Schizoid personality disorder manifests itself as a chronic lack of emotion, lack of interest in relationships with others and a lack of motivation or ambition.
People who suffer from Schizoid personality disorder sometimes describe an inability to manufacture the kind of feelings they observe occurring naturally in others.
Despite the name similarity, Schizoid Personality Disorder is different from Schizophrenia and Schizotypal Personality Disorder. However, it does have an certain degree of comorbidity (or co-occurrence) with these disorders and with Avoidant Personality Disorder. Some individuals who suffer from Schizoid Personality Disorder have also been known to suffer from brief psychotic episodes.
DSM-IV-TR Criteria for Schizoid Personality Disorder (SPD)
Schizoid Personality Disorder (SPD) is listed in the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic & Statistical Manual (DSM-IV-TR) as a Cluster A (odd or eccentric) Personality Disorder.
Schizoid Personality Disorder (SPD) is defined as:
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.
Does not occur exclusively during the course of schizophrenia, a mood disorder with psychotic features, another psychotic disorder or a pervasive developmental disorder and is not due to the direct physiological effects of a general medical condition.
A formal diagnosis of SPD requires a mental health professional to identify 4 out of the above 7 criteria as positive. Some people with SPD may exhibit all 7. Most will exhibit only a few.
Movies Portraying Schizoid Personality Disorder Traits
The Remains of the Day - The Remains of the Day is a 1993 Columbia Pictures Release, starring Anthony Hopkins & Emma Thompson which portrays the life of a head butler in an English Manor who manifests some of the traits of schizoid personality disorder.
The English Patient - The English Patient is a 1996 Miramax movie which portrays the life of a wounded World War II pilot who demonstrates schizoid traits and his relationship with his caretaker nurse.
If you suspect you may have a family member or loved-one who suffers from a personality disorder, we encourage you to learn all you can and surround yourself with support as you learn how to cope.
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