Personality Disorder

According to the information obtained from my research personality disorders are disorders characterized by deeply ingrained, inflexible, patterns of thinking, feeling, or relating to others or controlling impulses that cause distress or impaired functioning (Schacter, Gilbert, Wegner 2009). The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association, Fourth Edition, TextRevision (DSM-IV-TR), defined personality disorder as an enduring pattern of inner experience and behavior that differs markedly from the expectations of the individual's culture, is pervasive and inflexible, has an onset in adolescence or early adulthood, is stable over time, and leads to distress or impairment. Although the DSM-IV-TR indicates that the most common origins or causes for personalitydisorders are multifactorial. However these conditions may also be secondary to biologic, developmental, or genetic abnormalities. Personality disorders are intensified by stressors. These stressors might be external or self-induced. Studies revealed that the individuals may have more than one personality disorder. The DSM-IV-TR list ten personalities disorders and classified them into threedifferent clusters. First cluster is odd/eccentric and the personality disorders associated with these cluster are Schizotypal, Paranoid, and Schizoid. The second cluster is dramatic/erratic and the personality disorders associated are Antisocial, Borderline, Histrionic, and Narcissistic. The third cluster classified by the DSM-IV-TR is Anxious/Inhibit. The personality disorders related to Anxious/Inhibitare Avoidant, Dependent, and Obsessive-Compulsive. Studies revealed that personality development is affected by genetic tendencies as well as environmental factors, particularly during childhood. What are the factors that increase the risk of developing Schizoid personality disorder?
When I heard for the first time the concept or terminology Schizoid, I immediately associated withSchizophrenia. Maybe I associated them because of the similarity in the first letters, they sounds like they belong to the same family. After reviewing the clusters of personality disorders and doing a research for this class, I find out that Schizoid has no relation with Schizophrenia. Actually the personality disorder related or the one that can be considered a mild form of Schizophrenia is the Schizotypaldisorder. They both belong to the odd/eccentric cluster, but people with Schizoid personality disorder are in touch with reality. People diagnosed or that had develop Schizoid personality disorder are unlikely to experience paranoia or hallucinations. I was really surprised when I found that Schizoid is an extreme introversion and withdrawal from relationships.
Schizoid personality disorder,also known or abbreviated SZPD, is one of a group of conditions called eccentric personality disorders. People suffering Schizoid personality disorder prefers to be alone and show little interest in other people. They are humorless people, maintain themselves distant from others, and they are often absorbed with their own feelings. Some of them are classified, labeled, or known as daydreamer.People with this personality disorder experience fear of closeness, have poor or non-social skills and they spend most of their time by themselves or they are seen as loner. They are called loners because they prefer solitary activities and rarely express strong emotions. Other symptoms that I found on an article written by Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research for CNN Health on December2010, are that they feel confused about how to respond to normal social signals or prompts and generally have little or nothing to say. Also people present lack of any desire for sexual relationships and feel unable to experience pleasure. People can label the person with Schizoid personality disorder as an indifferent or emotionally cold person. People with SZPD are unmotivated and tend to...