anyone else sick of people thinking we don't have emotions?

data-mirror wrote:Everything I read about schizoid personality said that they don't show or express emotions, not that they don't feel them. When I come across that, I wonder how many people read it and don't actually comprehend what they read. It's possible those people read the right information and somehow interpreted it as saying schizoid people don't have emotions. I don't have schizoid personality, I just joined this board and even I'm annoyed at the thought. I don't like it when people get things like this wrong.

People get a lot of things wrong when it comes to understanding other people's mental health issues. Hearing "...that they don't show or express emotions, not that they don't feel them." makes me think of a line of soldiers standing at attention. It's not that simple.

It's about the disconnection from emotions. Try explaining that to a non and they'll nod their head understandably and then come up with some inane question that proves they really have no idea what you're talking about.

I'm a bit more covert, so what I usually run into is more along the lines of people thinking my interactions and emotions are like theirs when honestly I don't think I'm very much like them at-all. They seem like animals operating on instinct, and I'm silently judging them for it all the time, but they think the mask is the person and so are grasping at straws when they try to "understand" me.

Ashlar wrote:I'm a bit more covert, so what I usually run into is more along the lines of people thinking my interactions and emotions are like theirs when honestly I don't think I'm very much like them at-all. They seem like animals operating on instinct, and I'm silently judging them for it all the time, but they think the mask is the person and so are grasping at straws when they try to "understand" me.

I relate to all of that. "Instinct" is an interesting word to use because in a way, that's what emotions stem from. They're glorified reactions to events that take place externally. I think I care more about what's going on in my little world than the real world, so in that respect, dealing with emotions critically makes sense. I get antsy around people whose emotions are always on the surface, or overly friendly touchy- feely people (although distrust might be a better word for that lot) because I always think they're going to get bored with me before long, so what's the use? I'm covert as well, but there's no way I can even aspire to keep up with the level of intensity these kind of people require.

naps wrote: I get antsy around people whose emotions are always on the surface, or overly friendly touchy- feely people (although distrust might be a better word for that lot) because I always think they're going to get bored with me before long, so what's the use? I'm covert as well, but there's no way I can even aspire to keep up with the level of intensity these kind of people require.

Exactly the same experience here. I have to avoid a friend of mine because they go nuts, yelling with excitement and grabbing me, dancing, drawing everyone's attention. I just cringe inside because I think I'm supposed to act the same, but I just stand still and smile a bit.

It's about the disconnection from emotions. Try explaining that to a non and they'll nod their head understandably and then come up with some inane question that proves they really have no idea what you're talking about.

Is it frustrating when people don't get it? Or it doesn't matter much?

There are points where it can be legitimately frustrating because it can have consequences.

MotherRussia wrote:Is it frustrating when people don't get it? Or it doesn't matter much?

It's frustrating when you need them to get it, as in applying for public assistance or something. They look at you and see that you're not in a wheelchair and have both arms so how can you be disabled? This applies mainly, in my case, to OCD and depression. I don't even know if you can get disability pay for a personality disorder alone.

Sometimes, in rare cases when I have to let someone know I'm mentally disordered but don't know them personally or care to discuss it, I just tell them I'm bipolar (no offense to the bipolars out there). Not because people understand bipolar depression any better, but because they don't; all they know is what they've "learned" from the media. Too many times I hear a news story about some guy who stabbed up his family and it always ends with them saying "He suffered from bipolar disorder and was not taking his medication." As if it's that simple.

naps wrote:some guy who stabbed up his family and it always ends with them saying "He suffered from bipolar disorder and was not taking his medication."

That sounds promising. I should stop taking my medication.


I don't think people in general think that schizoids don't have emotions. I fathom the majority thinks schizoid is schizophrenic, which in popular belief is having multiple personalities. Sadly in this case minus and minus isn't plus.

In my experience people thinking schizoid means not having emotions, are the ones trying to pose as one. It probably derives from reading the dsm while having no clue. The concept of appearances apparently is something outside of their grasp, not to mention the concept of a duality, of opposing priorities, that don't exclude each other but make the dynamic that supposedly is schizoid.

Am I sick of pretense? Yes.
I wish I weren't. I would love this world.

It is said Confucius heard nothing bad anymore when he turned 60. I hope this is a transliteration for taking humans for what they are and still loving them ... opposed to going deaf.

Dalloway wrote:That sounds promising. I should stop taking my medication.

Don't. Going back on them is a bitch.

Dalloway wrote:I don't think people in general think that schizoids don't have emotions. I fathom the majority thinks schizoid is schizophrenic, which in popular belief is having multiple personalities. Sadly in this case minus and minus isn't plus.

True. I was looking at it in the sense of talking with someone who you know, or at least respect. Once you get past the "blunted affect" part of your explanation, I still think it's hard for empaths and those who wear their heart on their sleeves to understand how a schizoid processes their emotions.

And yes, just last week I heard a political commentator on TV describe the current Presidential poll numbers as being "schizoid", plus, here is the schizoid definition according to the shlt dictionary app that came with my computer:

schizoid |ˈskitˌsoid|
adjectivePsychiatry
denoting or having a personality type characterized by emotional aloofness and solitary habits.
• informal having inconsistent or contradictory elements; crazy: it's a frenzied, schizoid place.

Dalloway wrote:In my experience people thinking schizoid means not having emotions, are the ones trying to pose as one. It probably derives from reading the dsm while having no clue. The concept of appearances apparently is something outside of their grasp, not to mention the concept of a duality, of opposing priorities, that don't exclude each other but make the dynamic that supposedly is schizoid.

Remember Bebop? I pegged him as a poser in his first post when he said something like "I'm a schizoid so I don't give a damn about any of you"
(no hard feelings, Bebop, if you're still here. I liked you anyway)

Dalloway wrote:Am I sick of pretense? Yes.
I wish I weren't. I would love this world.

It is said Confucius heard nothing bad anymore when he turned 60. I hope this is a transliteration for taking humans for what they are and still loving them ... opposed to going deaf.

You are our resident philosopher/poet.

Dalloway wrote:Am I sick of pretense? Yes.
I wish I weren't. I would love this world.

I don't like hypocrisy, but I'm afraid without pretense things would really fall apart. I grew up with father who never held back his feelings and thoughts about others, including his family, and as a result terrorized me. I hate to think what would happen if everyone acted that way. I also think I do love the world, just not the people in it.

I agree that most people would assume schizoid is related to schizophrenia. Even among people who know better I think there's some prejudice against people with personality disorder. I work with a number of PhD psychologists, and we just hired someone new and when I was asking about her work she said she really didn't like dealing with people with personality disorders. I think she was more focused on ASPD, but still we're not a group you can give a pill to.

Is Schizoid one of the lesser known disorders? I had never heard of it until I joined this forum, despite having some background education in psychology.

Is it true its considered "trendy" as a disorder?

I realise that sounds strange. No disorder should be "trendy." I have a vague memory of reading some reference that "Schizoid" is a trendy disorder.

That said, I still think most people that claim to have it probably came across it because a psychologist must have mentioned it. It doesn't seem widely known in the regular populace, at least as far as I'm aware. I could mention it to anyone I know and they would have no clue what I mean.

btw... I apologise if this is coming across as insensitive or inappropriate at all.