# Schizoid personality disorder



## noscreenname (Feb 24, 2013)

Does anyone else think they have this?

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

"Schizoid personality disorder (SPD) is a personality disorder characterized by a lack of interest in social relationships, a tendency towards a solitary lifestyle, secretiveness, emotional coldness and apathy."

Particularly these comments by someone with SPD troubles me:

"If I am superior to others, if I am above others, then I do not need others. When I say that I am above others, it does not mean that I feel better than them, it means that I am at a distance from them, a safe distance."

That is how I feel 100%


----------



## SpyNumber403 (Apr 21, 2013)

I was diagnosed with it. Specifically the Secret Schizoid part

I think I may be growing out of it through because I am starting to look at my life and absolutely regret everything from my secretiveness to my playing everything with a poker face to my obsession with my "inner world". There is nothing I want more than friendships right now. I used to have them and take it for granted. I didn't know what I had.


----------



## Otherside (Jun 8, 2012)

The covert schizoid seems to describe me perfectly. I don't consider schizoid to be a disorder though. Ironically, that seems to be a symptom. But I don't see how it is a problem. It doesn't bother me and I don't see why it's should be a problem to anyone else that I'm not like them.


----------



## noscreenname (Feb 24, 2013)

Yeah to be honest I only have certain traits of this now but 10 years ago I would have fit all the symptoms easily. The emotional coldness, superiority over others and needing to be self efficient so I don't have to rely on others is what I really relate to now.

Comorbidity with anxiety and personality disorders is very common with these illnesses so I know it's not just hypochondria (which I have too, hypochondria about having hypochondria?) 

Looks like the solutions to it are all the same for curing heavy SA so I guess it doesn't really matter either way.


----------



## JamesM2 (Aug 29, 2012)

Yes, I think I might - didn't know about it until relatively recently when I scored highly for it on a personality test. I relate a lot to having no interest in social relationships, a preference for a solitary lifestyle, apathy and lack of pleasure in most activities.

I don't do well in the real world and my way of dealing with it is, as it has been as far back as I can remember, to seek comfort in my own inner world.


----------



## Zack (Apr 20, 2013)

Count me in!


----------



## mfd (May 5, 2013)

It's certainly a possibility.

Over the past 9 years I've only gone out around a dozen or so times (excluding counting medical appointments). And over that time, I've only had one real world conversation with someone around my own age who I'm not related to.

While I do live with my parents, that's still quite an isolated existence, and yet it doesn't particularly bother me. There is a part of me that would like a singular close friend, possibly due to me originally being a twin, but finding someone like that would mean searching and wading through a lot of social activities that I'd rather avoid.

Of the World Health Organizations criteria, I meet all of them except for the indifference to praise and criticism. While I do have an indifference to praise, criticisms do affect me quite a bit.

I found this part of that link particularly interesting:
_"By the very meaning of the term, the schizoid is described as cut off from the world of outer reality in an emotional sense. All this libidinal desire and striving is directed inward toward internal objects and he lives an intense inner life often revealed in an astonishing wealth and richness of fantasy and imaginative life whenever that becomes accessible to observation. Though mostly his varied fantasy life is carried on in secret, hidden away."_

My main hobby is writing and drawing adventure comics, with the main characters being myself and a fictional character I created a long time ago. I've never shown the comics to anyone, they're just for me. That sounds rather like what they're describing.


----------



## JamesM2 (Aug 29, 2012)

mfd said:


> Of the World Health Organizations criteria, I meet all of them except for the indifference to praise and criticism. While I do have an indifference to praise, criticisms do affect me quite a bit.


 This is the one aspect I can't really relate to either. Having said that though, when I've seen it it's usually written as "*appears* indifferent to criticism". Obviously there is a subtle difference there. I've sometimes been told that I am hard to read due to my lack of facial expressions, so whilst criticism may affect me internally, it doesn't necessarily show on my face, so technically it is true that I appear indifferent to it.


----------



## Mr Bacon (Mar 10, 2012)

It's hard to come up with a diagnosis, all those illnesses have symptoms in common with eachother. I'm not sure what it could be for me. Dysthymia, ADD, Schizoid, Aspergers, SA... they all share characteristics.


----------



## Monroee (Aug 26, 2009)

I was diagnosed with AvPD before, but I think if a professional assessed me again, it would change to SPD or a mixture of both. I hit each diagnostic point and exhibit all the symptoms severely except one (the praise/criticism indifference). It's really hard for me to relate to people here anymore honestly, as why people would even want social relationships is just beyond me. I preferred solitary activity over spending time with other people ever since I was a child, I remember turning down my one friend as often as I could with faking illness so I could avoid her and just play with my toys by myself. And I just started exhibiting it more and more as time went on. And for the past few years, I'm very overt about it and it disturbs my family, unfortunately. I'm not sure how to appease them because I think they feel they failed because I actively prefer to be alone.


----------



## creasy (Oct 29, 2012)

I've thought I have everything, including this. Sometimes though, when I break out of depression for a little bit, I realize that I actually do like being around people. IMO symptoms of depression can easily be interpreted as signs of some other mental illness and it's easy to read a description, relate to it and say "maybe this is me".


----------



## Zyriel (May 20, 2011)

I have thought about both Schizoid and Schizotypal personality disorder for myself. If you haven't taken an MBTI personality test, I suggest it. Those show cognitive functions (at least with some studying into the concept behind it) which will allow a greater understanding of decision making processes through self-reflection. By knowing the cognitive functions you use, you can see the correspondence to certain personality disorders (in theory) which may give you some personal insight.


----------



## mfd (May 5, 2013)

Zyriel said:


> I have thought about both Schizoid and Schizotypal personality disorder for myself. If you haven't taken an MBTI personality test, I suggest it. Those show cognitive functions (at least with some studying into the concept behind it) which will allow a greater understanding of decision making processes through self-reflection. By knowing the cognitive functions you use, you can see the correspondence to certain personality disorders (in theory) which may give you some personal insight.


Nice suggestion :yes

Just searched one out and realized I'd taken one a few years ago. My results were the same this time as back then.

I'm INTJ, which would seem a little closer to the schizotypal personality than schizoid.

I wonder how much of the personality disorders _are_ disorders, and how much are merely personalities (without the disorder classification).


----------



## Zyriel (May 20, 2011)

mfd said:


> I wonder how much of the personality disorders _are_ disorders, and how much are merely personalities (without the disorder classification).


That is exactly the conclusion I came to as well. Since the majority of the world are sense users over intuition users, we are in the minority. Not to mention the ratio of Extraverts vs Introverts either lol. So being Intuitive and Introverted is pretty low on the population scale, thus targeted easier. SJs are the ones who often times propose and administer rules/standards/laws, and want everyone in a neat little box. Most of the modern psychological community, or rather psychiatry community is taught to diagnose and apply medication for anything that is considered "irregular". Slap a label on it and you have a disorder that can be sold prescription medication. The pharmaceutical corporations make billions a year off it, and each year more and more children are behind diagnosed with things such as ADHD lol. Adults for depression, anxiety, and various personality disorders. If you don't fall into a certain category, or think like the majority, a new label will be made to put you into that said box lol.

When in reality, most people in history who made some significant change to the world in one way or another, would be slapped with a bunch of disorders by conventional standards.

Alexander the Great, Julius Ceasar, Napoleon Bonaparte = Narcissistic Personal Disorder

Leonardo Di Vinci, Wolfgang Mozart, Nikola Tesla = Anti-social Personality Disorder, ADHD, OCD

Abraham Lincoln, Ludvig Von Beethoven, Michelangelo, Vincent Van Gogh = Bi-Polar Disorder or Major Depressive Disorder

Alexander Graham Bell, Albert Einstein, William Shakespeare, Charles Darwin, Isaac Newton = Schizotypal Disorder

That is just a few off the top of my head. Honestly a lot of those people would probably be diagnosed with even more if they lived in today's world. And thus, they probably would have never been able to accomplish their dreams or change history in the way they did, under such a medicated stupor and persecution. The world of yore had less stability, no equality, injustice, but also hosted more freedom with less standardization.


----------



## wrongnumber (May 24, 2009)

I haven't believed Schizoid PD is valid ever since I read some research that indicates Schizoid people nearly always fit a diagnosis for Autism Spectrum Disorder. But when I was younger, I did used to worry I had Schizoid / Schizotypal PD since I recognise a lot of the traits in myself. I don't really care anymore though.


----------



## tehuti88 (Jun 19, 2005)

Zyriel said:


> Leonardo Di Vinci, Wolfgang Mozart, Nikola Tesla = *Anti-social Personality Disorder*


:| ...?


----------



## Consider (May 1, 2013)

They were like, "depression."
Then like, "bipolar"
Then like, "schizoid"
Then "borderline"

So, I've been diagnosed, but I don't believe I am.


----------



## Zyriel (May 20, 2011)

tehuti88 said:


> :| ...?


Despite their wonderful contributions to society through ingenious inventions, art, and music the were not very "people" people lol. According to the conventional standards at their time as well.

Leonardo Da Vinci had a perpetual feud with Michael Angelo, and despised the Catholic Church. Was considered crazy for his inventions and ideas. His study of the human body, dissecting corpses and being accused of necromancy lol. Inventions such as gliders, organ muskets (which could explode under pressure lol), mechanical knights, primitive tanks all without much thought of the level of danger. Often disregarding social conventions and graces, yet superficial charm. Since he was friends with Niccolo Machiavelli (Probably another Sociopath lol) and in the good graces of the Medici family in Florence. Without support, he probably would have been burnt at the stake during the inquisition for heresy and blasphemy.

Here's a few DaVinci quotes:

"Many will consider they can reasonably blame me by alleging that my proofs are contrary to the authority of many men held in great esteem."

"There exists among the foolish ... hypocrites who continually seek to deceive themselves and others, but others more than themselves, though in reality they deceive themselves more than others."

"Men of worth naturally desire knowledge."

"I do not consider that men of coarse and boorish habits ... deserve so fine an instrument nor such a complicated mechanism [as the voice] as men of contemplation and high culture. They merely need a sack in which their food may be held ... since verily they cannot be considered otherwise than as vehicles for food, for they seem to me to have nothing in common with the human race save the shape and the voice; as far as the rest is concerned they are lower than the beasts."

"Words which do not satisfy the ear of the listener will always weary or annoy him; and you will often see signs of this in such listeners in their frequent yawns. Therefore, you who speak before men whose good opinion you seek, when you observe such signs of vexation, shorten your speech or vary your argument; and if you do otherwise, then instead of the favor you seek you will incur hate and hostility."

"I was always destined to so deeply identify with birds of prey."

"Obstacles cannot crush me; every obstacle yields to stern resolve."

He had a total misanthropic view of humanity. Yet was able to manipulate his way into the good graces of those with power to further his own ambitions.

Nikola Tesla hated Thomas Edison. Had an utter disregard for most people, yet threw lavish gatherings and charmed people, mostly bankers to support his ideas. His problem was that, most of his ideas were not very profitable, since he cared nothing for economics. He kept wanting to outdo his competitors, such as the radio to Marconi. He never really made blueprints until after the fact, and worked directly from his head. In which a lot of investors disliked, with his ideas being so flamboyant for their time, and even by today's standards. He pretty much got eliminated from history for his different way of thinking, and rather dangerous experiments such as the Tesla coil lol:
http://nightchannels.com/shop/images/tesla%20coil%20quote%20web.jpg

Yet thanks to his contributions we have alternating current, and wireless technology lol. If he was allowed to continue his work with support, we would have renewable sustainable electricity based on static electrical currents in the atmosphere. But he was better at alienating people and burning bridges. Here is a quote from Tesla the day Thomas Edison died in the New York Times:

"He had no hobby, cared for no sort of amusement of any kind and lived in utter disregard of the most elementary rules of hygiene &#8230; His method was inefficient in the extreme, for an immense ground had to be covered to get anything at all unless blind chance intervened and, at first, I was almost a sorry witness of his doings, knowing that just a little theory and calculation would have saved him 90 percent of the labor. But he had a veritable contempt for book learning and mathematical knowledge, trusting himself entirely to his inventor's instinct and practical American sense."

Mozart I do not have much evidence other than what I read awhile ago lol. He was a rather odd personality, who had no respect for social norms and was constantly insulting people of higher station. He was also quite charming when he wanted to be, seducing women lol.


----------



## tehuti88 (Jun 19, 2005)

Zyriel said:


> Despite their wonderful contributions to society through ingenious inventions, art, and music the were not very "people" people lol. According to the conventional standards at their time as well.
> 
> Leonardo Da Vinci had a perpetual feud with Michael Angelo, and despised the Catholic Church. Was considered crazy for his inventions and ideas. His study of the human body, dissecting corpses and being accused of necromancy lol. Inventions such as gliders, organ muskets (which could explode under pressure lol), mechanical knights, primitive tanks all without much thought of the level of danger. Often disregarding social conventions and graces, yet superficial charm. Since he was friends with Niccolo Machiavelli (Probably another Sociopath lol) and in the good graces of the Medici family in Florence. Without support, he probably would have been burnt at the stake during the inquisition for heresy and blasphemy.
> 
> ...


Hm. I'm not convinced of sociopathy based on that, though it looks like you at least understand what "antisocial personality disorder" really means. I was afraid it was being misused in place of "asocial," which it often is, though not in this post. My mistake. I did learn some things though.


----------



## Zyriel (May 20, 2011)

tehuti88 said:


> Hm. I'm not convinced of sociopathy based on that, though it looks like you at least understand what "antisocial personality disorder" really means. I was afraid it was being misused in place of "asocial," which it often is, though not in this post. My mistake. I did learn some things though.


As much as I enjoy being an incarnate of dread itself, I would hate to cause such terror, for misused terms offend me as well. I am glad it is up to your standards in your penchant for proper grammar. Although, I must say that I am a bit insulted in your view of my intellectual capacity. But it is quite alright, I respect your opinion as someone with such a high caliber of knowledge.


----------



## Lish3rs (May 5, 2013)

A lot of those descriptions sound like me. I don't necessarily feel like I don't need anyone though. I only ever get narcissistic if someone makes me really mad or I feel rejected by them lol. I wonder how extreme the "preoccupation with fantasy and introspection" is. I wonder where the line is drawn between having an active imagination and maladaptive daydreaming, so to speak.


----------



## therealbleach (Jan 11, 2013)

What I don't understand is how anyone could by both schizoid and socially phobic. The two disorders have similar symptoms so it's perfectly understandable that someone could be DIAGNOSED with both, but one or the other must be a misdiagnosis, since schizoids don't care about social interaction and social phobes desire it, but are just too scared to do it.


----------



## Monroee (Aug 26, 2009)

therealbleach said:


> What I don't understand is how anyone could by both schizoid and socially phobic. The two disorders have similar symptoms so it's perfectly understandable that someone could be DIAGNOSED with both, but one or the other must be a misdiagnosis, since schizoids don't care about social interaction and social phobes desire it, but are just too scared to do it.


Desiring social interaction is not necessarily part of social anxiety. Social anxiety is defined as a phobia of social interactions for fear of judgment or humiliation. Someone can very much have a fear of social situations and also hate social interaction and not desire it. My worst social fear is eating at a restaurant for example, I fear humiliating myself there. What does that have to do with "desiring" interaction? Nothing. I have severe SA in many, many situations, and I also don't want any friends, I prefer being solitary.

There are many Schizoids that aren't bothered by others and are just apathetic, but someone can very much be Schizoid with SA.


----------



## JamesM2 (Aug 29, 2012)

^ This :yes

I'm socially phobic and certainly don't desire social interaction. While I don't have to worry about loneliness or being "stuck" at home when I'd rather have the confidence to go out and meet people, I still have the problem of extremely uncomfortable forced interactions that are all unavoidable in the real world, especially when it comes to holding down a full time job.


----------



## To22 (Apr 6, 2012)

...I'm not certain, but me having SPD does seem very possible.


----------

