Do you ever tell anyone you're a schizoid?

Wow...sounds like you have a really bad case of the disorder, comsi. It's a shame there isn't some kind of disability compensation for severe cases of the disorder. In a perfect world, there would be. I realize the system in America is often abused for disability and mental health issues like anywhere else...but there are some nice people who truly have limitations that are severely disabling (mentally). The problem is trying to prove who is legit and who isn't.

I think the more people learn about Schizoid Personality Disorder, the better. More knowledge means more compassion to those who have it and learning more ways of dealing with it. Right now there isn't enough known about it.

Now that I look in to it....I guess it would be worth a short to file a disability claim if you have a severe case of spd.....I know it wouldn't be an easy case to win...but it's worth a shot. I am only (somewhat) familiar with the U.S. disability system right now. I didn't know you could file in the U.S. based on personality disorders until just now....I'm guessing it would have to be a severe case with ample evidence from Doctors, etc.

@idream5: i think you're slightly too obsessed with Schizoid Personality Disorder without really having much an idea what it's about

@ganbaru....I disagree, but you're entitled to your opinion.

I rarely tell anyone that I have the disorder, but instead, I might tell them certain symptoms so they know what to expect from me. I've told people that I have a poor emotional radar or low empathy, so that if they need my help with something they're dealing with, they really do have to tell me, because I genuinely won't see it. If people start to get close to me, I start letting them in on how many friendships I've dropped over the years because I got tired of the person, so they see what my pattern is for people who try to be friends with me. The rest of the symptoms cover themselves. Flat emotions...don't ever have to mention that. People recognize that. I don't have to tell people that I don't like socializing in general, because they see that by how little contact I'll initiate with any person in my life. They see the lack of close relationships by how much I distance myself from my family, and by the fact that I seem perfectly content with being pretty much alone with some superficial friendships here and there for entertainment. I tried going for the art therapy major in college and ended up failing out of the major because of the symptoms of szpd. I never once mentioned it to my teachers or peers, but they noticed the problems anyway. At the end, I did explain to a couple teachers that I'm aware that I have these issues, but that I originally thought I'd be able to work around them. I instead found that I was fighting a part of my personality that wasn't going to change.
I've told maybe three people that I have this disorder, and I've told those people because either I trusted them to really be able to understand it, or with one case, she didn't get how deeply these issues ran and that she couldn't change them with sheer willpower. That relationship crashed and burned despite me going into full detail about the disorder. I find that people don't get it or blow it out of proportion if I say I have the disorder, but they generally do understand the jist if I just mention how it affects me. The people that see me as a friend understand how I operate and know what they can expect from me. I've been able to make them understand without having to explain the full disorder, even though they likely do see it as an overall problem.

I Dream 5 wrote:Wow...sounds like you have a really bad case of the disorder, comsi. It's a shame there isn't some kind of disability compensation for severe cases of the disorder.

I actually could get it where I live for a few reasons, but I wouldn't feel right about it since I don't need it. I've found ways to stay afloat over the years without going that route. Unfortunately right now I'm burning through my savings a bit due to really bad anhedonia sapping all motivation/drive.

ganbaru wrote:

comsi wrote:The extent of my interactions are answering "cash or credit?"

i hate it how they usually ask some other question besides that one, and it's a different question for each store. "do you need a bag?". "supersavings card?". "do you want a receipt?". it always catches me off guard

The one I hate is when they ask if you want to add an X dollar donation to your bill for whatever charity they're currently raising for. I know they have to do it as part of their job, but it's an attempt to pressure people. It's totally turned me off of giving to anything at all (even privately).

No. I just can't imagine any positive outcome to essentially telling someone: "I fake all my reactions to and interest in everything you say and could honestly care less if you were run over by a bus tomorrow."

I do! to my doctors sometimes and psychiatrists when they say WHY DON'T YOU TRY TO CONNECT PEOPLE? I TELL THEM, i don't need people, i don't care for company and i don't know how to socialize and i don't need friends.. somehow i still small talk with people, and some people seem to like me but i don't connect to nobody.
it was so awkward when i told them that.. so awkward..

and yeah i told somebody from the mental hospital and a guy who spoke to me in a chat.. who asked why you never ask questions about me or initiate some conversation..

Two times, I refered to my last boss to Wikipedia on the subject, I told him that this was to be the answers to the test of how to understand me better, hoping if he got it my life would be easier. I don't think he bothered. I tried this with a current co worker who shares my office. We have similar issues with people so she said nothing there surprised her with what she had known about me anyway.

Android74 wrote:Two times, I refered to my last boss to Wikipedia on the subject, I told him that this was to be the answers to the test of how to understand me better, hoping if he got it my life would be easier. I don't think he bothered. I tried this with a current co worker who shares my office. We have similar issues with people so she said nothing there surprised her with what she had known about me anyway.

One time one of my managers said, "he just didn't get me." I told him, "yeah, I've heard that before."

But that's pretty ballsy to refer coworkers to that kind of personal information. I certainly appreciate you doing that, but there could always be some serious consequences. Like if tell a girl I meet online that I'm a schizoid it doesn't really matter cause I'll never see her again, but if I tell some normals that I have to suffer with every day there could be some seriously bad consequences. They'll use that against you in a heartbeat if they need to. And so will other people that they tell.

There's quite a bit of fear out there right now that they'll round up all us weirdos and shoot us (hyperbolically speaking). Hope you like to fight in case you need to.