it's not a disorder if you don't have a problem with it. psychology is wrong most of the time anyway
I'm not a professional either, I only studied psychology in school to some capacity and it is something I research and write about a lot. I think it's very normal that when you're studying psychology to self-diagnose or in this case relate to characteristics of disorders you're studying about. I do think you should be careful about it though, getting into the mindset that you might have a disorder without consulting a professional isn't the healthiest thing to do. Characteristics of Schizoid could be attributed to other things that you might not even have studied about yet and the symptoms could be a front for a completely different disorder.
For example, this happens with cases where people think they have anxiety but the anxiety is actually covering up a major depressive disorder.
I think there is a misconception about visiting a specialist because you don't have to have something definitively wrong with your mental health to visit a specialist. If you have any of the things you listed then it's good to talk to someone about it, someone who'll be able to explain why you feel that way and hopefully clear things up for you.
- Yeah, it´s really a disorder
- you don´t seem to have it, but if you are, like, really really worried, you can always go
to a real psychologist.
Heyo! A bit late to the party but I figured as someone with Schizoid PD I'd throw my two cents in! I'm not gonna directly quote anyone so as not to call anyone out, but I wanted to address a few things.
(Disclaimer: i can't speak for every schizoid out there, of course)
-In regards to the 4 Ds, the Danger part is more towards the self. A lack of pleasure in doing things can lead to extreme, risky behavior if there is a desire for pleasure. Also, maybe more related to Dysfunction, extended solitude in humans can lead to depressive episodes .3.
-I'm an eccentric person, and being rude to people is more effort than it's worth--so I'm friends with everyone I meet. The relationships are shallow though, and I'm ready to let them burn at any moment if people want more from me than I want to give (emotionally).
Not to say I don't have close friends, it's the one criteria I don't have. I've got about 4 people I actually enjoy and can call close friends. Everyone else is on neutral ground with me.
-"Suffering" is a strong word, but I do experience negative aspects. Being a Schizoid doesn't seem like a problem, but it comes with all these little things that make you realize you probably aren't living your best life.
-i too seek praise and validation, but the way I react to it, you'd think I didn't care
-Also, I'm not emotionless .3. My relationship with emotions is just complex. I get mad, I get sad (though mostly only in reaction to fictional characters), I get incredibly frustrated when I'm not understood. It's not that I don't have emotions, it's just that the physical signs of showing the emotion are flattened. OR (and this happens more in person, than on online) I cannot process what's happened and I express the wrong emotion.
But this is the internet! We only talk through text! I know the emotion I'm trying to express, so i can overcompensate with emojis o3o and explanation points! Keyboard smashes and the like!
-I also don't avoid people (unless they're being clingy). I may be detached from my emotions, but they're still there. Being schizoid is complex, and can't be boiled down to just hating people.
But finally. which seems to be your main concern:
I got a diagnosis because it would benefit me. I now have an excuse to fall back on when I just don't have the energy to act like a normal person. Particularly helpful when dealing with family.
However, I don't get treatment cause it's inconvenient. The only treatment for schizoids is talk therapy and I don't.... like... talking a lot.... especially not about myself. I can also manage to be mid-to-high-functioning, probably because of the 4 close friends I've accepted into my life.
Are you doing this again?? Please, stop...
I can disagree with you WITHOUT it being for the same reasons as before, can't I? I'm starting to feel like I'm being harassed...if you think you'll eventually be able to 'fix' me if you keep bringing up and re-explaining this issue, I can tell you right now that it's not going to happen.
I'm not screaming at everyone and telling them they're all wrong. I just explained to you why I thought your statement was ill-informed. I...AM still allowed to do that, aren't I? I'm allowed to share my thoughts and ideas, too, aren't I??
(1) I disagree on that reasoning, but okay.
(2) Again, I was just using myself as an example of how someone with Schizoid personality disorder might think about treatment. I'm sorry if I made it sound otherwise (I can feel like I relate to a disorder without seriously believing that I have it, can't I?)
(3) It's possible to have one answer in your mind already and STILL be interested in what other people think. After all, everyone keeps (unnecessarily) reminding me that the point of a forum is to discuss things, not necessarily to be educated.
And on that note, I haven't told anyone that their answers are wrong, or complained that their answers don't match mine. Like the person above, I feel like you're anticipating a problem that isn't actually happening, which is a bit insulting, to be honest.
Ooh, we read briefly about the ICD a few months ago. Interesting developments~
Although, I don't think any therapist worth their salt would do ^that. Even if they depend on the DSM for guidance, a good psychologist would treat a person according to their individual set of symptoms.
For that matter, does the DSM have treatment instructions, too?? I've never actually looked at it...I assumed they just described disorders and maybe gave psychiatric suggestions.
@rainbowolfe
That's really interesting; thanks for sharing your experience! ^^
I am actually training in this stuff, a lot of treatments, specifically cognitive behavioural manualized therapies are like big workbooks that you go through the whole thing, regardless of if everything applies to you. Also a lot of people get treated in psycho-educational groups. Edit; also when you get diagnosed it is sometimes by people doing assessments, and then not actually the person who treats you, who just sees that you have "depression" and your file doesn't specify which criteria led to that diagnosis. This actually happens a lot unfortunately!
Also we talk about psychotherapists who are "worth their salt" but at least in Canada there is a distressing lack of regulation of practice and a lot of people do not regularly consult the literature or try and keep up with evidence based practices. Which, there is another argument to be made there about how we research psychology and our over-emphasis on randomized clinical trials that may not be measuring what people are actually doing in sessions, but that's a whole other topic.
The DSM doesn't specifically have best practices, but the American Psychological Association does (well, evidence based practice):
https://www.div12.org/treatments
There are also the NICE guidelines put out by the UK:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/CG123
no, i mean... this is a comic forum... if you wanted a real answer you should have asked on a forum that is more suited to your question
I know someone who was incorrectly diagnosed in Canada with Aspergers because they threw a tantrum over someone sitting in their chair when they were 5 years old. Flash forward several years later, new psych says there's no evidence for them having aspergers and the medication would've been ineffective at treating it anyway given the dosage. Family still believes they have it and is lowkey used as a means to not take them seriously on many topics. Incorrect diagnoses can really fuck up people's lives.
I should make it clear, there is slightly more regulation at the level of psychologists who can diagnose Neurodevelopmental disorders like ASD (I don't doubt your friend was misdiagnosed, and it sucks when people use neurodifferences or mental illness as a tool against others in any form, yikes), but yeah, it's not anywhere near the level of control over doctors, and varies a lot between provinces. There has been a lot of effort over the last ten years to get a licencing college like the college of physicians in place across different provinces.
I dunno, I feel like the amount of people here with informed opinions on the subject justifies its introduction. I actually didn't expect to hear from people in the psychology field, but here we are. '_'
Besides, I don't see why I should have to justify it. Is there a rule that says topics not directly related to comics are unwelcome? This isn't the first topic I've started that fits that bill, so if you'd like to write me a citation, I suggest you go to my profile and start digging; I've got a rap sheet as long as your arm...
If I had to justify it, though, I'd say this: Lots of comic authors like to create characters with psychological disorders and anomalies, and learning more about the nuances involved in the subject can make us all better writers in that area. Knowledge is power!
There are many sub-forums here, devoted to different topics. And there are already many other discussions on a more general topics than comics or novels, and it seems like people are interested in them. If I understand correctly, this thread is not posted in the specific art-thematic sub-forum, so as I can see, it don't violate anything.
Besides, I think that the main purpose of forums is to let people to communicate about anything what they are interested in. That's why even if forum have some prevalent thematic, there is always the section "Miscellanious" or something like that.
And if person is accustomed to the users of the particular forum, it is understandable, that they want to discuss things with familiar people ¯_(ツ)_/¯
Maybe someday you will want to discuss here something besides comics too ¯_(ツ)_/¯
Um, no offense but I doubt you have this disorder.
This disorder is describing shut ins and hermits. But even then, people who are on this level also have other issues like anxiety disorder, autism spectrum, or PTSD. I am not a professional, but I think to be seriously diagnosed as Schizoid, you have to be in an extreme case. Like if you are on the internet and chat boards/forums, you do not have it. It is far more likely you have anxiety disorder or autism spectrum, which are far more common. I recommend not to self diagnose and instead talk to a professional if you feel you have something serious.
Mental illness should be taken as seriously as Physical illness. It is generally not recommended to self diagnose your self with a physical illness without a professional, so It is really not recommenced to self diagnose with a mental one. In my Anatomy and physiology class some were doing just that after we were going through bone disorders and cancer until our lecture told us to cut it out.
I have only do one psychology course at my community collage and one of the things that the lecture told us when we were doing abnormal psychology is not self diagnose just because you assume you share a couple of traits. You go to a professional, you don't self diagnose you self with cancer and not seek help do you?
Well, as someone diagnosed with a schizoid disorder, I'll tell you that if it's really causing you distress then please go with a professional. If it's something that bothers you in your everyday life and social relations like mine did please get help.
@punkarsenic Ah so that's what caused me to get misdiagnosed....
@Freemints30 OMG yessss! Self-diagnosing and the people who do it shouldn't because often times I've seen people lie about their symptoms and get medicine which increases the price of medicine here in Guatemala when a lot of other people and I actually need it for disorders
Lying about an illness to get drugs from a doctor is not self diagnosing. Those who self diagnose (whether or not they are correct) genuinely believe they have what they are diagnosing themselves with. They also probably aren't going to a doctor for it. Hence the need to self diagnose. There for they are probably not medicated for it.
I just think it's important not to conflate the two?
@DokiDokiTsuna It isn't a disorder if you have control over it. And besides, don't label yourself with all the bs. Only label yourself with positive characteristics. John snow didn't like being called john snow. True story.
while self diagnosis isnt smth to do lightly at all, and requires significant and lengthy research, i think decrying it outright in both psychological and physical cases ignores several scenarios where people just cant access treatment - for financial or social reasons.
while i cant speak so much for physical diagnosis, i have heard accounts from chronically ill ppl abt doctors dismissing their later-proved-right concerns for years. but in terms of psychological diagnoses, there are all sorts of barriers to diagnosis for various groups; people of colour and women often get biased diagnostic treatment. people of colour are more likely to be dx'd with odd or adhd when theyre autistic, and women go unnoticed for adhd and autism in large quantities, and often get misdiagnosed with bpd instead. also, ASAN, the leading organisation in america for autistic advocacy, explicitly supports thorough and well-researched self diagnosis. (ik this is v autism focused... im autistic, sooo..)
so while medical diagnosis is always preferred and self diagnosis never ideal - and youll find this is the feeling among ppl who have self-dx'd as well - there are cases where self / informal diagnosis (diagnosis agreed by medical professionals or other experienced individuals that doesnt go on official record) is not only necessary but sometimes the only option. if done responsibly, it can be greatly beneficial to certain people.
this isnt to deny of course that sometimes its done irresponsibly. i just think it should be made clear that there is a time and a place and a right way to go about it.
I have far less education in the subject than you, Doki. With that disclaimer in place, let me ask you this. Is there a specific function that you want to work but is blocked by your condition? If cannot name such a function, I would not call it a disfunction.
My understanding is that a psychological diagnosis will flow in and out of fashion. Multiple Personality Disorders used to be diagnosed by the tens of thousands, but today are very rare and some psychiatrists are skeptical that it was ever real. What may be a quirk today may be a clinical disorder in ten years and then a quirk again in another ten years. Not to diminish psychology, but these are all just labels.