Personality and
disorder
Being schizoid is primarily a personality
feature, that is a permanent pattern of behavior.
This personality has some traits that are
described in ICD-10 and DSM-IV.
1 - The Severity of the Symptoms
In accordance with the views expressed by DSM
and ICD, a schizoid person would be considered as a person suffering schizoid
disorder, when his /her symptoms are considered severe.
The symptoms – as we understand - are associated
with:
+ + + +Job and relationship peoblems.
+ + + + Personal problems arising from
psychological stress, which have their origin in the traits of personality
Example: Depression, dysthymia, anxiety and
various psychosomatic symptoms.
+ + + + Vital and existential malaise.
The consideration of what is
severe depends on the individual
approach and has a strong subjective component.
On the other hand, a person,
diagnosed with a schizoid disorder, could, after a period of adaptation to his
/her limits and
reduction of psychological stress, be in a situation where ihe /she would no
longer be considered a person with such
disorder:
disorder this year, but no disorder in the
coming year.
However, the schizoid
personality is a more stable concept because it is permanent.
We can not forget that in our culture it is a stigma to assign a
person a personality disorder . That is why
this label must be handled with discretion and care.
2-Normality and Pathology
Where is the personality and
where the personality disorder? . What is normal
and what is pathological?
As noted by Theodore Millon
normality and pathology “are relative concepts;
whose levels are
set arbitrarily within a continuum. "
We decide that a person is
schizoid when it is markedly schizoid. It will not be sufficient to
attribute this concept when the person is only a little schizoid.
We will say that he /she
suffers a disorder when he/ she shows schizoid traits in a
high-grade and his /her working, relational and personal situations are
seriously affected.
3 - Grades
If we want to deepen, one of
the things we will do is determine the grade. Being
schizoid is not a question of yes or no, of nothing or all.
We can establish 3 grades,
corresponding to: LITTLE or LIGHT, MIDDLE or MEDIUM, MUCH or
HIGH.
Some experts think that the
word “disorder” is not adequate, but if someone can be attributed to this word
he is
the high grade. Every personality trait has
his grade. For example, the anhedonia may be moderate or may be almost total in
severe cases. The schizoid may be of high grade or if he/she go somewhat from
the
established criteria, to be
middle schizoid
4 - Stress Disorders
The stress occurs in situations where the person
may say:
"I have to do something that I can’t do,
and that goes over my limits."
This situation negatively affects the individual
and his/her mental and physical health.
The schizoid does not have sufficient resources to succeed
in matters relating to his/her work and
relationships, such as family, friends and the society would expect him/her to.
The schizoid is doomed to have stress.
Stress,
has the following effects in everyone:
1-Anxiety
2-Somatic disorders
3-Dysthymia and depression
4-Brief psychotic episodes
Anxiety is a very unpleasant emotion in the
range of fear.
The most frequent somatic disorders are
digestive disorders.
Dysthymia is a mild form of depression, milder
but permanent.
The most characteristic features of a psychosis
are delusions and hallucinations. The brief psychotic episode is a short
hallucination or delusion and can affect anyone who is under stress.
The stress that the schizoid person endures
makes him/her subject to stress disorders.
These disorders are stress disorders , not
personality disorders.
Being schizoid leads to stress and this leads to
the aforementioned disorders.
A schizoid under stress goes towards
these disorders, but the one who is free from stress, doesn’t.
5 - A Psychoanalytic Explanation
Balint, a psychoanalyst, gives us in
his book "The fundamental defect," an explanation of the schizoid
behavior.
The defect lies in the baby’s psychic structure, which the mother was
responsible for.
It was an empathy mistake, that is to say, there was a lack of empathy
towards the baby from the mother and the atmosphere and this upset his “Ego”. The subject
was a victim of a lack of empathy.
During the development the subject, lacks of
empathy.
The subject's relationship with another person
has its origin in the relationship established with the mother.
By the new relationships the subject repeats the
first relationship he had with the mother and the lack of empathy that the baby had
suffered happens again.
6 - Heritage and Environment
The question is: are we like we are, do we get
ill like we do, because of our genetic heritage or is
it the environment that marks the future of our life?
Studies conducted with twins –of the same cel
and others- point to the environmental
influences , but other evidence points to
the genes as definite factors.
Recent studies in biology presents
the question this way:
The principle lies in the genes, without which
you will not see the behavior in question.
But genes are dormant, they do not have the
capacity to activate themselves: it is the environment which activates the gene
and the behavior accordingly. If “the signal” does not
appear in the environment, the gene is not activated,
it will stay latent: everything depends on the environment.
On the other hand all depends on the gene,
without which the environment will not generate a permanent behavior.
(See Lipton, "The biology of
belief")
To complicate the profile, the new science
called Epigenetics has found that some genes can be inhibited. Certain substances,
when getting in contact with certain genes, inhibit those genes, making them
stay latent. This phenomenom can take place in the mother’s womb. In those
cases the initial genetic heridity does not activate completely.
They are important the early experiences as activators of favorable genes.
Usually the parents are both the donors of the genes and the
activators of environmental stimuli.
Hence the confusion.
7- Between normality and
schizophrenia.

For some time it was said that the shizoid was somewhat
as the prelude
or the pre-schizophrenic phase ....
Rather this should be considered another way .... :
If the schizoid rises to as much as maximum we would be in schizophrenia.
If the schizophrenic improves he would
give positive in schizoid.
The schizoid takes the intermediate station between normalcy and schizophrenia.
If anhedonia, coldness, isolation and detachment are extreme, we'll talk about
schizophrenia.
If they are moderates, we would talk about schizoid.
The schizoid, after therapy, can enter ground of normality and subjected to
strong
nervous tension may be shaken by brief psychotic episodes.
(see graph)
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