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What is a Schizoid Personality Disorder?

By D. Waldman
Updated: May 17, 2024
Views: 15,396
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A schizoid personality disorder is a mental condition that impairs healthy social interaction with others. It is often characterized by difficulty forming or maintaining relationships, preference for a solitary lifestyle, and a strong detachment from society itself. People suffering from this personality disorder are typically single, have limited contact with their family, have few to no friends, and tend to hold jobs with limited or no social interaction involved.

A combination of environmental factors and genetics can cause schizoid personality disorder. While there is no defined cause for the disorder, a large percentage of patients who suffer from it have had very traumatic or dismal childhoods, typically involving very few close friends and an excess of strained family relations. Since the child must learn at a very early age to cope with his independence, he carries these practices with him later on in life. Individuals with a family history of schizophrenia, a similar, more debilitating, mental disorder, are also more prone to develop personality disorders of their own. When these environments and genetics are combined, the likelihood for developing this personality disorder increases tremendously.

Individuals suffering from schizoid personality disorder tend to come across to others as very aloof or unfriendly, when in reality, it is the disorder itself that prevents proper social interaction. Many people with the disorder will avoid social events altogether, opting for more solitary forms of entertainment. Emotional relationships are often very difficult to be a part of, making it unlikely that a person with the disorder could maintain a healthy marriage or other long-term relationship. While some contact with family members may still occur, it is often on rare occasions and as brief as possible. Those with schizoid personality disorder often find jobs working night shifts, jobs that allow them to work from home, or jobs that involve solitary research, as in a laboratory environment.

The biggest challenge with treating schizoid personality disorder is the fact that people suffering from the condition are highly unlikely to seek help on their own and, with their limited social interactions, may not have anyone close to them that could suggest seeking out treatment options. When they are able to seek help, treating the condition often involves the use of prescription medication and behavioral therapy. Anti-psychotic drugs, often the same ones used to treat schizophrenia, are the most commonly prescribed. Behavioral therapy and talk therapy are also viable solutions, but are difficult to implement until the patient is willing to open up to some level of interpersonal communication.

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Discussion Comments
By jkrankin — On Dec 30, 2013

My understanding is that "yes," there have been famous people with the disorder.

By turquoise — On Jul 02, 2012

Just curious, are there any famous people with schizoid personality disorder?

I assume it would be almost impossible for someone who wants isolation to desire fame and stardom. I imagine that famous people are far more likely to suffer from narcissistic personality disorder than schizoid disorder.

By the way, is anti-social personality disorder and schizoid personality disorder the same thing?

By SteamLouis — On Jul 01, 2012

@turkay1--I'm not a doctor or expert in this field, so please take my opinions as a pinch of salt.

I personally don't think anti-psychotic drugs can be a schizoid personality disorder treatment. From what I understand, this disorder is mainly a cause of behavioral responses. I believe that every single one of us go through trauma as children but we all have different ways of dealing with it. And those who are labeled with "SPD" have responded to their experiences / traumas as children by retracting themselves from people.

What can drugs possibly do for such a person? I think the best and only treatment can be individual or group therapy with a therapist. I know that can be difficult because of the traits of this condition. But if someone can become self-aware that the reason they're staying away from people is because of learned behavioral responses in childhood and not really their personality, they can take a step in this direction.

Am I wrong in thinking this way?

By candyquilt — On Jun 30, 2012

My cousin has this disorder. It took him a long time to get the diagnosis, but with the support of his family, he finally went to a psychiatrist.

I don't think his condition is very bad actually, because even though he doesn't have friends and rarely leaves the house, he's not too bad with his parents.

He seems them fairly often, won't speak much but he definitely doesn't go out of his way to avoid them. I think that's why he was willing to speak to a psychiatrist.

Now he's on anti-psychotic drugs and is doing a little better. I heard that some days he's totally out of it because of the side effects of the medications. But on other days, he is well and speaks more than he usually does.

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