Interesting Information about Schizoid Personality Disorder

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I think this is a very interesting abstract of a lecture given by Gary Yontef, called "Psychotherapy of the Schitozid Process."

It is written about people who fit the diagnostic criteria for SPD as well as those who function with significant schizoid processes, but do not fit the full diagnostic criteria.

www.psychologytribe.com/schizoid.pdf

If this link doesn't work, you can just seach "Gary Yontef and Psychotherapy of the Schitzoid Process" and you should be able to find it pretty easily.

I have to say that article describes my intimacy issues pretty well. I was provisionally diagnosed with SPD when I was 17 in 1974. I have spoken to therapists about a fear of "losing myself" in a relationship but perhaps that is because I have a real need for solitude in order to regenerate after human contact.

Thank you for your response. May I ask, does your current diagnosis still include SPD?

No, I say provisional because it came from a conversation between my mother and my therapist and I only found out about this 2 years ago! Also provisional because they don't want to diagnose when someone is under 18. However my issues with withdrawal were evident at age 2, according to my mother. My current diagnosis is add-primarily inattentive and dysthymia with dips into major depressive disorder. I manage on meds but life is still a drain.

I think that Yontef was pointing out that many people have some schizoid traits and coping mechanisms. Withdrawal from intimate relationships because of a fear of abandonment as well as the loss of one's self seems to be a coping mechanism that is used by many people who struggle with anxiety. So it makes sense that you can see how this article relates to you, and although I would have never thought so before, I see how I have some of those traits in me as well.

I really thought it was interesting how he explained that people can have enough of these traits to make relationships and connecting with other people very difficult, yet not have enough of them to be considered to be diagnosed with SPD.

So often we look at whether or not someone is diagnosed with something, and never consider that there are many traits that make up these different diagnoses. We check the lists and if not all 3 out of 5 (or whatever criteria) we move on to look at other possibilities. Many of us never consider how having 3 out of 5 traits may cause someone to be diagnosed with something, yet what happens when there are only 2 out of 5 traits. Surely it makes sense that those 2 traits may have some impact on the person's life.

It was just interesting for me to look at things in this way, and I thought others may find the article useful or interesting as well

I think schizoid personality disorder is the saddest personality disorder of all, what kind of way to live is it?

* thinks about own life *

oh, it's like that.

Hello Phonic..I'm not sure if it is the saddest. When I read some of the forums for those with SPD, many seem insistent that they are happy just as they are and that they feel nothing and so therefore do not miss having people in their lives.

I do wonder if that is just a coping mechanism, and by saying that they are happy they will make themselves happy, but I don't know. I think it also probably depends on whether the person is a "true schizoid" versus just having some of the traits, but I don't know for sure.

My brother is schizophrenic and he doesn't seem very happy to me. Someone I care about very deeply has many schizoid traits and he says he is always lonely, yet he disappears quite often.

I'm not sure if what appears like a sad way to be to me, feels sad to them. I wish I knew how they really felt, but all I can do is guess. I do know that I have some difficulty letting people close to me and that does make me sad.

I have SPD too. It's very strange, I literally don't feel human 99.9% of the time, nor can I relate to other people. I prefer the company of animals & most of the time I just wanna be left alone. I do a lot of acting in my daily life just to appear normal, to avoid having to explain that I'm on both the autism spectrum and the schizophrenia spectrum. It IS kind of a lonely existence, honestly. Sometimes I wish I could feel those normal needs for socialization & human contact. But, intimacy(emotional, not sexual) scares the bejesus out of me & even if I do manage to get close to someone I get very attached & start taking on their habits & traits like some kind of emotional chameleon. I think it's b/c my own emotions are so messed up- I tend to just mirror other people so I can appear to have appropriate emotional responses. It's gotten to the point where I've given up on relationships for the most part, and just maintain various 'arm's length' friendships. It's not that I don't want any human contact at all, it just weirds me out when people get too close.

I definitely have aspie traits, but I also appear to be very far on the introversion scale. I have some of the symptoms that schzoids have (sadly sometimes anhedonic depression). I am asexual and don't have a need for sexual intimacy. Becuase of all this I sometimes cannot relate to people and even don't feel human.