# Schizoid personality?



## ThirdEyeGrind (Feb 7, 2006)

So I came across this personality disorder and it is literally me. I mean every little aspect is me. Anyone else have this? I haven't been diagnosed but I'm almost positive.


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## nothing to fear (Mar 23, 2005)

i've read about it. at times it sounds like me, but mostly i end up really longing for human contact, but i can't because of anxiety and such, which would fit with avoidant personality disorder. schizoid is a general indifferance towards socializing... they can do it but just don't have any desire too. 

that is just what i've gathered from wikipedia so i don't know what it's like for you. i'm curious to know if any others have been diagnosed because i think most of the board would fit more with avoidant personality (if not only SA) rather than schizoid.


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## ghostgurl (Sep 20, 2004)

Fits me as well. I could probably easily be diagnosed if I went to a doctor about it. I don't need to though since it's not a problem. It shouldn't really be considered a disorder.


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## Broshious (Dec 23, 2006)

I seem to fit it pretty well also, although I seem to be more interested in relationships with people than most Schizoids.


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## UltraShy (Nov 8, 2003)

Schizoid personality disorder on the surface looks very much the same as SA. The major difference would be that it lacks anxiety and it's been argued that it's not even a disorder at all.

Someone who is schizoid isn't likely to be an SAS member. If you're schizoid you're a loner and you're perfectly fine with that. It causes you no distress and you have no desire to change. That doesn't sound like people on SAS. People here want human contact, but often lack it due to fear. A guy here may want a GF, but he may have given up hope of ever finding one because he feels inept & inadequate. A schizoid guy may not have a GF, but he doesn't care because he has no desire for relationships.

Many argue this isn't a disorder because it:
1. Doesn't cause the individual to suffer any distress.
2. They don't harm society.
Without meeting at least one of those two criteria, it seems very hard to define something as a mental disorder.


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## Broshious (Dec 23, 2006)

UltraShy said:


> Schizoid personality disorder on the surface looks very much the same as SA. The major difference would be that it lacks anxiety and it's been argued that it's not even a disorder at all.
> 
> Someone who is schizoid isn't likely to be an SAS member. If you're schizoid you're a loner and you're perfectly fine with that. It causes you no distress and you have no desire to change. That doesn't sound like people on SAS. People here want human contact, but often lack it due to fear. A guy here may want a GF, but he may have given up hope of ever finding one because he feels inept & inadequate. A schizoid guy may not have a GF, but he doesn't care because he has no desire for relationships.
> 
> ...


But it very much can cause distress. Schizoid's often lack desire to do just about anything. Many find getting/going to jobs regularly extremely difficult due to lack of motivation.


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## nothing to fear (Mar 23, 2005)

UltraShy said:


> Schizoid personality disorder on the surface looks very much the same as SA. The major difference would be that it lacks anxiety and it's been argued that it's not even a disorder at all.
> 
> Someone who is schizoid isn't likely to be an SAS member. If you're schizoid you're a loner and you're perfectly fine with that. It causes you no distress and you have no desire to change. That doesn't sound like people on SAS. People here want human contact, but often lack it due to fear. A guy here may want a GF, but he may have given up hope of ever finding one because he feels inept & inadequate. A schizoid guy may not have a GF, but he doesn't care because he has no desire for relationships.
> 
> ...


that is what i figured out from reading about. it is a bit... complex though, because in the wikipedia entry it mentions that from a study they conducted it shows that schizoids have just as much anxiety/depression as avoidants. i wonder if shizoids have been like that life-long, or if after years of.. rejection, or avoidant behavious and social anxiety, they've just accepted it and as a result do not care if they are social or if they have relationships.. just general indifference. seems like there is a fine line between shizoid and avoidant.. it is hard to distinguish the two.


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## arthur56 (Jul 31, 2005)

people can usually see themselves in almost every mental disorder they read about even if they a re happy and normal

theres a long way between schitzoid and SA


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## UltraShy (Nov 8, 2003)

> Diagnostic Criteria for Schizoid Personality Disorder
> 
> A. A pervasive pattern of detachment from social relationships and a restricted range of expression of emotions in interpersonal settings, beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by four (or more) of the following:
> 
> ...


I bolded the really important parts. Members of SAS desire relationships that are often out of reach due to anxiety. They want sex (I've seen so many posts by virgins who want to de-virginize.) And they deeply concerned by what others think of them (or what they imagine others think, when others likely don't even think of them much at all.)

You'll note the above definition lacks one vital item found in SA: ANXIETY!


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## FairleighCalm (May 20, 2007)

What an interesting condition. Any known treatment?


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## Sierra83 (Sep 24, 2007)

UltraShy said:


> > Diagnostic Criteria for Schizoid Personality Disorder
> >
> > A. A pervasive pattern of detachment from social relationships and a restricted range of expression of emotions in interpersonal settings, beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by four (or more) of the following:
> >
> ...


yeah, I'd say the flattened affect part counts as lack of anxiety.


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## RAR (Jul 20, 2007)

Don't be so certain about that. "Flat affect" certainly applies to me, and I've got plenty of anxiety. Just because it's a quiet, unseen panic doesn't mean it's not there.


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## redkit (Mar 14, 2006)

schizoids have anxiety and depression problems, too.
most of the schizoids have social anxiety because of lack of social skills.
they need socializing to hold a job and survive. they prefer to live alone most of the time but conditions of life force them to socialize.
schizoid personality is a severe mental disorder.


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## scorp1966 (Jan 19, 2008)

Went to the doctor today and he said I am close to suffering from schizoid, but thinks i suffer more from avoidant.


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## Recluser (Aug 15, 2006)

Schizoid personality sounds increasingly like my situation. I have strong anxiety in all social situations, but I can't relate to the people on here saying they want friends and relationships.

I used to discount the schizoid possibility because I thought _'schizoid = no anxiety'_ but that's not looking so sure anymore.


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## LarryM (Jan 15, 2008)

I am the same way. I have a large family and sometimes thats more than I can handle. Im not looking to add to the pile of people I have to keep happy.

I don't have anything against the public I just dont want to come out and play.


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## shyvr6 (Feb 18, 2008)

I not really sure if I'm schizoid or avoidant or both. I read the symptoms of both and I have symptoms from both disorders.


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## UltraShy (Nov 8, 2003)

Recluser said:


> I used to discount the schizoid possibility because I thought _'schizoid = no anxiety'_ but that's not looking so sure anymore.


The DSM definition lacks any mention of anxiety.

Schizoids are loners who feel just fine with who they are, aren't distressed by it, and have no desire to change as they see no problem to change.

Those with severe SA generally are loners too, but they most certainly are not fine with it. They hate their social isolation and want to change, thought they are often too afraid to take the steps needed to do so. I'd love to be schizoid and think my state of being is just fine.


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## Unidentified (Feb 18, 2008)

I'm happy the way I am by myself. Now if I could just be happy with the way I am when I have to interact with others... :con


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## ingrid (Feb 24, 2008)

i think some of you here are way oversimplifying this disorder. people with schizoid personality disorder are not simply loners who are content to be so. yes, that can be one aspect of the disorder. as to the 'legitimacy' of the disorder, while some aspects (like the lack of desire for social contact) may not cause the patient to suffer himself, they most certainly cause significant distress and suffering in the lives of those around him. and the disregard for norms and conventions most certainly causes a lot of difficulty fuctioning in society and in life in general. it is not a disorder that leaves those who have it content and careless, as has been implied by some here. i have personal experience dealing with someone with this personality disorder on a daily basis.


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## kintrovert (Oct 28, 2005)

There are plenty of times when it seems that I prefer to be alone - I'm content doing solitary activities such as surfing the Internet, fantasizing, watching t.v., reading, etc. Often I feel like I don't want to go outside the safety and comfort of the "private world" I've built for myself. But at the same time - I often feel like, "What is _wrong_ with me?" I _want_ to be "normal" - i.e., be more social and socially-at-ease. I feel like I've just missed out on living - I often feel so much remorse and sadness (and anger) about not having been able to have the (social) experiences, relationships, friendships that "healthy" people have. And there are definitely times when I long for a relationship, or wish I were "socially capable" of "living it up".

And of course - my anxiety is often over-the-top.

It's complicated: I have severe social anxiety, I match the symptoms of avoidant personality disorder extremely well - yet I often (and I mean _often_) have these schizoid-type feelings of preferring to be by myself. Maybe it's the depression - depression can make a person want to withdraw from people, can't it? (I still think my loner-tendencies are something a little deeper than just depression, though.)


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## UltraShy (Nov 8, 2003)

ingrid said:


> as to the 'legitimacy' of the disorder, while some aspects (like the lack of desire for social contact) may not cause the patient to suffer himself, they most certainly *cause significant distress and suffering in the lives of those around him. and the disregard for norms and conventions most certainly causes a lot of difficulty fuctioning in society and in life in general.*


If that was the criteria to define something as a mental disorder then homosexuality would still be listed as a mental illness in the DSM (it was once in there; finally removed in 1973 I think). After all, parents have been known to flip out when they find out their kid is gay. A wife is likely to feel significant distress if her hubby says "I have to tell you something -- I'm gay."

Something can certainly be deemed a mental illness if it harms others such as Antisocial Personality Disorder, which basically covers criminal conduct that the person doing it thinks is just fine. While AvPD may bug people around them it's rather trivial compared to an antisocial individual who might think burning down the neighbor's house or trying to run down kids with his car is a fun pastime.

As for disregarding norms & conventions, well, don't gay people do that? Thousands have been kicked out of the US military for disregarding this norm, for example.


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## ingrid (Feb 24, 2008)

ultrashy, i disagree. the problems caused by schozoid personality disorder, both for the sufferer and for those around him/her, are not trivial in comparison. believe what you will, but this problem isn't something insignificant. people with this struggle daily to get through life. i would think that's something we could all sympathize with.


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