they take up too much fucking room in the szpd tags

[szampers]

They say that nature loads the gun to which nurture pulls the trigger. I probably lucked out on having the ideal traits and environment to foster the szpd. In my case I think is largely built on racism, social alienation and some nice gene combinations, all of which contribute towards a breeding ground for finding comfort in isolation. The good stuff.

i. I come from a 1st generation immigrant family which isn't the most integrated, while I'm very much ahead of them as i'm born and raised here, but not nearly enough to feel a sense of belonging. And since I look notably ethnically different from everyone but for my family, I get the impression that people will treat me as an outsider regardless, especially with my closed off nature (which they probably attribute to me not understanding the language or whatever). I'm in a state where I don't really identify ethnically with any of these backgrounds. So yeah! My sense of ethnic affiliation is rather non existent. It has to make place for the social alienation.

ii. I've always been incredibly self conscious about my appearance which has lead to racist remarks whether offhanded or intentional. My shyness was meant to protect me from this, by drawing as little attention as possible to myself. I sought out little social contact out of fear, which is arguably effective in staving off remarks since my interaction with people was limited. Despite that I was still taken by convictions that people kept racist sentiments about me hidden, probably true to an extent, so I didn't feel quite safe internally either. For a time because of these mentally taxing thoughts I avoided going outside whenever possible as these applied on random strangers too.

iii. I inherited genes from not one, but two introverted people. I've always spent time largely by myself and I wouldn't know how else to spend your time.

It'd be a miracle if I somehow learned to bond with people despite everything. Interacting with people is the one thing that causes me stress, nor do I feel incentivized to build a social network due to the lack of a social drive, which I might have had long ago in the past but lost since over the ages.

We're all products of our environment, so the responsibility of who you have become doesn't rest entirely on yourself. If I could've been different then I would've been different, but I'm not. I doubt my environment or me at the time would've allowed it. You can only move onward from where you are in the present.

[szampers]

solitude.jpeg

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schizoid_personality_disorder

[szampers]

very nice to see an active szpd-focused blog that is not...for lack of a better term...Edgy. many schizoid blogs i've come across really play up the whole "void" aesthetic+while i'm sure it's true+meaningful for them, i don't relate to it+am not interested in the theatrics of it at all. you're doing good work by creating a space dedicated to exploring+discussing szpd+related concepts without the pervasive nihilistic trappings that have turned me off from most others. i want to discuss living with szpd, not surrendering to it! salute o7

(feel free not to answer this publicly/at all if it comes off as needlessly dismissive to that genre of blog. i can't tell if i'm being "mean," and i can't not mention it, because not mentioning it would entirely miss what i appreciate so much about this blog)

Hi I'll use this ask as an opportunity to tell a bit more about this blog and other stuff !!

I run this blog partly for the sake of others. Anything I share here is not only done as a way to voice my thoughts, but also in hopes that someone would find something they can relate to, or even comfort as i have after discovering there are people dealing with Very Similar Situations which i know as The Szpd. for the longest time i never had any points of comparison for myself while knowing the average person likely wouldn’t impose total isolation and a chronic vow of silence on themselves among other average person things. It was a state of knowing something was off but never being able to put a finger on what exactly. I felt szpd was already as hidden as it is so I figured someone has to try and keep the awareness going. This way I'm also putting all these thoughts to good use.

Your ask pretty much validates the reason why I created this blog!! thank you it means a lot to read this.

And whether someone chooses to focus more negatively or positively on szpd, they’re all valid! Since szpd isn’t known for its pretty sides as with all other pd’s and conditions, that does make it very easy to be fixated on the nasty parts, especially if all it does is making your life miserable. if this has brought me any kind of joy then I wouldn't notice. I'd say the main danger is the risk of being consumed by the misery and getting trapped in a vicious circle.

But yeah. it would be very, very strange if you were to think positively of things like this. I suppose it's one way to tell if you're somehow faking it. The realistic thing to do is to come to good terms with it. Hard, but possible enough.

I have seen another post calling out the focus mainly placed on negativity which I've yet to reblog. They phrased it really well in a blunt way, it's arguably one of the most motivating szpd post I've read. Being trapped in narrow sighted ways of thinking isn't something I want even though nothing about this is easy. This is why I consciously try not to let my writing become full blown complaints or be saturated with pain and misery, while it's very easy to indulge myself into such things. I keep in mind to make my writing productive in some way or another. I'm pretty awful at this in my own journal but it works much better if people could be reading!! being held accountable this way which is pretty cool.

[szampers]

Casual life update! I have made a whole list of topics related to my szpd in my notes which I hope to write about. There's at least 15 whole different things, good amount of them being personal experiences. I'm not gonna run out of content for this blog anytime soon and in fact they'll probably keep on coming. These are some weirdly cathartic times.

[yaybadluck]

My jam since accepting the fact that I have a schizoid personality: The incredible feeling of liberation I get from ghosting people I pretended to care about for years

[caffeineandadream]

Recently stopped bothering to message people just because it seems like the 'neighborly' thing to do. So much less stress. And sure, maybe they fucking hate me cause I abandoned our 'friendship' but it didn't do anything for me anyways, so who cares?

[celecaster-deactivated20231105]

/* Old document. This was originally formatted for Instagram, hence the square pages + nine page limit [ +1 for the cover ] so do forgive if the font is a bit small or some of the explanations had to be condensed!

My goal was an overview of ScPD that delved deeper than just surface-level behaviours, while still being “short and sweet” enough to be understandable even without having read a lot of schizoid literature. There are some comparisons to BPD and NPD to give a clearer understanding of how ScPD splitting works by comparison, but BPD/NPD are not the primary focus of the document. Title was taken from this paper.

The character on the cover is my schizoid webcomic character, Jacques. He isn’t really relevant to the post, I just used an image as a cover so it wouldn’t look weird on the preview on Instagram.

As always, these are mere frameworks and each individual can have their own experiences that are not 1:1 as described here.

Anything that needs further clarification or correction, please message or append in a reblog!

Transcript and additional references below the readmore. */

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