Schizotypal Personality Disorder (STPD) is a personality disorder that affects around 4% of the U.S. population (that we know of).
While schizotypal personality disorder may sound like it may have serious symptoms and characteristics, it’s usually fairly mild compared to other personality disorders.
Just as with Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder and Schizoid Personality disorder, Schizotypal Personality Disorder is more common in men than in women.
This could be for a number of reasons but may have something to do with how men process trauma or emotional events compared to how women do.
Schizotypal personality disorder is kind of like the more mild version of Schizoid personality disorder.
People suffering with Schizoid personality disorder predominantly appear to be cold or disconnected. They do not usually care about relationships as much as someone else might.
People with schizotypal personality disorder are somewhat disconnected from others and are not that emotional. They will more likely be known for the “odd” way they dress, talk or behave.
Symptoms of Schizotypal Personality Disorder
Like all personality disorders, schizotypal personality disorder has its own characteristics and symptoms that identify it.
While people may not exhibit all of the symptoms, they may show a combination of the following traits.
Unusual Behavior
Unusual behaviors in this case could include their body language and the way they carry themselves.
These are all non verbal ways we communicate. Someone with schizotypal personality disorder might communicate non verbally in ways that do not match the conversation.
They are often described as “weird”, odd or as having a unique way of talking about things.
If you see someone with schizotypal personality disorder and do not realize that they have it, your initial description of them might be that they “act weird” or have social issues.
While some people with schizotypal personality disorder are more obvious than others, they all may be living with a variety of personality characteristics that cause them to act the way that they do.
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Unusual Appearance
It is common for someone with STPD to look somewhat unkempt and disheveled. They will usually not be aware of basic things to do with appearance. They will generally not take note if their clothes are wrinkled, fit well, are clean or if they are outdated and worn.
To say that they don’t care about how they look would be a very general way to put it. They do not prioritize things like that as we do.
In most cases, people with schizotypal personality disorder know they are different which is why they avoid social situations.
Generally speaking, someone with schizotypal personality disorder does not even think to consider what they might look like.
Lack of Deep Relationships
Aside from a few close family members such as siblings or parents, people with schizotypal personality disorder will not have close relationships.
If they do seek out companionship, it is rare and they may have problems with keeping the friends that they do make.
They are typically unable to connect emotionally, so any relationship they do have will be a very basic/”shallow” one.
An example of this could be someone that they play an online game with all the time, or someone that they frequently see somewhere.
Just as with Schizoid personality disorder, it is very unlikely if not impossible that they will be interested in a romantic partner.
They’re Superstitious
Often, people with schizotypal personality disorder believe that they can control things happening around them.
For example, if they’re walking into a store and someone opens the door for them, they might very well believe that they telepathically caused that person to do that.
Similarly, they believe that they have the power to prevent certain things from happening.
For example, they might turn a light on and off a certain number of times before bed so that they or someone else won’t die in their sleep. Things like that.
They might also believe that they have the ability to read someone’s mind.
Needless to say, people struggling with schizotypal personality disorder are usually paranoid. They are hyper aware of the actions and reactions of others.
They’re Typically Anxious
While people with schizotypal personality disorder might not appear to care what others think of them, the truth often is that they fear social situations.
Unlike other personality disorders, someone with schizotypal personality disorder knows that they are different from others. This is why they prefer to avoid social situations.
Some may wish that they had a close relationship with someone, however, their social anxiety will not allow this to happen.
Sort of like being stuck in your own mind. Unlike someone without STPD, someone suffering with it will not be able to “get over” their fears by being exposed to them more frequently.
In fact, this could make their condition worse over time. They need professional help to help them work through the cause of their anxiety.
They need to work through other potential issues before they can work the “mental muscle” and eliminate their fears.
As noted below with the treatment options, cognitive-behavioral therapy is a great way to help work through these struggles to ease their anxiety.
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Causes of Schizotypal Personality Disorder
Like other personality disorders, schizotypal personality disorder can be developed as a result of susceptible genes and environmental factors.
Schizotypal personality disorder can also be developed over time due to certain traumatic events. Here are a few examples of events and situations that have been known to cause STPD.
Genetic Factors
Personality traits such as anxiety can be passed down from parents to children. Other traits and poor conditions are inherited as well.
When genetic factors are the case, the children will receive the traits that will cause them to develop STPD. They do not directly inherit the disorder itself.
Trauma
Any traumatic event can cause an individual to develop STPD depending on the makeup of their brain and other preexisting factors.
Examples of trauma that could cause the development of STP could be abuse or witnessing/experiencing something else that results in trauma.
A Brain Injury
When a brain injury occurs, the individual is left with lasting effects that can result in developing a disorder.
This is 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 which can all lead to developing STPD if other factors come into play.
Environment Factors
Children and teens especially are so susceptible to environmental influences.
Poor living conditions can also contribute. Things that typically accompany that such as poor mindsets, neglect and unhealthy habits can contribute to the development of STPD.
This can occur if the individual is susceptible to anxiety and/or depression and if they do nothing to get help.
Development Issues
Children of mothers who smoked during pregnancy have a higher risk of not developing properly which could lead to the development of STPD.
The health of the mother during pregnancy determines so much about the future health of the child.
If poor lifestyle choices are at play there is a huge risk that the child’s brain will not develop properly.
What’s the Diagnosis of Schizotypal Personality Disorder?
STPD is diagnosed when a certain number of criteria have been met. This is usually a number of severe symptoms that affect the individual’s life on a daily basis.
While each person’s combination of symptoms may be different, a number of them need to be present in order for a diagnosis to take place.
According to research, STPD cannot be diagnosed if certain other disorders are already at play.
The disorders that might be present which will eliminate the ability to be diagnosed with STPD are bipolar, schizophrenia or autism.
Recommended Treatments for STPD
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 schizotypal personality disorder.
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.
1. Psychodynamic psychotherapy
Psychotherapy is one of the top treatments with any personality disorder, not just STPD. 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 STPD may face.
Depending on the severity of the individual’s disorder, psychotherapy can be a short process or can last for years. 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.
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 help someone with STPD as they often know that they do not fit in with others so they avoid social situations.
In turn, this could lead to loneliness although they may not know how to do something about it.
Talking to a therapist and working through self-sabotaging behaviors can help them overcome issues like this that they may not have been able to before.
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.
Negative subconscious thoughts/beliefs about yourself will result in limited options in life.
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. 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 STPD. This will be the case if they are struggling with other symptoms and illnesses such as anxiety and depression.
While there is no medication specifically targeting STPD, there are several antidepressants that are approved for treatment with anxiety and depression that could be making the condition worse.
If you think an antidepressant is something you could benefit from, talk to your doctor about which one could help you!
In conclusion, schizotypal personality disorder affects the individual on a daily basis and can lead to lifetime struggles such as loneliness, depression and anxiety.
Treatment is available if the individual is willing and lasting results can be achieved. Often, people with personality disorders with high anxiety might lash out and initially reject treatment.
While someone with STPD might know they need help, their anxiety may prevent them from following through with seeking help.
If someone you love seems to be struggling with STPD, being there for them and offering to talk to them about it might be a great way to start their journey toward a better life.
If you’d like to learn more about what schizotypal personality disorder is, I found this article from MedicineNet.com particularly insightful.
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