Does your family know you have SPD?

This may be a strange question but for those of you who have been diagnosed with SPD or who believe you have SPD, do your parents and/or family members know or understand that you have this disorder?

The characteristics state that those with SPD do not have close personal relationships with those other than 1st level family. Would that then mean that you would then have what could be considered a "normal" relationship with your family?

My mother have stated that she believes that I
1. Have a pathological fear of people.
2. Lack all need of friends or relationships.

Personally I don't think I fear people, but what do I know.

Firstly, my family does not know I have SPD.

Secondly, I'm not sure what falls within the bounds of a "normal" relationship. I treat my family fairly well and respectfully as I do with everyone as long as they reciprocate to an acceptable extent, but I wouldn't be greatly affected from an emotional standpoint if one of them were to die tomorrow.

Then again, I tend to think that life is meaningless and death is no great loss. If they die, I don't believe they're really worse off having died so it's not such a big deal.

Nah. My mom knows the results of multiple psychological evaluations I've had, and my knowledge of the subject let me avoid looking Schizoid. So I guess she was one of the reasons I avoided the diagnosis. I've never wanted to tell them, because it seems like it will only bring a lot of questions, awkwardness, and cognitive dissonance for them.
I'd much rather just keep up the secret schizoid act anyway.

My family and parts of my extended family know I am schizoid. One of the benefits of being overt is that people are actually supportive of the diagnosis.

I'm not Dx with this but I just have to comment. My units don't have a clue what I am Dx'd with or what I deal with. Nor do I care if they know, nor do I want them to know. Just had to say that.

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[Caveat: I'm not diagnosed, and I sometimes question my self-diagnosis. I consider myself schizoid-like, but not necessarily SPD. I think I'm too immature and emotionally too underdeveloped to be diagnosed with any kind of PD just yet.]
I told my mom that I am "schizoid-like" a few months ago, to explain why I don't show her much affection. But a few weeks ago she threw a fit about it, so I told her I'm not schizoid, I'm just in a depressive antisocial phase. Which for all I know could be true.
The rest of my immediate family knows I dislike social interaction and most people, that my emotions are blunted and sometimes inappropriate, and that I have little/no desire to make or maintain friendships or romantic relationships. But they don't know much about psychology. They just think I'm very depressed (true, but not the whole story). I still pretend to love them more than I really do. I like to think that I love them deep down in my heart, but I just don't feel a ton of love toward them.
When I think of my mom or dad or brother dying, I see it as more of an awkward thing where I'm going to have to deal with the emotions of the rest of my family who will be grieving over the loss of one member. That stresses me out more than the thought of actually losing them, I think that my own grief would pale in comparison to the discomfort of watching the rest of my family grieve. If my entire family were to die suddenly in an accident, I would be very very sad, but at least I wouldn't have to deal with other peoples emotions. So it would almost be better if they were to all die, rather than just one. And in a way, I'd be free. My sister is kind of different. I think I do truly love her and I would be really destroyed if anything were to happen to her.
Apart from that, my relationship with my family is pretty normal I think.

chili052 wrote:This may be a strange question but for those of you who have been diagnosed with SPD or who believe you have SPD, do your parents and/or family members know or understand that you have this disorder?

Heh, they know my disorder all too well from first-hand experience. It took a while for them to be able to put a label on all the attributes (though a few in my family are in the mental health field and had a good idea all along).

The characteristics state that those with SPD do not have close personal relationships with those other than 1st level family. Would that then mean that you would then have what could be considered a "normal" relationship with your family?

"Normal" for me, yes. To my parents I am cold, unfeeling, uncaring, and distant. They are used to it now so it's (probably) not so bad. To my wife and especially my kids I am a good deal "warmer", but still fairly distant, no doubt.

I have noticed an noteworthy pattern over time. When it was just me alone I was reasonably close to my parents...once I got married I was reasonably close to my wife and less so to my parents...since I've had kids I am reasonably close to them but much less so to everyone else - especially my parents- and those other relationships have suffered quite a bit. I used to have a relationship with my kids that went through my wife, but that has changed, and she is more on the periphery now. I'm a very 'one-at-a-time' and parsimonious sort of person with my emotional energy.

Haha, no, but they already know me as an emotionally stoic misanthrope and a loner. So putting a label to that wouldn't really say a whole lot to them. Only person I did ever tell, responded immediately with, "oh wow, I can totally see that..."