schizoid disorder
Schizoid personality disorder has a complicated past. It was originally conceptualized as the personality type associated with schizophrenia. However, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders states that schizoid personality disorder should not be diagnosed if the pattern of behavior occurs exclusively during the course of schizophrenia. But this does not mean that the two cannot co-occur. Schizoid personality disorder most often co-occurs with schizotypal, paranoid, and avoidant personality disorders. At the turn of the twentieth century, schizoid personality disorder was described as a trait-like variant of schizophrenia. Others described it as "shut-in personality," "schizoidie," and even as "autistic personality." The term schizoid was also used in broader terms to identify socially withdrawn patients who had great difficulty with intimacy and peculiar behavior now associated with schizotypal personality disorder. However schizoid personality disorder can be differentiated from other disorders. Schizoid personality disorder is different from schizotypal personality disorder in that schizotypal personality disorder lacks the cognitive and perceptual distortions that are associated with schizoid personality
Individuals with schizoid personality disorder are often perceived as indifferent, cold and even "stuck-up." This is largely due to the fact that schizoid personalities seem to be indifferent to the approval or criticism of other people. They do not care at all about what others may or may not think of them. Also the fact that they produce a bland exterior without any visible emotional reactivity is also a contributing factor. The reason for this is that schizoid personalities are socially inept so they do not respond to normal social cues that an individual without schizoid personality disorder would pick up without any difficulty. Schizoid personalities rarely reciprocate gestures or facial expressions, such as smiles or nods. This leads to the impression that a person may get of a schizoid personality of coldness or aloofness. The definition of schizoid personality disorder has varied greatly in the different editions of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. It was previously broadly defined, but now it is divided into three different categories: schizoid, avoidant and schizotypal personality disorders. Now the Manual defines schizoid personality disorder as a pervasive pattern of detachment from social relationships and a restricted range of expression of emotions in interpersonal settings, which begins by early adulthood. This definition describes an important and essential feature of schizoid personality disorder. This is because the pattern of detachment from social settings and restricted range of expression of emotions lead to a lack of desire for intimacy and close relationships. This means that schizoid personalities do usually do not have any close friends or confidants. The only people a schizoid personality will confide in is a first degree relative, as evidenced by the case study of Raymond A., who confided in his mother. However, schizoid personalities do not seem to get any satisfaction from being part of a social group such as a family. Individuals affected by schizoid personality disorder are usually floating in their goals. They usually "drift" along towards them, instead of pursuing them head on, as evidenced by the case study of Raymond A. In this case, Raymond enrolled in music school for one term before he became discouraged because he felt that his music skills were not good enough. After he returned home, he drifted aimlessly from job to job before he finally gave up his search for an occupation that suited him. This shows that schizoid individuals are also easily discouraged from their particular goals in life. There may also be a cause of schizoid personality disorder in neurophysiological factors. Although there is no distinctive neurophysiological cause of personality disorder, there is some data that suggests associations between nervous system activity and schizoid personality disorder and other disorders like it. One of these possible causes is an abnormality in various neurotransmitters. Siever and Davis showed that dopamine is linked to schizoid personality disorder in 1991, and also showed that diminished serotonin activity is linked to antisocial personalities. Temperament also plays a role in schizoid personality disorder. Temperament is an innate foundation for emotional and behavioral traits and may be the basis of some personality disorders. Thomas and Chess revealed that irritable or anxious temperament pattern can predict a higher risk of childhood conduct disorders and antisocial personality disorders. Also cortical immaturity in the brains of adults may also play a factor in schizoid personality disorders. Another possible treatment is medication. But medication is usually not an issue for an individual who suffers from this schizoid personality disorder unless they also have an additional Axis I disorder, such as major depression. Even then, most patients show no additional improvement with the addition of an antidepressant medication, unless
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