Diagnostic Criteria, Schizoid Personality Disorder

lerpa wrote:One of the older DSMs (III? IV?) provided a list of possible symptoms of SPD

The current DSM-5 still does so as well. The newly proposed diagnostic criteria for personality disorders were eventually moved to an appendix as a result of a lack of consensus among the nitwits responsible for the personality disorders section.

lerpa wrote:

user03 wrote:

pandora64 wrote:Nineteen,

General question: Can you be schizoid PD and have great difficulty accepting criticism? For instance, if you call them Stinky go take a bath...will they flip out on you and call u all sorts of names and take things too much to heart? my ex SO can be any one of these PD's incl. AvPD, BPD, PPD, and definitely Schizoid. How do you make the distinction? Thanks.

honestly, i feel like most people just don't understand personality disorders. There are actually descriptions and things that are very clear in the schizoid frame, yet most people don't realize it or bring it up. what you described of someone who is sensitive and has difficulty accepting criticism can be common in all people, including schizoid pd. how do you make a distinction, you can't really, because none of these things can be measured by factual tests and there are too many variables and reasons being things. .....

the only things missing now is to see how much others can relate to me and to know their mbti type and eneagram type.

One of the older DSMs (III? IV?) provided a list of possible symptoms of SPD - seven, I think - and said that a person had to have at least four to get the diagnosis. This would mean that it is completely possible for someone to get an SPD diagnosis and still be sensitive to criticism.

I realized my mother was almost certainly SPD when I saw that list and checked off every single item (except the sexuality one) as typical of her, 100% of the time. Most people, though, are more nuanced. IMHO.

based off wikipedia schizoid personality disorder, it mentions "exquisitely sensitive" as one of the traits in the covert subtype of schizoid personality disorder. so why anyone would think schizoids arent sensitive or wouldn't have problems with criticism would be contradictory to say the least. also, im not sure if i understand the indifference to praise or criticism, because surely im not indifferent to criticism, im actually very sensitive ( even if i don't show it ) and don't know how to deal with criticism often (i may blow up and become verbally or physically aggressive, this has happened in the past usually with closer people like family members where i get pushed too far which causes me to start verbally assaulting others or sometimes even becoming aggressive, not really with strangers, but i guess thats because i don't deal with others as personally since they are not constantly around me and putting me in these situations)

but what is interesting is that i don't seem to lack confidence or self esteem, i simply have a hard time understanding other people, no matter how patient or understanding i try to be, and communicating in general ( disorganized thought process, scatter brained? or not finding the right words ) and dealing with conflicting situations is problematic, and with praise, at most, i may say thanks or the i guess i did well thing, but im not gonna be overdramatic or have any false interpretations of myself, i know deep down what may seem worthy or what may seem not, i hate when people over exaggerate things and expect me to believe it. i actually become less confident the more i give in to other people's appraisal that seems so vague, where as if i just take it as a grain of salt, i feel better and secure because im simply hearing them out. i never understood how people can be cocky and good in the things they are at, i always have to be humble 100 percent of the time, and if i don't, it affects my performance.

im not sure if i can accurately access myself on the criteria of schizoid pd or any other disorders because they don't explain why these people do what they do but rather what is being presented. for instance, how would you know if a person retreats from the outer world because they simply don't know what to do and don't understand other humans so they gave up trying to do something that never made sense from the start and they never really had "depression" per say in the first place where as someone who knows very well what to do, but simply has depression? you know, all of this is vague, there has to be more specific details for identifying things or matters. only time will tell that though. till then, im gonna try to explain myself to the best i can and hope maybe someone else can open up and give some good insight.

When the characteristics are written down--Its so hard to read them. I am glad I found out why I am this way ( I mean what I am) I don't know how I became schizoid.

I spend a lot of time trying to hide these characteristics from everyone. But I have really botched it lately. I tried to work for three weeks...I was a mess of twisted anxiety and I quit the position. I did come off as a freak- a zombie....visibly shook when a young woman got aggressive asking me why I didn't have children. My voice shook but I said "I have never earned enough to afford children. " But in truth- I want to be able to get free of my marriage if I ever have a way out.

I pretend to be a painter---I do paint I am self taught--its just my cover to try to keep my husband off my back . I even graduated from college but had no interest in what I would do after.

I have broken communications with so many people now. I feel nothing about that. I live in a city of 6 million. I hate this city. I want to live on a mountain. I used to wonder why I didn't feel alive. Now I'm ok with that.

Being alone each day now ---I have no issues with myself - What I am feels normal. I don't know how to be interested in the world. Having contact or communication with others feels destructive to me.

I did get married- I married at 32 and at the downtown courthouse where I felt nothing. --My husband cried. I wondered for so long why I felt sick when we were intimate. Now I know its because I'm not interested in physical contact with him. But I force myself to be intimate with hubby because he is my only link now.

cathasmytongue wrote:I'm new.

I have not been officially diagnosed as schizoid--though I do believe that diagnosis fits best.

My question is:

Does anyone else forget to bathe, take medication, things like that? I am off in la-la land most of the time--wherever that might be.

Thanks.

Not diagnosed either-I am also off in la la land- it is ruminating- I believe what you are doing. But I am married so I have to stick to a schedule to make sure the house is clean. food is prepared and I have been to the gym and back. ( no kids because I knew I couldn't handle that)

I would suggest you establish a routine with the clock to stick to that routine. Put it in your phone if you have one. (We schizoids don't really care about the phone do we. ) Anyway- write it down. Routines will help you function. Plan a food reward at the end of the day to stick to the bathing and medicine taking routine. thanks

I have days where I don't bathe if I'm busy, late going out the door; I rarely like to be alone in my bathroom in the home I grew up in, where I currently live. When I shared an apartment with an old boyfriend before things ended, I loved the freedom and comfort of what I thought was my own space. I'm working on having my own space again and can possibly move forward with that.

"A pervasive pattern of detachment from social relationships and a restricted range of expression of emotions in interpersonal settings, beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by four (or more) of the following:

neither desires nor enjoys close relationships, including being part of a family" MAINLY YES (except with partner)

"almost always chooses solitary activities" YES

"has little, if any, interest in having sexual experiences with another person" NO

"takes pleasure in few, if any, activities" NO

"lacks close friends or confidants other than first-degree relatives" BASICALLY YES (except confidant is partner)

"appears indifferent to the praise or criticism of others" YES (for appears); actually NO

"shows emotional coldness, detachment, or flattened affectivity" YES

Think I am a (self diagnosed) marginal schizoid - fairly well hidden ie don't think anyone meeting me will think this.

I am diagnosed schizoaffective but I have a schizoid personality too. I spend like 98% of my time alone in solitary activities. And I like it that way. I enjoy my own company and prefer it to the company of others. I despise bathing and make every excuse not to. I only bathe (or shower really) once a week. I sleep in my clothes because I tell myself I stay "warmer" that way. So, I end up changing clothes only when I shower once a week. I live in an assisted living facility where no one seems to mind my habits fortunately. I only leave this facility once a week to go to a volunteer meeting for an hour and a half. Otherwise I stay in this assisted living facility. I eat alone at a corner table in the facility dining room and I like it that way. Before, I was sitting with 5 other people and I was paranoid of them all. Now, I'm alone and much more comfortable. I live in an apartment alone in the facility with my cat. I have no friends and no sexual partners and don't want any. I have the ideal setup.

These posts were interesting.

Okey Dokey so i am a 19 years old male and i was diagnosed with aspergers syndrome late last year but yesterday i found out more than the brief snippets of information i knew about Schizoid Personality Disorder and after a bit of quick but thorough research i found that i fit the general criteria objectively well but what i found most interesting is that i could relate to schizoids a good deal more than i can with other aspies with a few exceptions of course as we are all different even if i still get confused when trying to understand myself

Anyways the rational part of my brains thinks its very hard to find out that is it either aspergers or SPD that someone like me is affected by but for some reason my subconscious wants some sort of self diagnosis to try to "understand" itself better after a strings of occurrences in my life even though my asperger's diagnosis got me hardly anything new in my understanding of myself due to finding things out during development and only material things such from now maybe the dentist won't judge me so much (in my head they did at least) and it probably helped my benefits application get accepted.

In my opinion i think any diagnosis would have though and i still find it strange how my asperger's diagnosis only took a couple of hours in the actual interview part with a shorter follow up that didn't add anything to it. Maybe it took so little time because i am a adult or it always quick. I can't even begin to think what i would be like on multiple sessions to get a personality disorder diagnosed. So if i ever try therapy, i am guessing it will be to maybe assist me in getting my life on track a little quicker then i am currently probably.

"Diagnostic criteria for 301.20 Schizoid Personality Disorder

A. A pervasive pattern of detachment from social relationships and a restricted range of expression of emotions in interpersonal settings, beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by four (or more) of the following:
(1) neither desires nor enjoys close relationships, including being part of a family Man this question to me is such a yes and a no because i have an exception in my mum due to my childhood experiences but that is still quite limited in its scope aka 1 digit number long conversations at best but her existence has kept me from suicide so i can't say i have no attachment to her even if it is not all that distinguishable but her living does lead to joy even if it is a bit of a backwards way of it occurring. I also have a best friend who i have a oddly balanced relationship with. He contacts me and if i can be bothered i will respond and very rarely enter a short chat until i run out of interest and i exit the contact but otherwise we do our own things.
(2) almost always chooses solitary activities Yes
(3) has little, if any, interest in having sexual experiences with another person Yes
(4) takes pleasure in few, if any, activities Yes
(5) lacks close friends or confidants other than first-degree relatives No, i don't have a confidant at all but i count my best friend as a close friend since i try to get closer to him occasionally.
(6) appears indifferent to the praise or criticism of others Yes
(7) shows emotional coldness, detachment, or flattened affectivity" Yes

I very loosely fit this criteria so yea, that's that done... By the way if you care to know what i loosely believe makes me the way i am then here it it it. I believe i have aspergers but that maybe it is possible that my experiences as a child due to my various minor disabilities (i.e dyspraxia) speech impediment from birth (caused by cleft lip n Palate )caused my social skills to not improve as i developed and this along with bullying due to being different to withdraw into what aspies usually have a place they feel safe from life. Continuous events like this may have resulted into my inner qualities which are very much like and maybe even are symptoms of SPD.

So apparently my mum and me were extremely close even when i was growing up and thus the next paragraph is for my explanation to my even then general apathetic that i believe developed to a certain extent as a child. Though memories of my childhood are very vague until high school but even they are not the greatest, great memory me yea... I remember doodling, daydreaming especially on the playground, playing with lego and the making of a large number of youtube let's play collaboration videos for various nintendo console games with a childhood friend who i kind of abandoned nowadays.

Oh and his pain in the neck strict christian parents (no offense religious pepople i can't handle organised religion especially when his parents barged it in to my life when i was at his house, i even went to a church party once and felt even more of an odd 1 out there then at school extraordinary), i am surprised they allowed him video games and even a whole games room was built, ha life's mysteries eh? They were so over protective gosh...

Those experiences kind of made me glad my dad is kind of apathetic himself and my mum is only a little over protective nowadays. Oh and my dad has a strange idea that as a non practising catholic that he certainly is, that i should get a religion and when i told him i don;t believe in a god he just kind of tried to debate me about why but gave up after a few words lol. Religion is really a pet peeve of mine, right now i could care less but as a child i was obviously still debating religion in my head and no god was the easy choice and i chose to be an atheist, i still am today. Oh here's an odd thing my rational mind refuses to compute spiritual beliefs but my story telling mind loves the idea of reincarnation and some part of my brain when thinking about suicide always bring it up as bait.

Oh and as a child i was in and out of hospital appointments so i don't think school became a asperger's approved space. Instead i felt like i was on the outskirts of the school and everyone else was inside the school. This then led to what i shall call being a invisible crowd shadow as i looked into the groups of my peers from the outskirts while trying to relate to them to figure out how i approach them to make a friend but i gradually realised that i wasn't like them much and thus resorted to go to of giving up and continued this habit of mine which i did until the end of high school and maybe a bit in college. My developed interests were just too niche or hard to discuss for me such as youtube as people like different video content and have differing favourite youtube channels between them.

A pervasive pattern of detachment from social relationships and a restricted range of expression of emotions in interpersonal settings, beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by four (or more) of the following:

neither desires nor enjoys close relationships, including being part of a family

almost always chooses solitary activities

has little, if any, interest in having sexual experiences with another person

takes pleasure in few, if any, activities

lacks close friends or confidants other than first-degree relatives

appears indifferent to the praise or criticism of others

shows emotional coldness, detachment, or flattened affectivity

The only one that doesn't apply to me is the sex thing.