Ask a Schizoid

Kyriakos

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Since some people noted that they could be interested in such a thread, here it is.

A couple of things should be clarified first though. If you have no idea what a schizoid is read this wiki article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schizoid_personality_disorder

-I am not a typical schizoid, if such a thing exists, or rather i am typical in some respects but atypical in others. But anyway not all people in one personality type (most schizoid people do not think of this personality as a disorder; more on that later) are similar. Differences in intelligence, education and upbringing, along with physiological variation account for widely altered manifestations of the schizoid personality.

-One common schizoid characteristic which i never had is asexuality. I had repressed sexuality, due to many complicated reasons, but not lack of it, which is argued to be existent in some schizoids, or is the norm for this personality type.

-The defining trait of the schizoid personality is a pronounced (even impressively mono-dimensional) interest in the mental world, and lack of interest about the external world and other people. This was very much the case for me as well, although now i am a bit less introverted than i used to be. I could claim that years ago i was 99% introverted, while now i am around 80%, which is still very high and above the standard, but for me it seems (naturally) rather extroverted compared to my older state.

-Schizoid people usually are involved in delicate creation of imaginary worlds, and thus a high percentage of them form intricate relationships with art. I have read it theorized that artists such as Edvard Munch and Franz Kafka were schizoid.

-Schizoid individuals do not feel a strong urge to change their way of life. Maybe they are met with sense of danger if they do, but in my case i was pretty content with my internal life and resolved to continue it as i was. Often schizoid individuals feel even contempt for non-schizoids, which can happen for example due to the comparison of how thoughtless the latter appear to be. Thus most of the schizoids do not refer to their personality as a disorder, even when in therapy. I know this from conversing with other schizoid people over the internet.

-An example of a purely schizoid occupation is for example the quest to live solely in one's dreams, that is in the depth of the unconscious and subconscious, and examine them. I used to be like that at a time. I also can refer to Kafka's note in his diary according to which he would have liked to "live alone for ever, locked in a room, only occupied with writing". Such ends are typical of a schizoid artist.

I think i will end this OP here. I am interested to see if there are any questions, and how informed they will be :)
 
is the psychiatrist who diagnosed you still treating you?


You probably attach stigma to treatment of this sort, but you might once discover that it consists of therapeutic discussion, which can be of the level of the person being treated. That said your question is at least in bad taste.
 
ehm, what?

this is a thread supposed to discuss your mental disorder and asking you whether you are in treatment is bad taste?

what the hell are we supposed to ask you?
 
-The defining trait of the schizoid personality is a pronounced (even impressively mono-dimensional) interest in the mental world, and lack of interest about the external world and other people.

I read you mentioning this before Kyriakos - are you sure this is correct? I'm not aware that a pronounced interest in the mental World is the defining characteristic of schizophrenia - and the same with introversion.

I have had conversations with several schizophrenics and you come across as being a lot more logical and stable than those people. Are you sure you have a schizoid personality? Perhaps you just have some kind of socially avoidant personality or a tendency to be a bit dreamy - things which are not that bad in themselves, as long as you are happy with them ;)
 
Being schizophrenic and schizoid are different things.
 
I read you mentioning this before Kyriakos - are you sure this is correct? I'm not aware that a pronounced interest in the mental World is the defining characteristic of schizophrenia - and the same with introversion.

I have had conversations with several schizophrenics and you come across as being a lot more logical and stable than those people. Are you sure you have a schizoid personality? Perhaps you just have some kind of socially avoidant personality or a tendency to be a bit dreamy - things which are not that bad in themselves, as long as you are happy with them ;)

Hi Ayn Rand :)

Schizoid personality type is not the same with Schizophrenia. They are distinct states; Schizophrenics appear to be unable to actually examine the mental phenomena they are experiencing, for example, whereas schizoids occupy themselves with self examination all of the time.

I have been diagnosed as a schizoid, i am now less impressively part of the schizoid typical state than years ago though.

@Holy_King: do refrain from asking inane questions. By the way i am not claiming that you are inane yourself, just that you fall inside periodically opening chasms of inanity.
 
Do you feel better or worse if you smoke pot (IF you smoke pot)? Not long ago, I read some in-depth articles about how marijuana affects a schizoid personality, in that it offers some short term mitigation, but could be detrimental in long term effects. Have you experienced anything like that?
 
sorry. but if someone tells me he has a mental disorder, i ask him whether he is in treatment.
this is the way this conversation usually pans out in real life for me, and honestly, i've never had the other party complain about it before.
 
Do you feel better or worse if you smoke pot (IF you smoke pot)? Not long ago, I read some in-depth articles about how marijuana affects a schizoid personality, in that it offers some short term mitigation, but could be detrimental in long term effects. Have you experienced anything like that?

Never smoked pot (or taken any other illegal drug) but such a study surprises me. I recall Baudelaire's aphorism according to which drugs are an escape for people with little imagination, for it stimulates it. But a real artist, according to Baudelaire, can have access to imaginary realms without any such assistance.
 
If your condition is characterised by a lack of interest in social relationships, is your offer to discuss it over the internet odd, in that it seems to contradict this, or do you see the internet as somehow less social than 'real' life.

Would you have a similar conversation in real time with friends, or are your friendships somewhat attenuated by this state ?

Do you feel more persecuted or privileged in being as you are ?
And do you really see it as a disorder?
 
Never smoked pot (or taken any other illegal drug) but such a study surprises me. I recall Baudelaire's aphorism according to which drugs are an escape for people with little imagination, for it stimulates it. But a real artist, according to Baudelaire, can have access to imaginary realms without any such assistance.

I think a poet from the 1800s would know very little in comparison to todays psychologists on the issue. There is some evidence, albeit not conclusive (more study is needed) that smoking pot can 'cause increased schizophrenia in some, but generally only if they were subject to that mental issue already. Like I said, still a lot of study being done on it.
 
If your condition is characterised by a lack of interest in social relationships, is your offer to discuss it over the internet odd, in that it seems to contradict this, or do you see the internet as somehow less social than 'real' life.

Would you have a similar conversation in real time with friends, or are your friendships somewhat attenuated by this state ?

Do you feel more persecuted or privileged in being as you are ?

Good questions :)

1) Nice point, but there is a distinction here: i am interested in examining how other people view extreme introversion, although you are correct to guess that it has little effect on my ways. I would be introverted even if my life was in real danger from it, for it is a means to attain happiness and satisfaction for me. I view the internet as a facade of what reality is, for here everyone can act and speak in ways that they would not necessarily follow in the real world, depending on their level of education and worth of character they can be, for example, hostile towards someone, out of mere projection of their own failings onto said person.

2) I actually love conversations about this subject, but came to realize that few people are interested in them.

3) I feel privileged, although i know that one does not have to be a schizoid so as to be introverted, analytical, intelligent or an artist. It is just part of what i personally am.
 
I think a poet from the 1800s would know very little in comparison to todays psychologists on the issue. There is some evidence, albeit not conclusive (more study is needed) that smoking pot can 'cause increased schizophrenia in some, but generally only if they were subject to that mental issue already. Like I said, still a lot of study being done on it.

Sounds logical, however it has to be said that Baudelaire had the added characteristic of once having been a drug user, so he is in a somewhat better position that me (and i guess you, given your known rhetoric in regards to illegal drugs) to judge what its effects are ;)
 
is the psychiatrist who diagnosed you still treating you?

Considering your response to this earlier, have you actually been diagnosed by a mental health professional or are you relying on your personal experience and Kafka/Baudelaire reading as a method of self-diagnosis?
 
I think that it is reasonable to not expect questions beyond a level of being personal. This is an "ask a schizoid" not an "ask ME, the schizoid", by which i mean that i do not plan to refer to my particular case but rather would be interested in answering queries in regards to the personality type in general. I understand this was how things developed with the "Ask a paranoid schizophrenic" thread.

As for your question, Mobboss, i think you can find the answer yourself if you think a bit. Not sure if you actually think that people go around self-diagnosing and more so on account of likening themselves to artistic idols they might have.
 
I think that it is reasonable to not expect questions beyond a level of being personal. This is an "ask a schizoid" not an "ask ME, the schizoid", by which i mean that i do not plan to refer to my particular case but rather would be interested in answering queries in regards to the personality type in general. I understand this was how things developed with the "Ask a paranoid schizophrenic" thread.

As for your question, Mobboss, i think you can find the answer yourself if you think a bit. Not sure if you actually think that people go around self-diagnosing and more so on account of likening themselves to artistic idols they might have.

Why should I have to find the answer at all? I asked you a direct, simple question, that is in no way personally revealing.

If your're leaving it up to me to guess, then my guess is that you are indeed self-diagnosed from what you have offered so far, and your unwillingness to divulge otherwise.
 
Do you feel better or worse if you smoke pot (IF you smoke pot)? Not long ago, I read some in-depth articles about how marijuana affects a schizoid personality, in that it offers some short term mitigation, but could be detrimental in long term effects. Have you experienced anything like that?

I think you're referring to a study the past 12 months in which it was claimed that teens/children who smoke marijuana are more likely to develop schizophrenia, positively correlating with how young they were when they started smoking marijuana.
 
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