Schizoid Personality Disorder

About Schizoid Personality Disorder

Schizoid personality disorder is a pervasive pattern of detachment from social relationships and a restricted range of emotional expression in interpersonal settings, beginning by early adulthood. People with the disorder neither desire nor enjoy close relationships, including being part of a family, almost always choose solitary activities, have little interest in sexual experiences with others, take pleasure in few activities, lack close friends other than first degree relatives, appear indifferent to praise or criticism, and show emotional coldness, detachment or flattened affect. Unlike avoidant personality disorder, the social isolation is not driven by fear of rejection but reflects limited interest in relationships, and unlike schizotypal personality disorder it does not involve perceptual distortions or eccentric beliefs. It is grouped in the odd or eccentric cluster with paranoid and schizotypal personality disorders, and there is some evidence of a link with a family history of schizophrenia spectrum conditions. The term schizoid was introduced by the Swiss psychiatrist Eugen Bleuler in the early twentieth century. The condition is seen relatively rarely in clinical settings, partly because people with it seldom seek treatment unless under stress or experiencing depression. When therapy is undertaken it is usually supportive and respects the need for distance, and may include cognitive behavioral therapy and social skills training.