The thinking and behaving patterns of people with personality disorders are different from what society considers normal or normal. The fixed personalities and thoughts of individuals with personality disorders can cause these people to experience great stress and their social and business lives can be affected by this situation. Additionally, individuals with personality disorders have a low ability to cope with events, and these individuals have difficulty establishing healthy relationships.
Normally, most people have a personality that can adapt to different situations, people and events. However, the relationships of individuals with personality disorders with other people and events are more stable. These people's fixed thoughts can affect how they think about themselves and the world around them.
Unlike individuals with anxiety disorders, that is, they are aware that there is a problem, individuals with personality disorders are generally not aware that they have problems and do not believe that there is a situation that requires them to control. Because these individuals often do not believe that they have personality disorders, and because they do not believe this, they do not seek treatment.
What is schizoid personality disorder?
Schizoid personality disorder is cluster A or It is included in the personality disorders grouped as eccentric. Individuals with Cluster A personality disorders often appear strange or different. Disorders in this cluster include paranoid personality disorder, schizoid personality disorder, and schizopital personality disorder. The common point of the personality disorders in cluster A is social incompetence and social withdrawal. Distorted thoughts predominate in these personality disorders. Individuals with schizoid personality disorder display more distant, detached and different behaviors in social relationships. These individuals are often lonely; They enjoy solitary activities and rarely express their emotions. Although they are similar in name, schizophrenia and schizoid personality disorder are not the same thing. Although many people with schizoid personality disorder prefer jobs where they can work alone, they can generally continue their lives properly.
Individuals with schizoid personality disorder generally avoid living in social life and prefer to organize their lives in a way that does not communicate with other people. Many individuals with schizoid personality disorder either do not prefer to marry or prefer to live with their family in their adult lives. Other characteristics seen in individuals with this disorder are as follows:
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They do not want to establish close relationships, including family members, and they do not like such relationships.
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They prefer jobs and activities that they can do alone.
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They enjoy very few activities.
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First-degree relatives They have no close friends outside of their own.
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They have difficulty connecting with other people.
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They are indifferent to praise or criticism.
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They are cold and show little sign of emotion.
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They may like to dream or have realistic fantasies in their complex inner world.
Risk Factors
Most individuals with schizoid personality disorder have a family history of schizophrenia, schizoid personality disorder or schizotypal personality disorder. Other risk factors may be:
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Environmental factors that had an impact during childhood
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Being abused or neglected as a child
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Having an emotionally distant parent
How common is schizoid personality disorder in society?
Because individuals with schizoid personality disorder rarely choose to seek treatment, it is difficult to determine how common this disorder is. Schizoid personality disorder affects men more than women and is more common in individuals with close relatives who have schizophrenia.
Schizoid personality disorder usually occurs in late adolescence or early adulthood.
Although the exact causes of schizoid personality disorder are not known, there are many factors that contribute to the emergence of this disorder. It is thought that genetic and environmental factors play a role together. Some mental health experts think that individuals who had childhoods devoid of warmth and emotions are more likely to develop schizoid personality disorder. The fact that there are individuals with schizophrenia in the families of individuals with schizoid personality disorder suggests that this disorder is hereditary.
Diagnosis of Schizoid Personality Disorder
If the symptoms of schizoid personality disorder are seen in the person. The doctor will make a diagnosis by learning the person's entire medical history and performing the necessary physical examinations. Although there are no specific laboratory tests to determine personality disorders, your doctor may request some tests to rule out physical diseases that may cause symptoms.
If your doctor cannot find a physical disease that causes symptoms, he or she will refer you to a psychologist or psychiatrist to detect a personality disorder. . Psychologists and psychiatrists generally conduct an interview with the person and evaluate whether he or she has a personality disorder.
Treatment of Schizoid Personality Disorder
Individuals with schizoid personality disorder are very rare. They seek treatment. Because the thoughts and behaviors of these people generally do not cause any trouble for them. However, if treatment is sought, psychotherapy is usually applied to these individuals. This treatment method generally focuses on issues such as coping ability, improvement in social interactions, communication and self-esteem. Since the feeling of trust has a very important place in therapy, this therapy can sometimes be challenging for the therapist. Because individuals with schizoid personality disorder have difficulty establishing relationships with other people. Training social skills is also important as a complement to the treatment.
Medication use is generally not preferred in schizoid personality disorder. However, if the person is experiencing a psychological problem such as depression, medication may be required.
The following therapies have an important place in the treatment of schizoid personality disorder:
Cognitive behavioral therapy: This goal of treatment, behavior is to create change. Cognitive behavioral therapy can be very successful in schizoid personality disorder because it helps people learn how to behave in social environments and how to change their thoughts. It may also help change the reluctance to establish social relationships.
Group therapy: Group therapy is another method that may be useful in the development of social skills in the treatment of schizoid personality disorder. Group therapy can help the person feel more comfortable in social environments.
Medication:Medication is preferred when no response is obtained from other treatment methods. There is no specific medication to treat schizoid personality disorder. However, if there are other problems along with the personality disorder, medications can be used to treat them. A person's sense of pleasure can be increased with bupropions. The feeling of reluctance can be treated with antipsychotics.
Complications Caused by Schizoid Personality Disorder
Lack of social interaction is the main complication seen in schizoid personality disorder. Individuals with this personality disorder generally do not engage in violent behavior because they do not interact with other people. Mood disorders, anxiety disorders and other personality disorders that occur with schizoid personality disorder are more common than in the general population.
Long-Term Effects of Schizoid Personality Disorder
Everyone Although the behavior of individuals with schizoid personality disorder may be perceived as strange by other people, these individuals do not have problems continuing their lives normally. However, it is difficult for them to establish meaningful relationships with other people and start their own families. Some studies show that individuals with this disorder may sometimes experience social, economic and business disabilities. For this reason, individuals with schizoid personality disorder may need lifelong treatment.
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