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So I originally posted this in an old schizoid thread I revived in the INTP subforum. No one has replied yet, though, and I since I realize that I'm more interested in advice than INTP perspectives anyway, I've decided to create this thread. I apologize for cluttering the forum with what is essentially a repost; hopefully I am not in violation of forum rules here.
I am seriously beginning to suspect that I am a schizoid. While I previously discounted the possibility because of my ability to experience powerful emotions, further investigation has led me to reconsider. I think the problem I'm having is inconsistency in available definitions of schizoidism (a term that I use purposefully, for reasons that will hopefully be evident by the time I finish writing).
If, for example, schizoid personality disorder is distinguished from a schizoid personality style, I unquestionably fall within the latter category (certainly to the extent that this represents a less extreme version of the former, at least). That said, if this distinction is made merely on a semantic basis—that is, as long as the individual does not perceive so-called “schizoid” behavioral patterns as substantially interfering with his or her life (or, arguably, where self-sufficiency is compromised to such an extent that any reasonable observer would be forced to conclude, even if the individual in question does not recognize it as such, that his or her behavioral approach constitutes such an interference), no such “disorder” exists—perhaps I am not a schizoid.
I sympathize with this distinction in the sense that, in my view, it makes no sense to consider something a disorder when a person is perfectly content with his or her life simply because he/she leads an anomalous lifestyle. I am not content. But while I fulfill more than four of the DSM-IV's criteria for SPD, it strikes me as highly counterintuitive that discontent alone is sufficient to justify an affirmative diagnosis. I feel like a high percentage of chronically depressed people whom few would consider legitimate candidates for schizoidism might qualify under this standard.
Nonetheless, the fact that I am functionally a schizoid, coupled with this excerpt from a SPD description is what initially prompted me to explore the subject once again:
“To others, you may appear dull or humorless. Because you don't tend to show emotion, you may appear as though you don't care about what's going on around you. However, although you may seem aloof, you may actually feel extremely sensitive and lonely.”
This definition contemplates a far greater capacity for emotion than what I understood as accessible to schizoids. After taking a test, encountering the aforementioned distinction between SPD and its associated “personality style,” and perusing a schizoid forum, my old suspicion has been officially rekindled.
I think the fundamental question I'm grappling with is whether schizoidism is to be understood as categorical and absolute (two groups: people who have SPD and people who don't—people either possess a capacity for experiencing close connection with others or don't, etc.) or as a continuum, with the potential for interpretive and more individualized diagnoses.
Further, I am uncertain how to approach diagnosis. In other words, to what extent is diagnosis open to interpretation in the case of definition two? What, if any, considerations come into play other than the DSM's criteria? Should I be assessing the “severity” of symptoms, for example (which obviously presents additional challenges), or does merely exceeding the DSM's minimum number of requirements warrant a diagnosis? I really want to avoid a “disorder vs. personality style” debate as such; the only reason I bring it up because of the uncertainty these competing definitions engender. I am interested in a “diagnosis,” whatever that means, only to the extent that it represents a presumption (predictably, whatever form that takes) upon which I ought to operate for the purpose of improving my life. I guess I should ask my psychiatrist for a formal evaluation . . . .
I am seriously beginning to suspect that I am a schizoid. While I previously discounted the possibility because of my ability to experience powerful emotions, further investigation has led me to reconsider. I think the problem I'm having is inconsistency in available definitions of schizoidism (a term that I use purposefully, for reasons that will hopefully be evident by the time I finish writing).
If, for example, schizoid personality disorder is distinguished from a schizoid personality style, I unquestionably fall within the latter category (certainly to the extent that this represents a less extreme version of the former, at least). That said, if this distinction is made merely on a semantic basis—that is, as long as the individual does not perceive so-called “schizoid” behavioral patterns as substantially interfering with his or her life (or, arguably, where self-sufficiency is compromised to such an extent that any reasonable observer would be forced to conclude, even if the individual in question does not recognize it as such, that his or her behavioral approach constitutes such an interference), no such “disorder” exists—perhaps I am not a schizoid.
I sympathize with this distinction in the sense that, in my view, it makes no sense to consider something a disorder when a person is perfectly content with his or her life simply because he/she leads an anomalous lifestyle. I am not content. But while I fulfill more than four of the DSM-IV's criteria for SPD, it strikes me as highly counterintuitive that discontent alone is sufficient to justify an affirmative diagnosis. I feel like a high percentage of chronically depressed people whom few would consider legitimate candidates for schizoidism might qualify under this standard.
Nonetheless, the fact that I am functionally a schizoid, coupled with this excerpt from a SPD description is what initially prompted me to explore the subject once again:
“To others, you may appear dull or humorless. Because you don't tend to show emotion, you may appear as though you don't care about what's going on around you. However, although you may seem aloof, you may actually feel extremely sensitive and lonely.”
This definition contemplates a far greater capacity for emotion than what I understood as accessible to schizoids. After taking a test, encountering the aforementioned distinction between SPD and its associated “personality style,” and perusing a schizoid forum, my old suspicion has been officially rekindled.
I think the fundamental question I'm grappling with is whether schizoidism is to be understood as categorical and absolute (two groups: people who have SPD and people who don't—people either possess a capacity for experiencing close connection with others or don't, etc.) or as a continuum, with the potential for interpretive and more individualized diagnoses.
Further, I am uncertain how to approach diagnosis. In other words, to what extent is diagnosis open to interpretation in the case of definition two? What, if any, considerations come into play other than the DSM's criteria? Should I be assessing the “severity” of symptoms, for example (which obviously presents additional challenges), or does merely exceeding the DSM's minimum number of requirements warrant a diagnosis? I really want to avoid a “disorder vs. personality style” debate as such; the only reason I bring it up because of the uncertainty these competing definitions engender. I am interested in a “diagnosis,” whatever that means, only to the extent that it represents a presumption (predictably, whatever form that takes) upon which I ought to operate for the purpose of improving my life. I guess I should ask my psychiatrist for a formal evaluation . . . .
