Schizoid Personality Disorder is one of many personality disorders that severely impacts daily life of those suffering as well as those around them.
There are several symptoms, causes and impacts that this personality disorder brings. While this disorder is relatively rare compared to other disorders, it is unique in it’s own way.
What is Schizoid Personality Disorder
Schizoid personality disorder (ScPD) is a personality disorder in which someone is lacking the ability to connect to their emotions.
While most people experience the need to emotionally connect with someone almost instinctively, those with schizoid personality disorder will not experience this desire or need.
Someone with ScPD will appear to be “cold” and to not have an interest in having close relationships with others. Contrary to popular belief, someone with ScPD will be able to function and may not necessarily come off as having a personality disorder.
Typically, those with ScPD will prefer to be alone as much as possible which will result in a limited social life. They will also prefer professions where they can be alone as well.
Just like with the development of Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder, Schizoid personality disorder is much more common in men than in women.
They will most likely opt for remote work, a night shift or other jobs that do not have much interaction with others. While the name sounds similar, schizoid personality disorder is not like schizophrenia at all.
People suffering from schizophrenia will often experience hallucinations, impaired speech and lack of motivation.
ScPD does not include any of those symptoms. People with ScPD are not paranoid and will not care what others think of them.
This lack of social awareness is caused from how they’ve conditioned themselves to not have an interest in the opinions or relationships of others.
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Symptoms of ScPD
As we mentioned earlier, someone with ScPD will lack the ability to connect to their emotions in a way that most people do. This triggers such symptoms as the following…
They rarely have close friends
What makes someone with ScPD stand out from someone who simply does not have a lot of friends, is that someone with ScPD typically will not even have one best friend.
Sometimes they’ll show some connection to a close relative.
Since they do not understand the value of close relationships, they will not care to spend the time to establish any.
Interestingly, some people with ScPD are able to experience loneliness but will often not do anything about it. This is because they do not care to spend “quality time” with anyone.
This can lead to other complications such as depression.
They typically have no interest in finding a mate
Not only will someone with ScPD typically not care to be actively dating, but often they will never marry.
While most might think this is unfortunate, people suffering with ScPD will not seem to mind. In fact they prefer to be alone as they don’t care about having the kind of companionship that most desire.
It’s not that they have an aversion to intimate relationships either. They simply don’t have the desire or the capacity to care for someone in the emotional way that others do.
They don’t care what other people think of them
This is a genuine trait of people suffering from ScPD as they will not pick up on the same social cues as others.
They do not value social interaction therefore they will not care if they’re coming off cold or emotionless.
Someone who has a healthy state of mind might word things a certain way or avoid certain conversation topics in order to spare others feelings.
This is not the case with those diagnosed with ScPD. Those with ScPD will not be as empathetic and can come off as rude or worse.
They won’t be able to express themselves very well
This can have a lot to do with the fact that they may not trust people and are not able to open up in a way those most can.
They will feel out of their element when trying to explain how they feel and will often avoid it. They may appear to stumble over their words or refuse to talk about certain topics.
External experiences don’t stimulate them
There may be a spectrum of how this relates per individual. It is known that those suffering with ScPD will not seek out certain activities.
Such activities could include hiking, any sports activity, and any other enjoyable outdoor activities. It seems as though they are not capable of experiencing the pleasure that comes from such things.
Again, this is all part of being unable to properly connect with others or the world around them. They do not rely on others or experiences to bring them joy. They are most comfortable alone doing solitary activities.
Causes of ScPD
Specific causes have yet to be identified. However, there are a variety of circumstances that contribute to the development of Schizoid personality disorder.
Complications and unhealthy exposures before birth
In some cases it has been known that the exposure to certain illnesses while the fetus is developing is a cause of ScPD. Likewise, other pre-birth complications can contribute to the development of this as well.
This could be something genetic that forms during development, or an external factor (such as an illness/virus).
Neglectful or abusive parents
Since children are constantly learning about the world around them through actions and experiences, they may inadvertently learn that deep, loving relationships are not necessary.
They may also start to believe that loving/emotional relationships do not exist. They may not understand them due to their lack of experience with them.
If a parent is mistreating them, they may grow detached as a form of self preservation. This will stunt their ability to learn the value of being close to others.
As sad as this is, once they’re adults, those suffering with ScPD will not care that they do not have relationships like this. They don’t feel like they’re missing out on anything.
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A brain injury
When a brain injury occurs, often the individual is left with lasting effects that can result in developing a disorder.
This can be due to the brain’s inability to properly function since the injury. In this case, the brain won’t be able to produce a healthy balance of chemicals.
As described in the earlier article “What is Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder?” when the brain is experiencing a chemical imbalance, this is because certain neurotransmitters are not functioning properly.
This results with improper emotional responses, depression and anxiety.
Recommended Treatments for ScPD
If you’ve been reading a few of the other articles on personality disorders, you will probably notice that the treatment approach is similar for all.
This is also the case for schizoid personality disorder and many have seen amazing results from the treatment methods listed below.
As you may probably be able to guess, talk therapy and some medication may be recommended methods of treatment.
As with other disorders, talk therapy has proven especially successful as the therapist conducting the individual’s session is able to tailor therapy to that individual’s particular circumstance.
There are two popular forms of talk therapy. Psychodynamic psychotherapy and Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). In this case, both could be useful for helping the individual learn how to trust people and establish relationships.
Over time, they can start to see the value in this and work toward a healthy state of mind.
The catch is, that since this disorder does not have severe negative impacts on those suffering in their day to day lives, they often do not know they have Schizoid personality disorder.
It may be hard to convince them to go to therapy as well due to the fact that they do not understand the emotional aspect of things.
They will most likely not see the point in going and will refuse.
In many cases, unless someone with ScPD is continually seeing negative results in their life such as not being able to keep a job or something else that does not have anything to do with personal relationships, they very well may never go to therapy for treatment.
The use of medication is also a popular option but only in the cases with those requiring antidepressants or other prescribed medications used for treating anxiety or depression.
It is not uncommon for those with schizoid personality disorder to be suffering from depression. This is usually due to underlying reasons caused from the trauma they experienced which caused the disorder to develop.
It may also partly have to do with the fact that they may be experiencing loneliness even though they may not necessarily feel like they are missing out on any social interactions or meaningful relationships.
If you haven’t seen it outlined before, here is a deeper look at each of the three treatment methods we just discussed…
1. Psychodynamic psychotherapy
Psychotherapy is one of the top treatments with any personality disorder, not just ScPD.
Psychotherapy is known as “talk therapy” and the oldest form of it. This is used for a variety of disorders and emotional support.
Psychotherapy is great for working through the daily struggles that individuals with ScPD may face.
Depending on the severity of the individual’s disorder, psychotherapy can be a short process or can last for years.
Since ScPD tends to be a pretty “hard wired” disorder, therapy can be ongoing depending on the patient’s willingness to learn and proactively to the treatment.
According to research, the majority of people in psychotherapy typically see helpful results. The professional skills and knowledge a therapist has can help rewrite destructive patterns of behavior.
This will lead to better outcomes in every area of the patient’s life such as relationships, their job, and even their relationship with themselves.
Working with a professional therapist in psychotherapy will help control the disorder’s symptoms and give the patient a better quality of life.
2. Cognitive-behavioral therapy
Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is also a form of psychotherapy (“talk therapy”), although its focus is slightly different.
CBT specifically targets eliminating negative thought patterns.
This can absolutely be the case with someone struggling with ScPD as they may subconsciously feel that they do not deserve love or the affection of others (due to childhood abuse/mistreatment).
This focus may be an appropriate treatment if someone has self-esteem issues that affect a variety of areas in their life. If you think about it, what we think about ourselves shapes who we become.
If you have negative subconscious thoughts/beliefs about yourself and see them as facts, you’ll base important areas in your life around that.
By working with someone to eliminate negative thoughts/beliefs, you open a door to endless possibilities for yourself.
There are also a variety of other personality disorders that benefit from CBT. You can see how starting with yourself and then working to external factors is essential for laying the groundwork for success.
3. Medication
As previously mentioned, medication may be an option of treatment for someone suffering with ScPD. This will be the case if they are struggling with other symptoms and illnesses such as anxiety and depression.
There are several antidepressants that are approved for treatment. If you think an antidepressant is something you could benefit from, talk to your doctor about which one could help you!
Doing your own research about the best option for you can help as well.
In conclusion, if someone you know is suffering from schizoid personality disorder, it will most likely be more frustrating for you and others that love and care about them.
You may feel like you care more for them than you do for you, that they don’t care to have a relationship with you, or worse, that you do not mean anything to them.
It’s important to remind yourself that it only seems this way because they are incapable of all the feelings that you feel for them. And not because they are choosing to feel that way.
Offering your companionship and maybe suggesting they talk to a professional is a great way to try to support them but be aware that they might not be open to that.
In most cases, those suffering who are more aware of their past pain (that resulted in the development of ScPD) may be open to working through that with a professional.
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