Schizoids: Isn't Solitude Painful?

humans are social by nature. truly being cut off from others, no social contact, is the most injurious.

so i wonder about the schizoid personality, especially those who are apparently content in their schizoidness.

but perhaps my wonderment stems from ignorance or presumption: are you really cut off? do you know the true meaning of being isolated?

Questions:

to what extent are you isolated? what's the longest sustained time you've been completely isolated from human contact, that is not seeing, talking to, or being in the presence of actual humans whatsoever?

is schizoidism really a preference for isolation; or interacting with others on one's own terms?

and finally: do you know the pain of isolation? have you been isolated enough to feel this pain or are you immune?

I think there is probably more of a spectrum of sociability, and I'm just at the very far end of it, where socializing is just more harmful than solitude.

I'm not incredibly isolated. I interact with people professionally on a daily basis, and personally very rarely. I don't know the longest I've been completely isolated, but probably sometime that I wasn't working, probably around a week, in between grocery runs.

I think my schizoid pd is a preference for isolation. I don't really have much of a desire to interact with people in a personal way. I like art, and reading, and music. Generally, this is close enough to interaction to sustain me. If I could choose a frequency with which I interacted with people, it would probably be zero.

I don't know the pain of isolation. Being by myself is a cozy experience for me. It is relaxing, even in large doses -- especially in large doses.

I'm not 100% isolated because I live wth my family, but I'm not really inserted at my family/social background, for example.

crystal_richardson_ wrote:to what extent are you isolated?

No social interaction, poor communication, no friends, etc.

crystal_richardson_ wrote:what's the longest sustained time you've been completely isolated from human contact, that is not seeing, talking to, or being in the presence of actual humans whatsoever?

Probably 14 hours.

crystal_richardson_ wrote:is schizoidism really a preference for isolation; or interacting with others on one's own terms?

In my opinion, is a preference, because I feel protected with isolation, I feel safe, I don't see advantages in being social, etc.

crystal_richardson_ wrote:and finally: do you know the pain of isolation? have you been isolated enough to feel this pain or are you immune?

No. Yes.

to those who have answered:

do you own a dog or cat by any chance?

some people have human-like relationships with their pets (built on delusion) that would probably be sufficient to trick the mind into thinking it's getting social stimulation so that would have to be absent as well in a prolonged isolation.

crystal_richardson_ wrote:do you own a dog or cat by any chance?]

I've got a bird and a fish.

Isolation is a strong word to describe the schizoid personality. It implies a forced separateness, at least the way I see it. I italicize the word "forced" because separateness is not as bad a word. Voluntary separateness.

Or better yet, just being alone.

I am most comfortable alone. Better put, I am uncomfortable in the midst of others. Being alone is where/when I function best.

are you really cut off?

No. I could call any number of people right now and make plans to hang out. I could also stick sewing needles underneath my toenails.

do you know the true meaning of being isolated?

Probably not.

to what extent are you isolated?

To the extent I am most comfortable with. Ofcourse isolating yourself by choice can become a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy after a while. People in your life "get the message" and drift away. This is not ideal, as I do not eschew human contact just for the sake of it. I think a lot of schizoids walk a tightrope where they isolate themselves but don't want to make that isolation a necessary or irreversible thing.

what's the longest sustained time you've been completely isolated from human contact, that is not seeing, talking to, or being in the presence of actual humans whatsoever?

I would say a good two and a half days, if I'm lucky. On the average, maybe half that. Of course if human contact includes reading and posting here on Psychforums, then not so much. But I don't consider my forum usage human contact. I could abruptly stop typing my reply and finish it tomorrow morning and it wouldn't matter. You can't do that in real life, with real people. And let's face it, no one is real here, we're all highly advanced bots designed to respond to certain key words with a plethora of illusional dogma. Right?

is schizoidism really a preference for isolation; or interacting with others on one's own terms?

I can only speak for myself: both.

do you know the pain of isolation? have you been isolated enough to feel this pain or are you immune?

No. I'm certainly not immune to the pain of isolation, but I think I'm immune to the pain of loneliness.

-- Sun Jan 22, 2017 1:58 pm --

crystal_richardson_ wrote:to those who have answered:

do you own a dog or cat by any chance?

some people have human-like relationships with their pets (built on delusion) that would probably be sufficient to trick the mind into thinking it's getting social stimulation so that would have to be absent as well in a prolonged isolation.

Spoken by someone who doesn't understand the appeal of keeping pets.

It's not a "human-like" relationship, and it's certainly not delusional. I know they're cats. And it's not so much a trick as it is a substitution. But I think this is as far as it goes. I don't think there is any greater significance in a schizoid-pet relationship than there is for anyone else who keeps pets. I'm sure there are exceptions, but there are exceptions to everything.

And again, the isolation isn't mandatory or compulsive. If it starts to get to me, I'll call someone.

i think someone who has a pet relationship as a substitute for a human relationship, and needs and draws the same sustenance from this as other people do from their human relationships, is not a true schizoid.

would you agree?

there isn't the psychic abnormality of disconnect from relational attachments with things outside of the schizoid; the need or desire is there and it is being satisfied in a more or less normal/healthy/socially acceptable way.

No, I don't have any pets.

crystal_richardson_ wrote:i think someone who has a pet relationship as a substitute for a human relationship, and needs and draws the same sustenance from this as other people do from their human relationships, is not a true schizoid.

would you agree?

In general, no, wait...yes. As I said, I don't think having or not having pets has anything to do with the schizoid personality. I had pets as a teen before my SPD kicked in fully.

I would say that someone who needs and draws the same sustenance from this as other people do from their human relationships may have some issues, but they're not schizoid-related.

So, yes.

Maybe one of us should make a poll.

-- Sun Jan 22, 2017 2:25 pm --

How does one make a poll? I just realized I have no clue.

i think it would depend on the nature of the relationship, same with schizoid human relationships.