hi everyone in today's video we are
going to be exploring what schizotypal
personality disorder is and how it's
different from schizophrenia
schizotypal personality disorder can
sometimes be confused with a mild form
of schizophrenia i mean they sound
similar right however they are different
disorders we will get into more of the
specifics of how they differ in this
video as well as what the defining
characteristics of schizotypal
personality disorder are a good place to
start in terms of understanding the
difference between schizophrenia and
schizotypal personality disorder is the
personality disorder label the american
psychiatric association from the dsm-5
has this to say about personality and
personality disorders personality is the
way of thinking feeling and behaving
that makes a person different from other
people an individual's personality is
influenced by experiences environments
surroundings life situations and
inherited characteristics a person's
personality typically stays the same
over time
a personality disorder is a way of
thinking feeling and behaving that
deviates from the expectations of the
culture causing distress or problems
functioning and lasting over time so a
personality disorder mainly has to do
with a person's personality causing them
distress or difficulty functioning in
our culture you can compare this to a
psychosis spectrum illness which is
mainly a neurological disorder where
your brain doesn't function as it
typically would interestingly the icd-10
which is what most of europe and
australia use classifies the schizotypal
as a schizophrenia spectrum illness but
the dsm-5 the big book psychiatrists use
here in north america classify
schizotypal as a personality disorder
so there's likely a bit of overlap
between schizotypal and schizophrenia
people diagnosed with schizotypal
personality disorder are often described
as odd or eccentric with cognitive or
perceptual distortions and
eccentricities of behavior and usually
struggle with maintaining close
relationships they generally experience
discomfort with and reduce capacity for
these close relationships they tend to
hold peculiar beliefs and may have
difficulties responding appropriately to
social cues now i'm going to get into
the diagnostic criteria for schizotypal
personality disorder what can cause it
and prevalence but before i do that i
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okay now let's get into the diagnostic
criteria for schizotypal personality
disorder so the diagnostic criteria in
the dsm-5 remember that's the big book
psychiatrists use in north america is
five or more of the following so number
one ideas of reference this refers to
the ideas a person holds about innocuous
or coincidental things happening and
attributing it to having personal
significance there is also something
known as delusions of reference the
difference between ideas of reference
and delusions of reference is that
delusions are held with greater
conviction
so for example a common thought people
may have is that in a social situation
other people might be talking about you
behind your back
a person with ideas of reference might
have a feeling that people are talking
about them but when challenged on it can
acknowledge that the others may be
talking about something else
whereas a person with delusions of
reference would not be able to accept
that people were talking about anything
else except for them
so a diagnostic criteria for schizotypal
personality disorder is ideas of
reference but not delusions of reference
number two is odd beliefs or magical
thinking that influences behavior and is
not a result of cultural norms or
beliefs for example believing that you
could control the outcome of dice in a
board game
or having a fear of odd numbers
it can include any superstitious belief
that is not rooted in the person's
culture number three is unusual
perceptual experiences for example
feeling like there is a presence in the
room with you even though nothing is
there or feeling like you're floating
number four is odd thinking and speech
for example vague circumstantial
metaphorical over-elaborate or
stereotyped thinking number five is
suspiciousness or paranoid ideation for
example thinking people have ulterior
motives when talking with you or
believing that you are being followed
number six is inappropriate or
constricted affect which essentially
means not expressing appropriate mood or
emotion for example when others around
you are reacting with joy to something
you might not feel anything or you might
feel something seemingly inappropriate
such as sadness or anger number seven is
behavior or appearance that is deemed
odd eccentric or peculiar in some way
for example unusual body language or
difficulty with eye contact number eight
is a lack of close friends and
relationships apart from first-degree
relatives number nine is excessive
social anxiety even with those you're
familiar with which tends to stem from
paranoid fears
so according to the dsm-5 schizotypal
personality disorder also should not be
diagnosed if it occurs during the course
of schizophrenia bipolar disorder or
depressive disorder with psychotic
features or any psychotic disorder or
autism spectrum disorder so this just
means that you wouldn't be diagnosed
with both of them at the same time you
could however be diagnosed with
schizotypal first and then schizophrenia
with the diagnosis for schizotypal would
be changed to pre-morbid schizotypal
personality disorder now as i mentioned
it can be easy to confuse schizotypal
personality disorder with schizophrenia
after all a lot of the diagnostic
criteria seem similar with what a person
with schizophrenia experiences
but there are some important
distinctions for starters people with
schizotypal personality disorder
generally don't experience psychotic
episodes they may experience very brief
psychotic episodes the delusions and
hallucinations but if they do occur the
episodes are not as frequent not as
prolonged and not as intense as with
schizophrenia another distinction is
that people with schizotypal can
generally have a level of awareness that
their distorted ideas are not grounded
in reality it is much harder for a
person with schizophrenia to develop
this awareness and they generally can't
be swayed from their delusional thinking
despite these differences people living
with schizotypal personality disorder
can still benefit from some of the same
treatments used to treat schizophrenia
this can include things like therapy
medication which is typically for
co-occurring mental health problems and
lifestyle management so what causes
schizotypal personality disorder
genetics can play a big role schizotypal
personality disorder tends to be more
common in first degree biological
relatives of people living with
schizophrenia and typically develops in
early adulthood but early signs can be
seen during childhood unfortunately
these kids may attract teasing or
bullying as their behaviors and
mannerisms may be seen as odd or
eccentric as with everyone's personality
we are also shaped by our environment
reactions to life events your
surroundings and relationships all
likely play contributing roles and how a
person's personality develops during
childhood and adolescence it's not yet
certain what exactly happens during this
process for someone to develop
schizotypal personality disorder
cultural differences also seem to have
an impact on the noted prevalence of
schizotypal personality disorder for
example studies from norway report 0.6
prevalence while studies from the united
states report 4.6
but it has been generally found to be
more prevalent in males very often
people are diagnosed with schizotypal
personality disorder because they are
seeking help for a different problem
such as anxiety or depression
or friends or family members may notice
symptoms and urge them to see a doctor
the doctor will likely recommend you see
a psychiatrist or psychologist who may
use special interview and assessment
tools to diagnose personality disorders
people with schizotypal personality
disorder are often at an increased risk
for other issues as well such as
depression anxiety isolation developing
schizophrenia temporary psychotic
episodes other personality disorders
issues with alcohol or drugs
suicide attempts and issues at work
school or in relationships outlooks for
people living with schizotypal
personality disorder can vary based on
the severity of the symptoms and how
much it affects their daily living and
functionality often those who are
motivated to follow through with
treatment particularly therapy and
lifestyle management have better
outcomes so thank you so much for
watching this video i hope it was
helpful in better understanding what
schizotypal personality disorder entails
and how it's different from
schizophrenia if you'd like to see more
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thanks so much again for watching and as
always wishing you and your loved ones
good health we'll see in the next video
bye