I feel nastalgic now I was diagnosed with Asperger when I was 15, and then, at 17, I was at Barns and Noble studying DSM 4 and the moment I ran across Schizoid Personality I felt this would fit me much better than Asperger, since I thought the root of my condition is "not caring" about social interaction. Well, few years later, at 21, I learned its not the case: yes I do care about making friends, I just don't know how to make them, so Asperger diagnosis fits me better. As of now I am 37, and yes I think Asperger is the correct diagnosis. By the way, I doubt anyone on this forum is Schizoid: if you were Schizoid you would be perfectly content with not having friends and, therefore, you wouldn't be here.

A schizoid man I know described walking through a hall with several
classmates on the way to a seminar with a teacher he suspected of having a similar psychology.
On the way to the instructor’s office, they passed a photo of Coney Island on a hot day, a beach
scene with people crowded together so tightly that the sand was hardly visible. The teacher
made eye contact with my friend, nodded toward the picture, and made a wincing gesture
indicating dread and avoidance. My friend opened his eyes wider and nodded. They understood
each other.

This is the sort of connection I've been wanting to find in someone. I think it's not that I don't want human connection, it's that I want the deepest kind of connection, nothing else will do. If someone doesn't understand then it takes too much effort in futility to try to explain.

I am not Schizoid because I get lonely but I think its similar to social anxiety it sounds horrible we all are suffering and the thing we all have in common is our voices are ignored (oh just get over it) I wish that was the case my social anxiety is so bad I cant even post on a forum without doubting myself... I read some of the symptoms of schizoid and I am sorry you are going through that

What you said is very relateable.



Schizoids get lonely too. I read it either in the article I linked or in Nancy Macwilliams' book I was talking about. I don't remember what was written exactly, but the point is we're not the stones. Everyone has that side in them. Schizoids are not an exception. We're human breed It can look like we are from the outside though and some schizoid attributes (but not all of them) can be interpreted in this way (i.e. being like a stone).

Thank you for your compassion!

I used to feel like this too, but I don't care now. Even with my English etc. This is probably due to my SPD again. I'm used to people constantly hating me and ignoring me from like middle school if not earlier. But still, SA is extreme in my case too. It just takes different forms, I guess...

You shouldn't feel this way. People post here and I'm sure you can find tons of posts you can strongly relate to. That can be very helpful with posting and in general.

This is so true! Nancy McWilliams mentiones it in her article as well as in the chapter of her book. She says everyone seeks for attachment, but it's peolple's defense mechanisms that differ.

She says more maintream psychology has bias towards schizoids, because most people who created it weren't schizoid themselves and they only saw what was on the surface, so they concluded that schizoid people weren't interested in interpersonal relationships at all, while it's only the mechanisms they use in order to cope.

Other personalities have other mechanisms prevailed... She mentiones different types of defense mechanisms in her book. Withdrawal is not something most people can relate to though

That's interesting, I don't think I ever saw it that way, especially in the context of defense mechanisms.

Has anyone watched a film called ''Persona'' by Ingmar Bergman? If not then I really recommend you to watch it. I'm pretty sure you can find it online.

I'm not saying the main character has schizoid personality or even just SPD. At the end of the day, it's just a film and it's just about certain narrative. We don't know much about character's past. She could've been pretty normal before, although I've never seen normal people (average, the majority) coming to such realization irl. At least not before their senior/pre-senior years. But her crisis is definitely of schizoid nature.

I've read a few reviews and one of them seemed particularly good to me and resonated with me. It pointed out that Bergman used ''Life is theatre and people are the actors in it'' metaphor because the character is an actress and her breakdown happened during the play. I would say for myself that I'm the one in the audience and have always been that pretty much, constantly watching people's pathetic theatre play and observing most of the time instead of participating. I'm really sick of even watching it now. It's something most of people do naturally(maybe except for us, people with huge SPD problems and possibly even healthy schizoids, who knows). They're so into it that it's their lifes and the only way they live and it's their reality despite it being totally artificial and deceptive. And I could see it almost my entire life and rejected it. If you ask me, actual theatre plays feel way more real and they're not even irritating compared to what people do, because all the actors are fully aware they're playing and that it's not real.

This SPD I have has been developing in me since childhood and I think I already had a great deal of this schizoidness and could perfectly suit SPD description in my teens and even pre-teens. I either was playing really badly or refused to play (like the main character) and was punished by being kicked out of the play and ridiculed. (Let me remind you, a play is a metaphor for social life which is actually life because everything involves interacting with people). Then I'd decide rather not to participate in it at all and I'd observe it (like the main character did). I would see everything as it is, people's motivations and proverbial elephant in the room, something Nancy McWilliams was talking about in her article. It was a dynamic process and here I am. I totally isolated myself and even words hardly come out of my mouth and it's a torture and a burdain to interact with people.

I really don't know if someone can understand what I was trying to say metaphorically... But I hope those who can relate will understand it.

I could relate to both characters and the situation they're in so much. I mean mostly I could relate to the actress, of course, but the nurse represented vulnerable side that is still there, despite schizoidness. In case with SPD it's somewhere in subconscious and it can still pop out even during the worst crises like the one I have now... And if you take Nancy McWilliams article and chapter from the book into account then she says that all people seek for attachment, including those with SPD. It's something unconscious and it is on a deeper level. Deep down we're not completely indifferent and are connected mentally to people and our experiences with people.

Just saw it, I didn't understand it though but I do understand it now that I've read your description here. It's amazing - the whole metaphor of it all, wow!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRBHGj78_wc

It's just that I read an awesome review before watching it and it was the review itself that made me watch it in the first place. To sum up, it's about loneliness that all of us are born into. From the very first scene of the movie to the last one. The reviewer also mentioned that the word ''persona'' means ''mask'' that actors used in plays to play a character. I wish I could link the review cause it's so well-written, but it's in Russian

That's okay, but thank you for sharing this film, I keep watching it over and over again, it's so good - especially those sexy actresses.

Glad you like it! Although does it have English subtitles? Because the link you posted is without subtitles. I watched it in Russian on the internet so I thought it was available in English as well, but seems like it's not

Dang, I think I may have Schizotypal personality disorder! I read about it and there's similar things that I do too or think about. Hardcore! I think all of these personality disorders are just defense mechanisms we have to protect our psyche.

Dang, I think I may have Schizotypal personality disorder! I read about it and there's similar things that I do too or think about. Hardcore! I think all of these personality disorders are just defense mechanisms we have to protect our psyche.

Lol nevermind, I don't have lack of emotion! I HAVE emotions!

Dang! It does sound hardcore! But so does Schizoid PD, on the other hand. I was confused when I looked at it at the first time some time ago. I was unsure if I had STPD or SPD because a couple of STPD symptoms listed in Wiki could be applied to me as well, but then I read that chapter about schizoidness and everything came into place.

Despite it's level of hardcore, I find that kinda cool because it's different and rare and it's good that people are different and there's variety. It really shows how unique each person's individual experience is and how general imperfections of this world and other people make us imperfect. We should still take care of our mental health though and change what we can change. It's only possible with a therapist.

Yes, it's all about defense mechanisms we use, of course! All of these pathologies.

Haha yeah good point, yeah same I see many symptoms apply to me as well. It's so cool.