# Schizoid personality disorder?



## polythene (Jul 22, 2007)

*.*

.


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## UltraShy (Nov 8, 2003)

No, not at all.

I doubt anybody on SAS is schizoid. Schizoid Personality Disorder is basically SA minus the anxiety part. They're loners who have no interest in having friends or close relationships. Their lack of social connections doesn't distress them, so they'd have no reason to post on SAS complaining about their lack of social contact.

It's been argued that Schizoid doesn't even qualify as a mental disorder. For something to be a disorder it must either distress the individual who has it and/or harm society. Well, they're not at all distressed, and schizoid folks aren't going to do any harm to society, so where's the problem?:stu

The only "problem" is they fail to fit a social norm.

I suspect my father may well have been Schizoid. He's dead, which means he now speaks only marginally less to his sons & wife than he did while alive. He never did anything that would indicate anxiety in social situations to me. He seemed to avoid social contact simply due to a total lack of interest. He spent the final 40 years of his life selling real estate, which is hardly a job you'd expect anyone who SA to pick. Selling new homes requires very extensive contact with clients both in person and by phone that would surely drive anyone with SA away real fast. That kind of contact didn't seem to bother him in the least. Yet he never brought any friends over or went out with the guys, so I gather he had no interest in social contact. I can't imagine him having a conversation with a stranger or coworker beyond what was required to conduct business.


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## Saekon (Jan 13, 2010)

Kind of sounds good...


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## UltraShy (Nov 8, 2003)

Saekon said:


> Kind of sounds good...


Yeah, I guess so. If you're going to be socially isolated better to do so without anxiety.


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## march_hare (Jan 18, 2006)

Schizoid, no. 
Schizotypal, maybe.


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## Setolac (Jul 26, 2009)

UltraShy said:


> No, not at all.
> 
> I doubt anybody on SAS is schizoid. Schizoid Personality Disorder is basically SA minus the anxiety part. They're loners who have no interest in having friends or close relationships. Their lack of social connections doesn't distress them, so they'd have no reason to post on SAS complaining about their lack of social contact.
> 
> ...


This is interesting. Im just curious, how did your father manage to meet your mother when he didn't have any interest in social relationships? What did your mother see in your father? Sorry to be too personal in my questions but im just really curious how a woman could be attracted to a person like your father who has some characteristics of Social Anxiety minus the anxiety part and the lack of interest in relationships.

Come to think of it, there may be chance that a person with social anxiety may evolve into having schizoid personality disorder. It's just my theory that if a person with S.A who has already been fed up with all the anxiety that he/she experiences from other people, there could be a possibility that he/she will use some sort of a defense mechanism in order to get rid of the anxiety and this defense mechanism may involve the subconscious denial of removing his/her innate motivation to form connections to other people. In other words, this person will just not "give a f*** anymore".

This is one of my fears since I heard that if you have schizoid personality disorder, there is a big chance that you are going to suffer from schizophrenia in the future which may be activated by triggering factors.

But sometimes I wish I have schizoid personality disorder because I think that these people rarely become depressed about not having these relationships unlike social anxiety where you are forced to worry about not having a satisfying social life.


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## Monroee (Aug 26, 2009)

Where did you hear that Schizoid could lead to Schizophrenia? ^ I never heard of that. It doesn't really make much sense. Why would a voluntary loner who isn't bothered by any lack of relationships but enjoys that, become delusional or have hallucinations? I don't see where the trigger point would be. 

But I agree with the main point given here.. I highly doubt any of us here have Schizoid PD. If we did, we wouldn't be here on this forum. Schizoids don't have any anxiety and they are not bothered by their lack of social interactions, they are just not stimulated by them. Perhaps rather exhausted by them because they find interacting to be 'work' and boring. 

I'm sure many of us get exhausted by interaction but its for a different reason. People with SAD or AvPD would probably get mentally exhausted through interaction because we are constantly assessing ourselves and others and worrying. Schizoids don't worry, they just find it boring and unenjoyable. They just naturally prefer their own company. 

I agree with Ultrashy that it seems odd to refer to it as a mental disorder. I doubt the Schizoid would have any problems with him or herself. Perhaps the label is just beneficial for the families to know why their child doesn't want to have social relationships.


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## Toad Licker (Nov 2, 2007)

^Love your avatar 

Yes in fact one of my counselors diagnosed me as having SPD.


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## Wolfen (Apr 26, 2004)

I'm positive I'm Schizoid.
I don't want any friends and/or a girlfriend because I feel I can't trust anyone.
I might NEED them to be happy, but that's something else. It's like I don't want to be happy (or I'm not willing to take the steps/risks to make this happen).

And to me it IS a disorder because I'm being forced into communicating and cooperating with people (through work), which I hate most of the time.

http://similarminds.com/personality_disorder.html
This test gives me around 85% Schizoid score and is the highest of all the results every single time (I do the test once every couple of months).

If only people left me be ... :|

[edit]
I mean physical contact ofcourse. The internet is Heaven for me.


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## Wolfen (Apr 26, 2004)

polythene said:


> Wolfen - I've gotten the schizoid diagnosis each time I've taken that quiz. But cheer up, it's an Internet quiz! Not a legit diagnosis.


I know, but I've read parts of the DSM-IV book and a lot of it fits me regarding schizoids :
- restricted range of expression of emotions
- lack of desire for intimacy
- don't have much satisfaction from being part of a family/social group
- prefer time with themselves
- very little interest in having sexual experiences with another person
...

So it's not just this one test I'm basing this on.


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## PlayerOffGames (Mar 19, 2007)

polythene said:


> It just happens


yeah *nods*


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## C 13 (Feb 21, 2010)

Setolac said:


> Come to think of it, there may be chance that a person with social anxiety may evolve into having schizoid personality disorder.


This is an interesting point, but the general rule for a personality disorder is that it's a pervasive pattern of behaviour, thought etc. that is generally present one's whole life, even though they can only be diagnosed after 18. I guess if someone just gave up and stopped caring about having relationships, the diagnosis would still be SAD because that's the root of this behaviour.

Regarding the schizoid-schizophrenia relationship... well, there is none. ;-) There is a possibility (if slight) that *schizotypal *personality disorder may form part of the psychotic disorder spectrum, and people with schizophrenia are more likely to have relatives with schizotypal PD. Also, SOMETIMES, people with schizotypal PD may go on to develop schizophrenia, but this seems to be the exception rather than the rule. Perhaps mild schizophrenic symptoms emerging before the diagnosis were mistaken for schizotypla PD, who knows? But overall, the two disorders are rather independent.


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## borbiusle (Sep 26, 2009)

I had a friend in high school who was a schizoid. It was like being friends with a toy robot. His voice was always neutral and dry and he lacked facial expresses beyond happy,bored, tired, awake. We'd usually only hang out to play computer games, card games, or Chinese handball during lunch. He was definitely an amazing computer programmer though, his mind worked like a calculator on cocaine. But personality-wise, it was rarely exciting to be around him, unless he was showing off some new, flashy program he designed or whatever.

You'll definitely know a schizoid when you see one. They are absolutely non-threating and will bore the hell out of you.


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## PlayerOffGames (Mar 19, 2007)

borbiusle said:


> he lacked facial expresses beyond happy,bored, tired, awake.


he can observe objects without thoughts coming in...if he doesnt meditate it must be natural for him


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## Wolfen (Apr 26, 2004)

borbiusle said:


> You'll definitely know a schizoid when you see one. They are absolutely non-threating and will bore the hell out of you.


Thanks!


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## shy girl (May 7, 2010)

Thanks for posting this thread. I was convinced I had schizoid but I don't think I can be. The diagnostic criteria is pretty stupid to be honest (basically the description of an introvert). Reading someones description of a schizoid, and then visiting the schizoid forum made me realise I'm not much like them.


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## fredbloggs02 (Dec 14, 2009)

this is an EXTREMELY DANGEROUS label to flash around a social anxiety forum. Some people here misconstrue their problems as hating people when really it's the severe anxiety that writes them off. I am one of those people. I write a lot of people off because I see thm as unlike me. This is NOT To say I am Shizzo/we just middway accepting anxiety for what it is. People seem more trouble than good as it stands.

It would be EXTREMELY DAMAGING for someone to write themselves off as a people-hater simply because it seems the easier option after reading this thread.


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## gozinsky (Mar 11, 2008)

The dad probably got with the mom because he didn't give a damn what people think. Worst thing you can do in trying to get a woman is worry about what people think and not be confident. Sounds like he didn't care about social stuff, but he's still a man so he wants a woman and since he doesn't have to worry about what everybody thinks, he can go out and get one. Wish I was more like that. Main thing with getting a woman is you can't be insecure. We're all insecure because we feel like we're not good enouph socially. He didn't care so he wasn't worried so he got the girl. SA go away now. Now dammit now.


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## 718 (Dec 19, 2008)

UltraShy said:


> No, not at all.
> 
> I doubt anybody on SAS is schizoid. Schizoid Personality Disorder is basically SA minus the anxiety part. They're loners who have no interest in having friends or close relationships. Their lack of social connections doesn't distress them, so they'd have no reason to post on SAS complaining about their lack of social contact.


You couldn't be more wrong. I'm 95% sure I'm a schizoid although I haven't been formally diagnosed. I also have severe Social Anxiety. Let's take a look at the DSM diagnostic criteria
A. A pervasive pattern of detachment from social relationships and a restricted range of expression of emotions in interpersonal settings, beginning by early adulthood (age eighteen or older) and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by four (or more) of the following: 

neither desires nor enjoys close relationships, including being part of a family*. YES
*
almost always chooses solitary activities. *YES*
has little, if any, interest in having sexual experiences with another person *NO*
takes pleasure in few, if any, activities* YES
*
lacks close friends or confidants other than first-degree relatives* YES*
*appears* indifferent to the praise or criticism of others* YES*(note the word "appears"...I appear indifferent outwardly while freaking out inside)
*shows* emotional coldness, detachment, or flattened affect* YES*(I may be feeling all sorts of emotions but I "show" coldness detachment, flattened effect)
None of this precludes me from having SA
Also take a look at the *COVERT* section here..this is me:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schizoid_personality_disorder#cite_ref-Akhtar_12-0

Notice how the overt and covert schizoid are different people, yet they suffer the same problems. Your father appears to fall under the overt category, which is probably the type most academics and psychologists study. They're typically ok with the fact that they're schizoid. I am not.
I hate being this way. All schizoid, overt and covert, hate interacting with other human beings. The difference here is that I still want relationships and friendships.


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## shadowmask (Jun 22, 2009)

718 said:


> None of this precludes me from having SA
> Also take a look at the *COVERT* section here..this is me:
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schizoid_personality_disorder#cite_ref-Akhtar_12-0


Sounds just like me, too. I didn't realize there was that much variation in the symptoms. I don't think I'm Schizoid, but I don't care either way. I'm so sick of labels.


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## Choco (May 10, 2010)

I completely agree with shygirl! Reading the diagnostic criteria on wikipedia feels like reading character traits for star signs...they are so general, anyone can relate to them...
Social anxiety or phobia is a symptom any kind of personality can experience i think..depending on the type of experiences they have had...

i feel that my social phobias have evolved from past experiences where i have felt threatened or hurt by parents or peers...

if i had to choose from the personality disorders i feel i have a dependent personality... which actually is almost opposite to schizoid...dont like being alone, feel that significant others are necessary for survival..etc...i still feel phobic in certain situations however... fear of public speaking and writing..and by public i mean more that one person


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## SilentLoner (Jan 30, 2006)

There are some diagnosed schizoids on this board. I think I may be verging on schizoid as well, I have a lot of the traits. Even if not I think I wish I were, it beats being anxious all the time.



Wolfen said:


> I'm positive I'm Schizoid.
> I don't want any friends and/or a girlfriend because I feel I can't trust anyone.
> I might NEED them to be happy, but that's something else. It's like I don't want to be happy (or I'm not willing to take the steps/risks to make this happen).
> 
> ...


Haven't taken that trst before but looks like I got a high sore:
Schizoid||||||||||||||||||||86%

I win! (j/k)


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## Think2Much (May 2, 2010)

I can relate to this description as well. Certainly not much fun.


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## Whitney (Oct 2, 2008)

Wolfen said:


> I'm positive I'm Schizoid.
> I don't want any friends and/or a girlfriend because I feel I can't trust anyone.
> I might NEED them to be happy, but that's something else. It's like I don't want to be happy (or I'm not willing to take the steps/risks to make this happen).
> 
> ...


I don't think that test is very good. I got 78% on schizoid (which I know I'm not) and 34% on avoidant (which I know I am)


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