Maybe I do have a Schizoid Personality...

EasyasPi wrote:It all seems to be about having a reactive emotional disconnect with others. It's a "standing away" from emotional intimacy to preserve yourself. ( splitting off.)

Regular introversion is run of the mill introversion with all the connectivity.

I think that could be my case, yes.

My whole childhood and teen years were comprised of losing every friend I made. Maybe this has some connection as to why I am this way.

Thank you.

My whole childhood and teen years were comprised of losing every friend I made. Maybe this has some connection as to why I am this way.

Sounds rather careless to me.

UK SPD wrote:

My whole childhood and teen years were comprised of losing every friend I made. Maybe this has some connection as to why I am this way.

Sounds rather careless to me.

So does your reply.

Growing up like a military brat, moving to a new state every 2 to 3 years can be rough on a kid.

^ That would be rough.

Well if you can comiserate and relate to SPD and that helps you then have at it.

I relate to aspects but I think it is symptoms of C-PTSD which mimic SPD.

Such as:

markedly diminished interest or participation in significant activities

feelings of detachment or estrangement from others

persistent inability to experience positive emotions

Its actually an informal diagnosis I got which got worse in recent years after more traumatic stuff. To where Im now almost fully reclusive and anhedonic. Can look schizoid for all intents and purposes but with other symptoms like nightmares and hypervigilance which is not part of SPD.

Morosenurse do you have a diagnosis or some functioning problems? You sound...normal..with a family and job you are good at?

ElephantEyes wrote:^ That would be rough.

Well if you can comiserate and relate to SPD and that helps you then have at it.

I relate to aspects but I think it is symptoms of C-PTSD which mimic SPD.

Such as:

markedly diminished interest or participation in significant activities

feelings of detachment or estrangement from others

persistent inability to experience positive emotions

Its actually an informal diagnosis I got which got worse in recent years after more traumatic stuff. To where Im now almost fully reclusive and anhedonic. Can look schizoid for all intents and purposes but with other symptoms like nightmares and hypervigilance which is not part of SPD.

Morosenurse do you have a diagnosis or some functioning problems? You sound...normal..with a family and job you are good at?

Thank you for your reply. As I have learned, schizoid personality can preclude schizoaffective. That, I am afraid is about to get tacked on me as a diagnosis.

I see my psychiatrist again in 3 weeks.

Just because someone seems "normal", and I put that in quote because as I was reminded by my psychiatrist when I asked him is something is "normal" to be a certain way in response to such and such...he redirected and told me normal is also relative. I do agree. I suppose I'm fairly normal, but aren't many of the infamous serial killers able to put on that facade as well?

P.s. Since this is the internet, I must say, I'm playing with you.
It just gets me a little irritated to know that 1 in 4 or 5 (?) struggle with mental illness and many have very productive and seemingly "normal" lives, right?

*edit* I didn't answer your original question about a dx. So, I got diagnosed with GAD by my family doc last year, and at 16 I was hospitalized for about 2 weeks (I think) and dx. was Bipolar. I got a second opinion at 18 and was told that wasn't accurate and that (lo and behold!) I was a normal teen who had been thru a $#%^ tonne of stuff.

Yes indeed psychiatric diagnosis is very subjective, no? Each doctor can have his or her own opinion on what the affliction is, from my understanding.

I am sorry to hear you have been through a $#%^ tonne of stuff. Not to minimize your experience but I daresay most people have. Who has gotten through life unscathed or without trauma or adversity? Across all classes and races and continents its a universal human experience.

What makes a person normal imo is how resiliently they handle these stresses. With flexibility and optimism and in good spirits, albeit reacting as would be expected? With anxiety as a response to anxiety provoking experiences?....that is normal...to the extent that the person continues to function enough to meet their needs and those that may depend on them.

Its when defenses or responses are so exaggerated or long standing or maladaptive that we can no longer say this person is functional ...or perhaps "sane" imo.

ElephantEyes wrote:Yes indeed psychiatric diagnosis is very subjective, no? Each doctor can have his or her own opinion on what the affliction is, from my understanding.

Yeah, that is true. Just like medical doctors. They are paid to "practice" and give their professional opinions and recommendations of what is best etc.

ElephantEyes wrote:I am sorry to hear you have been through a $#%^ tonne of stuff. Not to minimize your experience but I daresay most people have.

I think you misread my original meaning in saying that. Not sure why you're sorry. I'm not looking for any sympathy here.

My point was that the second psychiatrist said he didn't think I had bipolar, but he connected what things I had just been through as to why I had my breakdown at 16. Grieving process, and multiple life stressors had occurred within the same year. So, was it a normal response or not, given my past circumstance then, coupled with simply being a teenager? That's a matter of opinion.

ElephantEyes wrote:What makes a person normal imo is how resiliently they handle these stresses. With flexibility and optimism and in good spirits, albeit reacting as would be expected? With anxiety as a response to anxiety provoking experiences?....that is normal...to the extent that the person continues to function enough to meet their needs and those that may depend on them.

Its when defenses or responses are so exaggerated or long standing or maladaptive that we can no longer say this person is functional ...or perhaps "sane" imo.

I agree with you about resiliency, and optimism being used as a measure of normalcy, to a point.I don't think this is so black and white though. People can be resilient, and function, work etc. all while not having totally normal coping mechanisms. Think of addicts, for example. The same is true on your last sentence, but in the opposite way. People can have very exaggerated behaviors or have defense mechanisms, all while still being functional, and outwardly optimistic to their friends and family. Aren't 1 in 4 supposedly people living with a diagnosable mental illness? Many people are living successfully in this modern human society with mental illness.

There have been many days in the past where I have contemplated the whole idea of mental illness being a figment of our imaginations as a whole, anyway.

morosenurse wrote:Yeah, that is true. Just like medical doctors. They are paid to "practice" and give their professional opinions and recommendations of what is best etc.

Medicine has a bit more hard science behind it.

I think you misread my original meaning in saying that. Not sure why you're sorry. I'm not looking for any sympathy here.

I was taught social graces.

My point was that the second psychiatrist said he didn't think I had bipolar, but he connected what things I had just been through as to why I had my breakdown at 16. Grieving process, and multiple life stressors had occurred within the same year. So, was it a normal response or not, given my past circumstance then, coupled with simply being a teenager? That's a matter of opinion.

Right. Subjective diagnosis as we have noted.

I agree with you about resiliency, and optimism being used as a measure of normalcy, to a point.I don't think this is so black and white though. People can be resilient, and function, work etc. all while not having totally normal coping mechanisms. Think of addicts, for example. The same is true on your last sentence, but in the opposite way. People can have very exaggerated behaviors or have defense mechanisms, all while still being functional, and outwardly optimistic to their friends and family. Aren't 1 in 4 supposedly people living with a diagnosable mental illness? Many people are living successfully in this modern human society with mental illness.

There have been many days in the past where I have contemplated the whole idea of mental illness being a figment of our imaginations as a whole, anyway.

I am sure there are reasons behind this mania of pathologizing every little thing.

ElephantEyes wrote:

morosenurse wrote:Yeah, that is true. Just like medical doctors. They are paid to "practice" and give their professional opinions and recommendations of what is best etc.

Medicine has a bit more hard science behind it.

Yes. It does. Have you heard "to practice medicine"? That's what I meant. I often hear physicians say "in my professional opinon...you should...etc., or "it's my recommendation that you have the surgery for this, and if you don't this could happen etc". There are many things where medicine is contrdictory within itself. I've seen professional articles supporting the use of anti-cholesterol meds, and I've seen professional articles that say it is the wrong approach.

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/1149159

Psychiatrists go to med school also! (unlike psychologists) So, they are practicing psychiatry.