Schizoid personality disorder is a kind of psychopathy, whose distinguishing feature is reduced possibilities of emotional experiences. It is almost impossible to visually discern such a disease - outwardly he althy people and sick people are not much different. It is possible to identify the disease if you observe the behavior of an individual surrounded by other people. As a rule, such individuals prefer to limit and avoid interaction with strangers, and spending time alone will be most comfortable for them. At the same time, shyness and shyness are not characteristic of such patients. There are many cases when schizoid disorder was observed in those who steadfastly achieved their goals.
Where did the trouble come from?
The exact cause of schizoid personality disorder is currently unknown to doctors. There are several theories that have their fans and opponents, but none of the assumptions has yet been proven to the extent that it can be considered absolute truth. Many are convinced that such a mental deviation develops in individuals who are faced withthe inability to satisfy their needs in interaction with other representatives of society. Another option for explaining the pathology is the insufficiency of thinking, which does not allow patients to capture the emotional state of others, and therefore correctly respond to it. At the same time, intelligence can be very high. Finally, there is a version that explains the disease by disturbances in the endocrine system. Others believe that the pathology is due to a hereditary factor.
Often, the diagnosis of "schizoid personality disorder" is given to survivors of psychological trauma during gestation or in infancy. For example, if during pregnancy the mother often finds herself in stressful situations or becomes a victim of violence, the mental, emotional state greatly affects the nurturing embryo. The child feels threatened, which in the future becomes the cause of persistent distrust of the participants in society. A sense of danger, fear can be provoked by early separation from the mother, so often such deviations are observed in children from orphanages or children taken from their mothers due to complications during childbirth. This situation is also typical for families where the mother died while giving birth to a child. The baby feels in danger, which triggers the mechanism of mental abnormalities.
What to look out for?
Provoke a personality disorder of the schizoid type can be the wrong approach of parents to raising a child. Danger factors are limited interaction with parents, peers,regular exposure to stress factors and a conflict situation in the house, quarrels of elders in the presence of a baby. Schizoid disorder is observed if the child is forced to grow up early due to any factors, and is also subject to excessive parental care.
To recognize the deviation, it makes sense to consider examples of schizoid personality disorder. It is noticeable that all such people differ from he althy people in their ability to express emotions. They are characterized by extremes, one-sided feelings, and temperament is anesthesia or hyperesthesia in a very pronounced form. Based on the predominance of specific features, all patients are divided into two categories - expressive and sensitive patients.
And if in more detail?
An expressive person with schizoid personality disorder is determined and quick-tempered, often allows himself rude behavior, does not listen to other people's opinions. Mostly such persons adhere to the official line of behavior, and are indifferent and cold to others. Even in a difficult life situation, they cannot afford to trust other people, which eventually becomes the foundation for the formation of persecution mania. As can be seen from medical practice, many patients with such a mental disorder occupy leadership positions. Rough in demeanor, these individuals are vulnerable, making social interaction especially difficult for them.
With a sensitive type, the signs of a schizoid personality disorder are an exceptionally sensitive (excessive) character, the desire to avoid conflicts, stressful situations,scandals. Patients are characterized by pronounced narcissism, vindictiveness. Persons with schizoid disorder are not inclined to forget grievances, although they can assure with all their might that they have forgotten and forgiven everything. If the established way of life suddenly changes, it becomes the cause of various disorders. Appetite disappears, sleep is disturbed, the person becomes even more alienated.
How to notice?
Symptoms of schizoid personality disorder include specific facial expressions, gestures. From the side, the movements seem unnatural, not plastic enough. If you evaluate social interaction, you can notice a small number of friends - no more than two, but with others a person maintains only formal social interaction. During a conversation, people with a mental disorder prefer not to make eye contact, instead lowering their heads or looking away. Mostly all the described nuances are perceived by others as an individuality, therefore they do not cause any concern.
For the first time, symptoms of schizoid personality disorder can be seen already in a three-year-old child. Such children prefer to spend time alone, do not show affection for their parents, like quiet games, and are not interested in interacting with peers. Over time, the situation practically does not change, they prefer reading books to the society of classmates, and they are not interested in other people's opinions because of too high self-esteem. Usually the individual makes no attempt to establish contacts with others, which leads torejection in society, children become outcasts.
Development: moving forward
As a teenager, a person with schizoid personality disorder regularly faces many inconveniences, but it is no less difficult for parents. Since the child is passionate about learning, he gets good grades, which becomes the basis for even greater self-esteem. At the same time, the inability to establish contact with peers becomes the reason for the low assessment of their social abilities. Increased self-criticism leads to a deep immersion in one's own inner world, one's own problems. Parents often become a source of irritation as they try to take action by helping the child, which is perceived as an attempt to control every step.
What to do?
The treatment of schizoid personality disorder involves an integrated approach that combines medication and group psychotherapy. It is known from practice that people are often sent for treatment against their will, which is explained by the inability and unwillingness of productive interaction with others. A mental disorder provokes the patient's distrust, and a person ends up for treatment with a psychiatrist by accident and involuntarily. A rather classic option is for patients to go to the hospital because of some problem not related to schizoid disorder, but during the examination, the doctor additionally refers to a psychiatrist for a full analysis of the client's characteristics. Of course, there are also such cases when people with mental disabilities themselves came for the purpose of treatment, but this is rather an exception,than a rule. Usually, individuals do not perceive their special features as something out of the norm.
The treatment of schizoid personality disorder with the help of medications, although practiced, shows a low degree of effectiveness, since at the moment there simply are no drugs that can cure such a disease. The use of modern and effective medicines helps to get rid of anxiety, manifestations of depression, which are characteristic of a mental disorder. Cognitive therapy is a more effective approach that helps to adapt the patient to a variety of situations, teach him adequate social interaction, help him understand, show emotions correctly.
Not easy, but effective
The smartest approach to treating schizoid personality disorder is group therapy. In practice, it is far from always possible to realize it, most patients are afraid to undergo such therapy, forcing them to open their own inner world, fears to others. If the patient nevertheless decided on treatment, it is during group therapy that social interaction skills are most successfully formed.
However, even a patient who is ready for non-standard actions for himself is unlikely to be able to succeed if he comes across a low-skilled doctor. It is important to work with a professional who is able to interact correctly with a person suffering from schizoid personality disorder. Associating with such people requires extremely limited perseverance, otherwisethere is a high probability of setting a person against himself, causing him even more distrust.
Official Aspects
Characteristics of schizoid personality disorder are given in the ICD-10, where the pathology is coded as F60.1. The official classification, which is valid at the international level, obliges to call patients schizoids. Under the disease is interpreted a conscious desire to avoid contact with others. Often, among other representatives of society, patients are considered to be such “modern hermits”, since they are not characterized by close relationships, and sincere love for loneliness. In general, individuals cannot maintain relationships with other members of the human community for a long time.
ICD-10 indicates which symptoms to look for in the process of diagnosing schizoid personality disorder. The doctor must assess the liveliness of the patient's facial expressions, paradoxicality. Schizoids are characterized by angular movements, weak voice modulation and monotonous speech, disharmony. Many have unnatural motor skills, they tend to dress in accordance with the chosen style, and patients follow it very, very persistently. It can be aristocracy - catchy, defiant and pretentious, negligence - intentional, cutting the eye.
Everyday life and disease
Mostly schizoids are people working in a field that does not require too active social contacts, although if necessary they can cooperate for a long time and fruitfully. Deepknowledge and the ability to delve into the essence of the issue become the reason for moving up the career ladder up to important posts. At the same time, the peculiarities of behavior characteristic of schizoids do not allow correcting the pathology outside the walls of the clinic, since there are no conditions for the formation of social skills. There are cases when individuals with such a deviation entered into marital relations, but mostly families soon break up, since the patient is not interested in maintaining relationships with loved ones. As a rule, marriages are unhappy, unsuccessful.
At the same time, schizoid personality disorder is not a sufficient factor for disability. Such a diagnosis indicates specific personality traits that require adjustment, but the person retains his ability to work. In rare cases, when the disease is very severe, and prolonged therapy (at least a year) does not show a result, the doctor may raise the issue of assigning the status of a disabled person, but this is more an exception than a rule.
Smallest: rare but noticeable
There are cases when the first symptoms of deviations are obvious even before reaching the age of one. Considering how dangerous schizoid personality disorder is in such a situation, it should be noted that the manifestations are similar to early autism, while there is an impossibility of forming emotional ties, the development of the child is disturbed. Such babies behave monotonously and adapt with difficulty, they cannot master ways of serving themselves, even the simplest ones. Typically, patients experience delays in the development of speech skills. Over time, the situation may even out if there is no manifestation of the disease. Signs are compensated, children are usually compared with their peers closer to the age when it is time to study at school. Even if the signs of autism persist, such kids are able to learn on an equal basis with everyone else, opportunities for acquiring a profession are open to them.
At any age, only a qualified doctor can make a diagnosis. The doctor assesses different aspects of the patient's everyday life. ICD-10 establishes that schizoids are considered to be persons who show coldness of emotions, incapable of tenderness to others and not perceiving reasons for joy, as well as not interested or weakly interested in sexual intercourse. During the examination, it is important to diagnose correctly so as not to confuse the disorder with other mental disorders expressed by similar symptoms.
Behavior and important points
The pathology currently indicated by the term considered in the material was previously called schizoid psychopathy in medicine. For persons subject to such deviations, a rich inner world, formed by fantasies, is characteristic. People close in it, avoiding (if possible) contact with others. Rules, norms seem to be not written for them, people are struggling to prevent the absorption of their individuality by the gray mass of society. Perhaps the worst thing for people with such a deviation is to be similar to others, which becomesreason for the behavior.
Choosing a line of behavior, people theorize a lot, they tend to put the intellect "at the forefront" and subordinate all their actions and actions to it. This helps to reduce dependence on the emotional sphere and prevent too close contact with other people. The main goal pursued by the patient is, if possible, to move away from others and gain maximum independence, while not completely breaking ties with society. The formation of clearly defined boundaries is perceived by people as a guarantor of their own inviolability, security.
Near and far away
The international classifier, containing a mention of all diseases recognized on our planet, classifies schizoid disorder as a personal psychopathy, so this deviation is characterized by all the signs typical of this group of pathologies. Schizoid disorder affects all the life spheres of the patient, affects his everyday life, dictates the rules and the future of a person. The deviation is static - it was observed in the past and, without adequate treatment, persists in the future, while it is an obstacle to the social adaptation of a person.
With schizoid personality disorder, the patient is not characterized by tenderness, warmth, anger, discontent. A person does not allow himself to show such emotions, even if they arise. External condemnation, approval also does not provoke a response. When observing a schizoid, it is almost immediately clear that for such a person they mean very littlerules and laws established in society. Some patients seem to be “like a mimosa”, they are hypersensitive, vulnerable, very worried about and even without it (from the point of view of an ordinary person). For such an individual, it is completely unimaginable, unacceptable to become a participant in a dispute, debate, even if we are talking about banal situations inherent in human everyday life and due to the difference in points of view of different people.
