Understanding Schizotypal Personality Disorder
By: Christine Hammond, LMHC
Pop quiz: what word is similar to “schizotypal”? If you said “schizophrenia,” then you are
right. Schizotypal is derived from the
two words schizophrenia and genotype.
Schizophrenias see, hear and believe things that aren’t really there. Genotype is the genetic makeup of an
individual, think DNA. So putting the
two together a Schizotypal Personality Disorder (SPD) is someone who has may
seem schizophrenic but is not a full-blown schizophrenic. Confused yet?
Good because that is precisely what it feels like to speak to a
SPD.
So what is SPD? Here
is the technical DSM-V definition:
·
Identity: Confused boundaries between self and
others
·
Self-direction: Incoherent goals, no clear set of
standards
·
Empathy: Difficulty understanding impact of
behavior on others
·
Intimacy: Mistrust and anxiety with close
relationships
·
Eccentricity: Odd, unusual, or bizarre behavior and
appearance
·
Cognitive
and perceptual dysregulation: Odd
or unusual thought processes, over-elaborate speech
·
Unusual
beliefs and experiences: Unusual
experiences of reality
·
Restricted
affectivity: Little reaction to
emotional situations, indifference or coldness
·
Withdrawal: Preference for being alone
·
Suspiciousness: Expectations of signs of interpersonal
harm
The practical definition looks
more like this:
·
Loner lacking close friends
·
Feels external events have personal meaning
·
Peculiar, eccentric or unusual thinking, beliefs
or behavior
·
Dresses in peculiar ways
·
Belief in special powers
·
Phantom pains
·
Excessive social anxiety
·
Rambling oddly and endlessly during
conversations
·
Suspicious or paranoid ideas
·
Doubts the loyalty of others
·
Flat emotions
Still not
sure what a SPD looks like in person?
Lisa Kudrow who played Pheobe from “Friends” did a wonderful job
portraying SPD. Remember the “Smelly
Cat” song or the “Pigeon” song (look them up on YouTube)? None of her songs ever made sense which added
to the humor of the show but for a SPD what they are saying makes perfect sense
and everyone else is crazy.
So how do you deal with a person who
might have SPD? Here are a few
suggestions:
·
Don’t follow them down the rabbit trail, stay
focused on the topic.
·
Don’t try to apply logic to random comments; it
only frustrates you, not them.
·
Emotional reasoning won’t work either because
their emotions don’t make sense with the circumstances.
·
They will agree with you even when they don’t.
·
Put everything in writing for future reference.
·
Expect to re-explain over and over.
·
Be patient, show no emotion. They shut down when confronted.
·
Questions should be simple almost child-like.
SPDs live in their own world and are very happy that
way. While they will invite you in on
occasion, the level of intimacy will not be the same as other people in your
life. Be patient with SPDs and allow
them to control the speed of the relationship, they will be much more willing
to engage that way.