What Are Personality Disorders

People with Personality Disorders have long-standing patterns of thinking and acting that differ
from what society considers usual or normal. The inflexibility of their personality can cause great
distress, and can interfere with many areas of life, including social and work functioning. People
with personality disorders generally also have poor coping skills and difficulty forming
healthy relationships.

Unlike people with Anxiety Disorders, who know they have a problem but are unable to control
it, people with Personality Disorders often are not aware that they have a problem and do not
believe they have anything to control. Because they often do not believe they have a disorder,
people with personality disorders often do not seek treatment.

Schizoid Personality Disorder

Schizoid Personality Disorder is one of a group of conditions called "Cluster 'A' " or eccentric
personality disorders. People with these disorders often appear odd or peculiar. People with
schizoid personality disorder also tend to be distant, detached, and indifferent to
social relationships, with a limited range of emotional expression and experience.

The disorder manifests itself by early adulthood through social and emotional detachments that
prevent people from having close relationships. People with it are able to function in everyday life,
but will not develop meaningful relationships with others. They generally are loners who prefer
solitary activities and rarely express strong emotion. Although their names sound alike and they
might have some similar symptoms, schizoid personality disorder is not the same thing
as schizophrenia.

Even though the names may sound similar, unlike schizotypal personality disorder and
schizophrenia, people with schizoid personality disorder:
 Are in touch with reality, so they're unlikely to experience paranoia or hallucinations
 Make sense when they speak (although the tone may not be lively), so they don't have
conversational patterns that are strange and hard to follow

There is evidence indicating the disorder may be the start of schizophrenia, or just a very mild
form of it. Many people with schizoid personality disorder are able to function fairly well,
although they tend to choose jobs that allow them to work alone, such as night security officers,
library, or lab workers. People with schizoid personality disorder are in touch with reality unless
they develop schizophrenia.

People with schizoid personality disorder maintain contact with reality. Also, men may be more
likely to have this disorder than women.
The cause of schizoid personality disorder is unknown. Talk therapy, and in some cases
medications, can help.

Symptoms of the Disorder

People with schizoid personality disorder rarely feel there is anything wrong with them. Symptoms
include an indifference to social relationships and a limited range of emotional expression.

 They do not desire or enjoy close relationships, even with family members.
 They choose solitary jobs and activities.
 They take pleasure in few activities, including sex.
 They have no close friends, except first-degree relatives.
 They have difficulty relating to others.
 They are indifferent to praise or criticism.
 They are aloof and show little emotion.
 They might daydream and/or create vivid fantasies of complex inner lives.
 Avoids social activities that involve significant contact with other people
 Shows emotional coldness, detachment or flattened affect
 Exhibits little observable change in mood

People with schizoid personality disorder often are reclusive, organizing their lives to avoid
contact with other people. Many never marry or may continue to live with their parents as adults.

Causes of the Disorder

Little is known about the cause of schizoid personality disorder, but both genetics and environment
are suspected to play a role, particularly in early childhood, may play a role in developing the
disorder. A bleak childhood where warmth and emotion were absent contributes to the
development of the disorder. A higher risk for schizoid personality disorder in families of
schizophrenics suggests that there is genetic susceptibility to developing this disorder.
Those with schizoid personality disorder do not have schizophrenia, but it is thought that many of
the same risk factors in schizophrenia may cause schizoid personality disorder.

Risk factors
Factors that increase your risk of developing schizoid personality disorder include:
 Having a parent or other relative who has schizoid personality disorder, schizotypal personality
disorder or schizophrenia
 Having a parent who was cold, neglectful or unresponsive to emotional needs
Complications
People with schizoid personality disorder are at an increased risk of:
 Developing schizotypal personality disorder, schizophrenia or another delusional disorder
 Other personality disorders
 Major depression
 Anxiety disorders

How Common Is Schizoid Personality Disorder?

It is difficult to accurately assess the prevalence of this disorder, because people with schizoid
personality disorder rarely seek treatment. Schizoid personality disorder affects men more often
than women, and is more common in people who have close relatives with Schizophrenia.
Schizoid personality disorder usually begins in late adolescence or early adulthood.

Can Schizoid Personality Disorder Be Prevented?

There is no known way to prevent schizoid personality disorder.

Treatment for the Disorder

Little research has been done on the treatment of schizoid personality disorder. This is partly
because people with this diagnosis typically do not experience loneliness or compete with or envy
people who enjoy close relationships.

People with this disorder rarely seek treatment, and little is known about which treatments work.
Talk therapy may not be effective, because people with schizoid personality disorder have
difficulty relating well to others. Therefore, treatment can be difficult because of initial reduced
capacity or desire to form a relationship with a health professional. A non-intrusive support group
can alleviate feelings of solitude, and fears of social interactions and close relationships. Individual
therapy, in most cases, has proven relatively ineffective and often temporarily addresses immediate
conditions instead of seeking to eliminate the disorder entirely.

When treatment is sought, psychotherapy (a form of counseling) is the form of treatment most
often used. Treatment likely will focus on increasing general coping skills, as well as on improving
social interaction, communication, and self-esteem. Because trust is an important component of
therapy, treatment can be challenging for the therapist, because people with schizoid personality
disorder have difficulty forming relationships with others. Social skills training also can be an
important component of treatment.
Medication is generally not used to treat schizoid personality disorder itself. Drugs might,
however, be prescribed if the person also suffers from an associated psychological problem, such
as depression.