Personality Disorder or Style?

I was in the library earlier today re-reading the section on SPD in Personality Disorders in Modern Life, and I noted that Millon makes a distinction between people who have schizoid personality disorder and what he calls a "schizoid style," which is a less severe, non-pathologized form of SPD.

I've written down the descriptions of schizoid personality disorder versus the schizoid style. Which do you think applies more to you? I'd wager that most people who participate on this forum are more accurately described by the schizoid style, but perhaps I'm wrong.

Here it is:

"Those who are disordered neither desire nor enjoy any close relationships, including that of family. This can be contrasted with individuals manifesting a schizoid style; though they are comforted by the quiet and solitude of an asocial lifestyle, they possess the capability to relate to others when necessary.

A schizoid personality usually selects solitary activities resulting in social isolation. Similar to an extent, a schizoid style prefers minimal to no contact when engaged in an activity, yet, unlike the disordered, is willing and able to productively interact when necessary to accomplish a goal.

Sexuality is an undesirable and unexplored realm for a schizoid personality. The schizoid style is also not very sexual, though to a lesser extent; they do occasionally experience sexual feelings.

...the feature distinguishing the schizoid style from the schizoid personality is capability. Both the schizoid style and personality prefer to be asocial, isolated, and asexual, yet only the schizoid style is capable of executing the alternative when necessary.

[...]

The disordered find little pleasure in most activities, whereas the style can become engaged in certain hobbies or interests.

In addition, the disordered have no friends or confidants other than those in the immediate family. The styled, on the other hand, have more acquaintances and can sometimes find enjoyment from being part of a small social group.

Much of this is attributed to the fact that those with the disorder are so uninterested in the reactions of others that they remain indifferent to criticism or praise. Conversely, the styled are capable of productively receiving feedback and changing their behavior accordingly if needed.

Emotionally, the disordered may seem cold and detached, with only feeble emotional experiences. This is contrasted with the styled, who are even-tempered with some range of emotion and are capable of experiencing a degree of pleasure and sadness."

probably schizoid style for me...

I voted Disordered, but I am closer to Style - but that is according to this dual-sided scheme. I am looking for some improvement in socialization, so I consider myself disordered. I don't know that I agree with this division, because I can be detached, unmoved by criticism or praise, etc.

aloof wrote:I voted Disordered, but I am closer to Style - but that is according to this dual-sided scheme. I am looking for some improvement in socialization, so I consider myself disordered. I don't know that I agree with this division, because I can be detached, unmoved by criticism or praise, etc.

It's meant to be viewed as a spectrum anyway. I probably should've made that clear in my first post, because the disparate poll choices could make it seem as though "you either have a schizoid style or a schizoid personality disorder," whereas it's really intended to be viewed as a spectrum.

My range of emotions and enjoyment in hobbies or interactions seem to be diminishing with time, but I do lean more towards schizoid style.

Schizoid style sounds about right for me, especially the part about interacting with others to complete a task.

The Schizoid Style describes me well. Which is nice, because I don't think I've ever had style before.

Disordered, not even close to style.

usually selects solitary activities resulting in social isolation.

willing on some level but not really able to productively interact when necessary to accomplish a goal, probably because subconsciously, on another level I'm unwilling. Difficulty with ongoing interactions mean accomplishing goals in conjunction with others has been virtually impossible for me.

Half a Person wrote:
The disordered find little pleasure in most activities, whereas the style can become engaged in certain hobbies or interests.

depends whether I'm feeling depressed at the time. This happens but often when it does I try to fight it.

have no friends or confidants other than people here. people in my immediate family are not my friends and confidants. I've had the odd one or two friends in the past and I'd tend to tell them whatever I liked because I was so unaware of my own feelings I had nothing personal to confide except thoughts. Nothing was important enough to me to classify as "personal only". Friends were people I could get away with saying what I wanted to and have a laugh with.

At the same time, oddly sometimes I felt like I had to go out of my way to avoid presenting reality to people in any way. I've only had many acquaintances through other people, or people who I could pretend are acquaintances because I've got to know them through being in the same places at the same times.

I find it very stressful to attempt to change my behaviour, though I can pretend for short periods of time. Long enough to pretend to be working, socialising etc, and collect some sort of short term benefit for it, not long enough to actually do those things in a normal way.

I have emotions but they're usually very self-contained.

I don't like the SPD/AvPD side of the problems I have, it inconveniences me and makes me a lot more helpless to accomplish stuff.

I'm not asexual. I've never been known to utter the words "I have a headache" unless I actually did, and that probably wouldn't stop me. Its communication I have problems with not sex. That makes having kinky tastes tricky, because its the norm for a lot of people to plan stuff out. Some of that I can understand practical (or personal) reasons for. So sometimes it does get in the way of sex.

Unlike most people with SPD-like problems(though some seem to have some avpd-like crossover), I probably don't fit perfectly and am not happy with the problems because I'm probably not a proper schizoid, I'm probably more of a nomadic antisocial or something, but I tend not to talk about that, lol.

When I look at how I'm doing, progress is so slow its ######6 stupid. I don't want to be sitting around going in the same circles til im 90.

So I would vote disorder, with probably only a moderately schizoid style if the disorder was removed.

I voted disorder.

I do identify with the AvPD crossover at times that katana mentioned above. When I go through long periods of being alone, I find that I can function very well, run my errands, work on my car and what have you, without being all twitchy and clumsy. So that's when I become convinced that it is just my 'style'.

Then when I have to perform a task in the presence of someone else or interact with another, if the scenario came up unexpectedly, all the self consciousness and insecurity comes back, along with the clumsiness etc.. So then I go back to thinking that it is a disorder of mine since it causes dysfunction.