- Hey everybody,
today we're gonna talk about schizoid personality disorder.
But before we jump into this very important topic,
are you new to my channel?
Welcome.
I release videos on Mondays and on Thursdays,
so make sure you're subscribed
and have those notifications turned on,
so you don't miss out.
But now onto schizoid personality disorder.
In short, the DSM describes it as a pattern
of detachment from social relationships
and a restricted range of emotional expression.
Meaning that someone with SPD,
schizoid personality disorder,
would prefer to be alone and they would struggle
to express much of what they feel,
which I can imagine could be really difficult
and at times really frustrating for them.
Now to get into the actual diagnostic criteria,
or in other words, what we have to have in order to be
diagnosed with schizoid personality disorder.
One must have a pervasive pattern of detachment
from social relationships and a restricted range
of expression of emotions in interpersonal settings,
beginning by early adulthood and present
in a variety of contexts,
meaning it can happen at work, school,
and with a variety of people, so it doesn't just happen
in one certain scenario.
And it has to be indicated by four or more of the following.
Number one, neither desires nor enjoys close relationships,
including being part of a family,
meaning it's not just romantic relationships.
They just really don't enjoy any kind
of relationship with anybody.
Number two, almost always chooses solitary activities.
Number three, has little, if any,
interest in having sexual experiences with another person.
And this is not to be confused
with asexuality or aromantic people;
this is specific to schizoid personality disorder.
Number four, they take pleasure in few, if any activities.
Number five, lacks close friends or confidants,
other than first degree relatives.
Number six,
appears indifferent to praise or criticism of others,
meaning they don't really care if someone's saying nice
or mean things about them.
Either way, they're just like, eh.
Number seven, shows emotional coldness,
detachment, or flattened affectivity,
meaning that they don't really show
many facial expressions of emotions.
That's what flattened affect means,
when we can be really upset,
but our face just looks like this.
Also, SPD must not occur exclusively during the course
of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depressive disorder,
or anything with psychotic features
or other psychotic disorders
or the autism spectrum disorder.
This is important to remember,
because you can see how some of the symptoms
that we just talked about can overlap
with these other diagnoses.
Those with SPD can have a lot
of difficulty expressing anger, even when they're provoked.
This is why so many people will think that they don't
have any emotions at all, which we know isn't true.
They can also seem like they're directionless,
just kind of appearing to drift from their goals.
They can also appear to be very passive.
Like I said, even though something may be upsetting
or something's happening in our life,
they can be like eh.
They don't really get upset about any shifts
or hard life events that come their way.
Therefore, it can be hard for them to connect socially,
and they lack the skills needed to appropriately interact
with those around them, because if everything around us,
we just feel like, eh, most people don't feel that way.
It can be really hard for others, as well as us,
to feel connected when every time,
we're just like, oh, no big deal, whatever,
I don't really care, hmm.
That can be really hard.
This is also why those with SPD work best alone,
where there is no need for them to interact with others
while completing their work.
And when under a lot of pressure
or experiencing a lot of stress,
those with SPD can have brief psychotic episodes.
These can last anywhere from minutes to hours.
That's why it's so important to see
a mental health professional for awhile
before you accept this diagnosis.
It is so often missed completely
or mis-diagnosed as something else.
On that note, let's get into differential diagnosis,
which is just a fancy way of saying,
how do we make sure we're taking into consideration
all the symptoms that someone's having
and giving them the correct diagnosis.
When it comes to autism spectrum disorder,
it can be really hard to tell with those
who are not very impaired by their ASD.
But for those who show significant impairment
due to ASK,
they will have more difficulty with social interaction,
communication, and repetitive behaviors,
which are not part of schizoid personality disorder.
I imagine if you're like me,
as you're thinking about this
and hearing the diagnostic criteria,
you wonder how schizoid personality disorder
can possibly be different
from avoidant personality disorder.
Because they both just don't seem
to like being around others.
Well, SPD doesn't have the fear of being embarrassed
or being found inadequate,
like avoidant personality disorder does.
SPD, instead has more pervasive detachment,
almost no desire to socially interact.
Another similar diagnosis, schizotypal personality disorder,
is different because it tends to have more cognitive
and perceptual distortions.
So we think and see things a little distorted,
it's a little different than other people see them.
Last, it's important to know that just because
someone is a quote, unquote loner,
or never seems to be around others,
does not mean they have schizoid personality disorder.
It only means they have SPD when their anti-social traits
become inflexible and are mal-adaptive,
meaning that they don't really fit in
with what's going on around them and their environment.
And they have to cause significant
impairment in functioning.
Now, schizoid personality disorder can first show itself
in childhood and adolescence,
through our desire to be alone a lot,
have bad, if any, relationships with our peers,
and under-achievement in school due
to our general passivity about things.
Remember, it's like eh, I could care less, really.
Now let's get into the most important portion
of this video, treatment.
Now while there hasn't been too much research
into the treatment of SPD,
mostly because those with SPD are not upset
by their isolation or lack or relationships,
therefore they don't really reach out for help that often.
But one form of treatment that can help
is short-term talk therapy.
As long as we feel we're able to trust our therapist,
we can benefit from it and it gives us a safe place
to challenge any of the misconceptions we may have
about our relationships and those around us.
Due to our isolation or even psychosis or paranoia,
it can be nice to have someone we can kind of bounce
those thoughts off of.
Overall, treatment for this is not aimed
at curing the patient.
Instead, it's aimed at giving them a place
to talk about all that may be stressful,
like not being able to express emotions,
for example, and offering up different views
of life and certain situations.
In a way, it just gives us a place to vent
and receive helpful tools.
Medication is also ineffective,
unless the person with SPD
also struggles with anxiety or depression,
or something else as a result of their symptoms.
Since the psychosis that can be part of SPD doesn't last
very long, remember it was like minutes to maybe hours,
medication for that isn't always necessary,
but it could be helpful to some if you find
your psychosis happening with more frequency
and staying for longer periods of time.
If you or someone you love struggles with some
of the effects of having schizoid personality disorder,
know that therapy can help us talk things out,
gain new perspectives and better manage any of the symptoms
that we personally find upsetting.
But, we shouldn't try to force someone to change.
If they are not bothered by their SPD,
we shouldn't try to make them fix something
that they don't really see as broken.
I know that can be hard,
but it's just really important to hear
because like I've said throughout this whole video,
a lot of it is just very passive.
They don't really care and we can't force someone to care.
This video has been brought to you
by the Kinions on Patreon.
If you would like to support
the creation of these mental health videos,
click the link in the description and check it out.
So many of you have asked me to create this video,
so I hope you found it helpful.
And as always, I wanna hear from you.
Have you been diagnosed with schizoid personality disorder?
What's it been like for you?
Are there treatment options that you found helpful?
Let me know in those comments down below
and I will see you next time.
Bye!