What Is Schizotypal Personality Disorder? 9 Symptoms That Can Help You Identify It
Do you know someone who is not interested in social relationships? Is his behavior strange? You may have schizotypal disorder. Here we explain what it is about.
He schizotypal personality disorder It is mainly characterized by deficiencies in social relationships and strange behavior. However, even though people who suffer from it are solitary, they do not experience discomfort since they are not interested in establishing a bond with other people. It is mainly for this reason that the detection and treatment of this disorder is complicated since, as in all psychological therapy, the therapeutic bond is essential and people who suffer from this type of disorder do not show any interest in social relationships.
It is estimated that 3.9% of the population suffers from schizotypal personality disorder, this being more common in men and in those people who have family members with Schizophrenia. In fact, a small proportion of people who suffer from this disorder will develop schizophrenia or another psychotic disorder.
He schizotypal personality disorder (also known as PTSD), like other personality disorders, is characterized by the fact that its symptoms are usually stable over time. It is for this reason that people who suffer from a personality disorder usually present symptoms during childhood and adolescence. Therefore, PTSD is considered a disorder chronic and egosyntonic (the person who suffers from it believes that his personality is “normal” so he feels asymptomatic ).
Given this lack of interest in interpersonal relationships, they are isolated and independent people, with little ability to interpret people’s verbal and non-verbal signals. Furthermore, his behavior and appearance is considered by the rest as strange and that is why they usually feel misunderstood and ridiculed.
Symptoms of PTSD, Schizotypal Personality Disorder:
According to the DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders), people who suffer from schizotypal disorder They usually present the following symptoms:
Reference ideas: People with PTSD often interpret external events as if they were especially relevant, as if they indicated some kind of signal. Although these types of ideas are common in every human being, in people who suffer from this disorder, this type of thinking is persistent over time.
Strange beliefs or magical thinking: Their thinking is full of supernatural ideas and they often believe that they have powers that allow them to control others. For example, it is common for them to believe in magical rituals, telepathy voodoo, the evil eye, etc.
Unusual perceptual experiences: They may hear voices whispering their name, strange body sensations, etc. and they may even suffer depersonalization and dissociation.
Strange thought and speech: Their speech is often disorganized, vague, and imprecise. Furthermore, it is usually very abstract and contains an excess of metaphors. Sometimes they use words in an unusual way, resulting in language that is difficult for others to understand.
Paranoid ideas: They tend to perceive other people as intruders and strangers and this makes them think that others are going to take advantage of them, that the world is hostile and that social relationships are harmful.
Inappropriate or limited affectivity: People who suffer from this disorder usually have difficulties emitting and capturing verbal and non-verbal signals when communicating with other people, which is why they tend to be cold and distant. Furthermore, they have great difficulty expressing themselves emotionally and sometimes this expression arises without having any relationship with the context.
Strange behavior or appearance: Their external appearance is usually perceived by others as eccentric (strange and extravagant) since they are not interested in social fashions and their behavior is seen as different according to what is considered “normal” culturally. It is for this reason that the clothing they wear is usually seen as strange or disheveled
He has no friends or trusted people: People with PTSD are usually lonely people, not because of avoidance but because they do not show interest in social relationships. Solitude is a choice, it does not cause discomfort but rather the opposite, they enjoy solitude and their inner world. They perceive themselves as independent and that they do not need the help of others.
Excessive social anxiety: They may present episodes of excessive social anxiety that does not decrease when interacting with familiar people. Normally this anxiety is associated with paranoid ideas in relation to others since they may think that people are conspiring against them.
How do people with schizotypal personality disorder think? Phrases
As we have already mentioned, the thinking of people who have schizotypal personality disorder is usually strange but considered normal for those people who live with this disorder.
Below, we present a series of phrases about your personality and way of interpreting events:
“Sometimes my insides tell me what is going to happen”
“I feel like this person has demons inside”
“I am able to read people’s thoughts”
“Everything that happens has a reason, nothing happens by chance”
“Relationships with other people are a risk, others are strangers”
“I am invisible, I do not exist”
“The world is hostile and insecure, you always have to be careful”
“You always have to distrust others because otherwise they will see the opportunity to take advantage of me.”
Treatment: How is PTSD cured?
Like other personality disorders, PTSD usually has a stable course. However, that does not mean that psychological therapy cannot provide an improvement in their quality of life, especially with regard to social anxiety, which is the main reason why they end up going to therapy.
Psychological treatment: Psychological treatment usually focuses on social skills training in order to improve performance at work, at school, etc. and reduce your social anxiety. Paranoid ideas are also worked on, training the person to look for objective evidence in the environment to determine if their thoughts and emotions are reliable.
Pharmacotherapy: On certain occasions, when anxiety or paranoid symptoms are very pronounced, it is usually carried out apart from psychological treatment, a pharmacological treatment that is usually based on antipsychotic and antidepressant drugs.
People who suffer from a personality disorder often suffer a lot of stigma, judgment, and contempt from society. Remember that a diagnosis is only a label that allows you to classify the symptoms that a person has for subsequent treatment. Therefore, people are not only a mental disorder but there are many other characteristics and aspects that define them. Just as we can find different people who suffer from depression, people with a personality disorder also have characteristics that make them unique and unrepeatable.
