Schizoid Personality Disorder - Causes, Symptoms and Treatment

Personality is vital to defining who we are as individuals. It involves a unique blend of traits-including attitudes, thoughts, behaviors, and moods. Schizoid personality disorder (SPD) is a cluster. SPD is reasonably rare compared with other personality disorders. Schizoid personality disorder is one of a group of conditions called 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. They generally are loners who prefer solitary activities and rarely express strong emotion. Although the names sound alike and they might have some similar symptoms, schizoid personality disorder is not the same thing as schizophrenia. Many people with schizoid personality disorder can function fairly well. They tend to choose jobs that allow them to work alone, such as night security officers and library or laboratory workers. Schizoid personality disorder is a pattern of indifference 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 are typically loners and may be prone to excessive daydreaming as well as forming attachments to animals. Social consequences of serious mental disorders-family disruption, loss of employment, and housing-are sometimes calamitous.

People with schizoid personality disorder are in touch with reality unless they develop schizophrenia. Genetics and environmental factors both come into play of Schizoid Personality Disorder. Some mental health professionals speculate that a bleak childhood where warmth and emotion were absent contributes to the development of the disorder. Environmental factors later in development can either exacerbate or ameliorate expression of genetic or neurodevelopmental defects. The onset and course of schizophrenia are most likely the result of an interaction between genetic and environmental influences. Evidence for neurodevelopmental disruption are starting to converge: neurodevelopmental disruption may be the result of genetic and, or, environmental stressors early in development, leading to subtle alterations in the brain. Symptoms of Schizoid Personality Disorder is Lacks close relationships other than with immediate relatives ,Indifferent to praise or criticism ,Shows emotional coldness, detachment or flattened affect and Exhibits little observable change in mood. People with the disorder rarely seek treatment. Individual therapy that successfully attains a long-term level of trust may be useful in certain cases of schizoid personality disorder by giving patients an outlet to transform their false perceptions of friendships into authentic relationships. Group therapy is another potentially effective form of treatment. Comprehensive treatment, including services existing beyond the formal treatment system, is crucial to ameliorate symptoms, assist recovery, and redress stigma

Causes of Schizoid Personality Disorder

Common Causes and Risk factors of Schizoid Personality Disorder

• Genetic factors.
• Environmental factors.
• Chromosomal or nervous system disorders.
• Family history - such as having a parent who has any of the disorders on the schizophrenic spectrum.

Signs and Symptoms of Schizoid Personality Disorder

Sign and Symptoms of Schizoid Personality Disorder

• 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
• Exhibits little observable change in mood
• Difficulty relating to others.

Treatment of Schizoid Personality Disorder

Common Treatment of Schizoid Personality Disorder

• Psychotherapy. Cognitive behavior therapy - which focuses on adjusting the thinking and behaviors that cause problems - can help a person with schizoid personality disorder develop social skills and increase sensitivity to interpersonal cues.
• Group therapy can be more effective when people with the disorder can interact with others in practicing new interpersonal skills. Group therapy may also offer people with schizoid personality disorder a support structure and increase social motivation.
• Self-help programs, family self-help, advocacy and services for housing and vocational assistance complement and supplement the formal treatment system.
• Medications-The psychological inability to experience pleasure can be treated with bupropion (Wellbutrin). Risperidone (Risperdal) or olanzapine (Zyprexa) can help with flattened emotions and social problems.
• DSM-IV-TR , a widely used manual for diagnosing mental disorders (Schizoid Personality Disorder).