Journal of Psychology & Psychotherapy
Open Access

Causes, Effects and Treatment of Schizoid Personality Disorder

Amnie Kammoun^{* *}Correspondence: Amnie Kammoun, Department of Psychology, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt, Email:

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Description

Schizoid Personality Disorder (SPD) is a chronic and prevalent condition characterized by social isolation and indifference to others. It belongs to a group of disorders called “Cluster A” or eccentric personality disorders. People with these disorders often appear odd or unusual. People with schizoid personality disorder also tend to be aloof, disconnected and indifferent to social relationships. Schizoid personality disorder is a rare condition in which people avoid social activities and are constantly reluctant to interact with others. Also, the range of emotional expressions is limited. If the person has schizoid personality disorder, they may be seen as lonely or disrespectful of others and may lack the desire or ability to form close personal relationships. Because of their tendency of hiding emotions, they can seem to be uninterested about others and what is going on around them. The cause of schizoid personality disorder is unknown. Talk therapy and possibly medication can help. People with personality disorders have long-standing patterns of thinking and behavior that differ from what society considers common or normal and can affect many areas of life, including social and occupational functioning. People with personality disorders generally have poor coping skills and have difficulty forming healthy relationships. People with schizoid personality disorder often live isolated and arrange their lives in ways that avoid contact with other people. Other common characteristics of people with this disorder are, they don't want or enjoy close relationships even with family, they typically experience absorbed and engaged with introversion and fantasy, they often choose a lonely job or activity, they may appear humorless, indifferent or emotionally cold-hearted, they have difficulty in relating to others, they don’t respond to praise or criticism from others, they may daydream and have vivid fantasies about their complex inner life. Schizoid personality disorder usually begins in early adulthood, although some features may appear in childhood. These traits can make it difficult for a person to function well in school, work, society, or other areas of life. They can do it well in their job if they work alone. Accurately assessing the prevalence of the disorder is difficult because people with schizoid personality disorder rarely gets treatment. Schizoid personality disorder is more common in men than women, and also is more common in people having close relatives with schizophrenia. They have difficulty expressing their feelings and do not want to form close personal relationships.

Schizoid personality disorder has no definite cause. Several risk factors increase the likelihood of developing schizoid personality disorder, including:

• Complications at birth.

• Head or brain injury.

• Family history of schizophrenia or other mental illness.

• Alcohol or drug abuse.

• Prenatal exposure to viruses, disease, or malnutrition during pregnancy.

• Trauma, especially emotional and physical abuse, violence.

• Have a cold, neglectful and, distant parent.

Conclusion

The cause of schizoid disorder is not completely known, but both genetics and environment are suspected to play a role. Generally, drugs are not used to treat schizoid personality disorder itself. However, if people also have related mental health problems, such as depression, drugs may be prescribed. The medications the person who take to treat schizophrenia are anti-anxiety medications and antidepressants can help control the symptoms of their condition. There are also therapies which can help in treating like group therapy, occupational therapy, and self-help programs which can teach them some new coping skills and help them to learn about developing relationships. Educating them more about their triggers and behaviours that they should watch out for as they learn more about living with their disorder is much essential to their success. Support from their loved ones can be beneficial for them to know that they are not alone in feeling with the disorder.