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Schizoid personality disorder

zombiesarepeaceful

zombiesarepeaceful

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It is characterized by at least four of the following criteria:
1.Emotional coldness, detachment or reduced affection.
2.Limited capacity to express either positive or negative emotions towards others.
3.Consistent preference for solitary activities.
4.Very few, if any, close friends or relationships, and a lack of desire for such.
5.Indifference to either praise or criticism.
6.Taking pleasure in few, if any, activities.
7.Indifference to social norms and conventions.
8.Preoccupation with fantasy and introspection.
9.Lack of desire for sexual experiences with another person.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schizoid_personality_disorder

I fit all the criteria.

I took an MMPI test through my psych and he specifically asked me if anyone had mentioned this before and I said no, cause I'd never shared any of this with anyone cause I didn't know what was wrong with me, just that I was different.

Has anyone else been told they have this? How does it affect your life? Have you ever been put on meds for it? I'm also ADHD, and have PTSD that flares up every now and then.
 
I fit many of these criteria, although I am obsessed with being praised. I hope to make myself better without resorting again to drugs.
 
it really does depend on how you look at it...

i had it, then i didnt..!
:-\
no, im not joking.

8 is great - all of these descriptions can be strengths when they are really needed and understood, no doubt; these symptoms, are attributes we need to live better, honestly.

a preoccupation with yourself as the lesser summery of them is where the problems lie, let it be a further introspection: 8- and realize it as a ladder of self to help you clime out of the negatively painted connotations, and paint your own with an open mind ,and take others word to heart as well with more introspection, allow some hindsight and another perspective to allow reason.


<3
 
I know I sort of use these "symptoms" as a defense mechanism to aid in my life...to cope. So its not really bad, but it sucks sometimes when I find no pleasure in shit, or don't show the "proper" emotions, according to people. At which point I just tell everyone to go fuck themselves :)
 
Man, its my personal (and, arguably delusional belief) that mental illness is a figment of our collective imaginations which is supported by those who truly believe it exists. i'm not one of those people. im aware of how ironic that statement is, as most will taunt me for it.

also, you probably arent a graduate student in psychology, and certainly do not have the credentials to diagnose yourself. as far as schizoid personality disorder goes, think of it this way-in two years or so, the disorder schizophrenia will change drastically as well as many other mental illnesses with the release of the DSM-V
 
Yeah, I agree that alot of mental illness is just a bunch of shit with labels attached to it that society finds as a flaw, but isn't really a bad thing...but I believe that some of them are real things, such as PTSD, ADHD, etc.
 
From what I've learned, the core maladaptive coping mechanism in schizoid personality disorder is that the objects of the person's affections are all inside of him/her. In layman's terms, they cope with the unpleasantries of life by having such a lushly detailed 'happy place' that they go to, that this fantasy world serves really all their relational needs.

People with SPD don't truly have the emotional flattening that sociopaths or people with schizotypy spectrum disorders have. It's just that the things and people that emotionally move them are all in their heads. Everyone in the outer world is a mere acquaintance.

Does this sound like you, OP?

The true prevalence of SPD is not known, because most never seek treatment. It's an ego-syntonic condition -- it 'feels right'. Most cases are referred because other people (family members and coworkers) have problems relating to the person.
 
No behavior is or can be a disease. Mental illness is a disallowance of orderly thought processes that contribute to poor functioning.

If youre unfamiliar with the likes of Thomas Szasz, google him now.
 
MyDoorsAreOpen said:
From what I've learned, the core maladaptive coping mechanism in schizoid personality disorder is that the objects of the person's affections are all inside of him/her. In layman's terms, they cope with the unpleasantries of life by having such a lushly detailed 'happy place' that they go to, that this fantasy world serves really all their relational needs.

People with SPD don't truly have the emotional flattening that sociopaths or people with schizotypy spectrum disorders have. It's just that the things and people that emotionally move them are all in their heads. Everyone in the outer world is a mere acquaintance.

Does this sound like you, OP?

The true prevalence of SPD is not known, because most never seek treatment. It's an ego-syntonic condition -- it 'feels right'. Most cases are referred because other people (family members and coworkers) have problems relating to the person.
Click to expand...

I mean its true that everyone who "moves me" is in my head...my gma is dead, and she's the only person I loved. But I'm not sure how much that has to do with it.
 
schizoid pd is very interesting..i fit many of the symptoms but some are way off as with any pd...some claim schizoid shouldnt even be labeled as disorder and i guess next year it is being written out of the DSm...lol...thats odd isnt it??

plus for me there is a very fine line between being schizoid, having clinical depression, dysthymia, social anxiety, or just being very introverted/asexual..its very hard to tell the differences between these things imo..
 
^ That doesn't surprise me. After all, the medical definition of mental illness includes impairment in day to day functioning. If you don't fail at life, then by definition, you're not mentally ill. I reckon most people with schizoid personality disorder succeed just fine at life, at least to their own satisfaction, and don't really bother anyone else.

zombiesarepeaceful said:
I mean its true that everyone who "moves me" is in my head...my gma is dead, and she's the only person I loved. But I'm not sure how much that has to do with it.
Click to expand...

Sounds spot on to me.
 
Sounds like severe depression with a little bit of psychosis to me. Personality disorders are kind of stupid imo. Don't buy into the bullshit.
 
zombiesarepeaceful said:
It is characterized by at least four of the following criteria:
1.Emotional coldness, detachment or reduced affection.
2.Limited capacity to express either positive or negative emotions towards others.
3.Consistent preference for solitary activities.
4.Very few, if any, close friends or relationships, and a lack of desire for such.
5.Indifference to either praise or criticism.
6.Taking pleasure in few, if any, activities.
7.Indifference to social norms and conventions.
8.Preoccupation with fantasy and introspection.
9.Lack of desire for sexual experiences with another person.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schizoid_personality_disorder

I fit all the criteria.

I took an MMPI test through my psych and he specifically asked me if anyone had mentioned this before and I said no, cause I'd never shared any of this with anyone cause I didn't know what was wrong with me, just that I was different.

Has anyone else been told they have this? How does it affect your life? Have you ever been put on meds for it? I'm also ADHD, and have PTSD that flares up every now and then.
Click to expand...



Also see: Dysthmia

I've read the DSM-IV cover to cover just for fun, and out of all of the personality disorders, this is the one that is closest to me. However, you should never, ever ever ever self diagnose yourself with one. You are likely just going through minor depression, where everything is just "meh" to you, and you don't really like the people you are around.

As to the person saying personality disorders are bullshit, have you ever met anyone with NPD, APD, or BPD? Cause holy fucking shit, you will believe in personality disorders then. The only one I take some issue with is Schizoid, it just sounds like a way of labeling life time introspective loners. Most of these people are not very uncomfortable with their life, as compared to some of the other PD's. It should only be a PD if it causes harm to yourself or others.
 
I think how much it bothers you is up to your own attitude. Most of those things are also strengths. Especially not giving a fuck in general, that can really help in life sometimes. Opiates boost the feeling even further. I have also been diagnosed with schizoid in the past so I have no doubt it exists, but the line between a mental illness and personality quirk is blurry. I fit the description but don't consider it to be a huge problem by itself.

You get a little socially awkward if you stick to yourself for a long time but it comes back. The company of other people is hard to put a value on when you need it and I've noticed the few really good friends have been a great thing, random people come and go. They don't give a shit if I don't pick up the phone for weeks or talk to them for months sometimes, they know me and are always willing to pick up where we left off. If you can keep away from locking yourself inside for months at a time, emerging when it's dark to get groceries you will be better off in that regard but being alone doesn't have to be totally lonely in this era anymore.

I'd be a mess socially without psychedelics. Thanks to them I have empathy for others which I didn't really understand before and can experience intense emotional states that weren't there before. And no more self-destructive tendencies. I have a feeling LSD will be used for treating this kind of stuff WHEN it becomes legal and researched. I'm not saying you should go take some acid especially if unsure about your mental stability but over time that has had the effect of integrating many negative symptoms into a somewhat balanced existence.

Some of those things also stem from doing certain drugs. Come to think of it, from computer addiction too. Until there is a test to confirm a condition, diagnosing can't be an exact science. That might be part of why psychiatry is being a called a pseudoscience in the media. That's a bit of an overstatement, it may not be exact but it helps a lot of people.

Researchers just came up with blood test for depression that measures phosphoric acid levels in the blood and will only take a few minutes. Many mental conditions might leave similar clues, there could well be a test for schizoid tendency gene(s) or brain patterns in the future. My 2c tend to be spammy but I hope you find something useful there.
 
^^i would have to believe most schizoids would have a very difficult time living in this world...a very social extroverted world would be hellish for a true schizoid..besides, most schizoids are not 'pure' schizoids, they simply have schizoid styles, which many people would simply say are introverts....in order for a schizoid to make it thru daily life in todays society, they have to create a false personality, an act so to speak so they appear somewhat normal to others...this would be exhausting to them but its a must if they are to be arou d others..

schizoid is very interesting but what i wonder about is how a schizoid cannot see something is quite wrong with themselves if 1-they are anhedonic which most skizzies are 2-have very little to no motivation 3-have no desire to have sex with another human being ..you add these 3 things up and i would be thinking 'hmm somethines not right with this picture'....lol
 
The thing that bothers me about personality disorders is the fact that with them around there is no way to be "normal." It's your fucking personality. Everyone has one and everyone has a different one. I don't consider personality disorders mental illness. I'm sorry if you disagree as many will, but I think it's just a way for psychiatrists to make money. Also, why does everyone HAVE to have something wrong with them. Just because you're not like everyone else doesn't make you sick and have a disorder. If it's not affecting your functioning then live with being different.
 
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