Schizoid personality disorder (SPD) is a chronic and pervasive condition characterized by feelings of social isolation and apathy toward other people.
Individuals with personality disorders have long-standing patterns of thinking and behaving that differ from society’s perception of normality or normality. Their personality disorders can cause great distress, and interfere with many areas of life, including social and work functioning. Individuals with personality disorders typically have poor coping skills and difficulty forming healthy relationships.
Unlike people with anxiety or depressive disorders, who know they have a problem but cannot control it, people with personality disorders are often unaware that they have a problem and do not believe it. They would have something to control. Because they often don’t believe they have a problem, people with personality disorders often don’t seek treatment.
What is Schizoid Personality Disorder?
Schizoid personality disorder is one of a group of conditions called “cluster ‘A'” or eccentric personality disorders. People with these disorders often appear strange or awkward. People with schizoid personality disorder are also socially withdrawn, aloof, and aloof. They are usually loners who prefer solitary activities and rarely express strong emotions. Although their names sound similar and they may have some similar symptoms, schizoid personality disorder is not the same thing as schizophrenia. Many people with schizoid personality disorder are able to function quite well, although they choose jobs that allow them to work alone, such as night security officers, library, or lab workers.
Symptoms of Schizoid Personality Disorder
People with schizoid personality disorder are often reclusive, organizing their lives to avoid contact with other people. Many never marry or may continue to live with their parents as adults. Other common characteristics of people with this disorder include:
- They also do not desire or enjoy close relationships with family members.
- They choose solitary jobs and activities.
- They find pleasure in few activities including sex.
- They have no close friends, except first degree relatives.
- They have difficulty relating to others.
- They are impervious to praise or criticism.
- They are aloof and show little emotion.
- They may daydream and/or create vivid visualizations of complex inner lives.
How Common Is Schizoid Personality Disorder?
The prevalence of the disorder is difficult to accurately estimate, as people with schizoid personality disorder rarely seek treatment. Schizoid personality disorder affects men more often than women, and is more common in people who have close relatives with schizophrenia.
Schizoid personality disorder usually begins in late adolescence or early adulthood.
What Causes Schizoid Personality Disorder?
Little is known about the cause of schizoid personality disorder, but both genetics and environment are suspected to play a role. Some mental health professionals hypothesize that a dark childhood with an absence of warmth and emotion contributes to the development of the disorder. The high risk of schizoid personality disorder in families of schizophrenics suggests that genetic susceptibility to the disorder may be inherited.
How Is Schizoid Personality Disorder Diagnosed?
If symptoms of this personality disorder are present, the doctor will begin the diagnosis by taking a complete medical history and possibly a physical examination. Although there are no laboratory tests specifically for the diagnosis of personality disorders, a doctor may use various diagnostic tests to rule out physical illness from the symptoms.
If the doctor can’t find a physical cause for the symptoms, he or she may refer the person to a psychiatrist or psychologist, health care professionals who are specially trained to diagnose and treat mental illnesses. are won Psychiatrists and psychologists use specially designed interview and assessment tools to assess a person’s personality disorder.
How Is Schizoid Personality Disorder Treated?
People with this personality disorder rarely seek treatment, as their thoughts and behaviors usually do not cause them distress. When a cure is sought, psychotherapy — a form of counseling — is the form of treatment most often used. Treatment will likely focus on enhancing general coping skills as well as improving social interaction, communication and self-esteem. Because trust is an important component of therapy, treatment can be challenging for the therapist, as people with schizoid personality disorder have difficulty forming relationships with others. Social skills training can also be an important component of treatment.
Medication is not usually used to treat schizoid personality disorder. However, medication may be prescribed if the person also suffers from an associated psychological problem, such as depression.
