Schizoid type description. Schizoid personality traits, schizoid psychopathy and schizophrenia. What is a disease? Harmonious traits of a schizoid personality

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We often meet people with “oddities” in behavior, but their “peculiar” features do not take on the character of an illness, and they are not mentally ill.

How to distinguish a deviation (originality) of character - schizoid personality traits, schizoid personality disorder (psychopathy) - from a serious pathology, schizophrenia?

Schizoid personality type (schizoid personality traits)

Schizoid personality traits persist throughout life. But favorable life circumstances and environment can enable such a person to be adapted in the family and society, to develop professionally and to be fully socialized.

The schizoid personality type is characterized by a predominance of mental abilities over emotional ones. This creates a personality that is guided by ideas rather than feelings. Emotionally, they are vulnerable, sensitive and not syntonic, which gives rise to their clumsiness in communication. And using their intellectual capabilities, they strive to distance themselves from their social circle. They are characterized by interests in unusual, rare hobbies, sports, and they study rare languages. Hence the nickname among schizoids - “eccentrics”. Outwardly cold in communication, they describe themselves as follows: “I’m like a drop of hot wine in a glass of ice.”

All schizoid individuals are characterized by social avoidance, which manifests itself already at the age of 4-5 years. Such children do not play with their peers, prefer solitude, and their parents do not evoke the proper emotional response in them. At school age, unusual intellectual abilities often appear. Schizoid people have introverted, non-standard, original thinking; they have their own idea of ​​the world, and their answers are often discouraging. At the same time, the movements of such children are rough, constrained, and clumsy. This does not apply to fine manual skills such as playing the piano, making handicrafts, or painting. Therefore, individuals with a schizoid bias can become brilliant musicians or artists. By the age of 10-11, children gradually adapt to. They find a small number of friends with whom they communicate. There can be formal relationships with other people without emotional attachment. However, any opportunity to communicate or join a team is associated with tension and a feeling of discomfort.

The schizoid personality type is often combined with a characteristic somatotype - these people, as a rule, are tall, motorically clumsy, guided in life by their intellectual constructs, and are capable of extreme devotion to any idea. There is information that Hitler’s guards were recruited based on the criterion of having schizoid traits. Features such as bizarre hobbies and emotional non-syntonity give them a formal resemblance to patients with schizophrenia, although in essence, the schizoid personality type has nothing in common with schizophrenic illness. And in the premorbid period (the period before the onset/onset of the disease), a schizoid character is rarely found among patients with schizophrenia.

Schizoid personality disorder (schizoid psychopathy)

We can talk about schizoid psychopathy (schizoid personality disorder) in cases where acute character traits are so expressed that they meet the criteria of totality, i.e. appear in any life situation, not being adequate to it, and, as a consequence, social maladjustment occurs.

Schizophrenia

If we talk about such a disease as schizophrenia, then it should be noted that this mental pathology is accompanied by:

• negative symptoms (apathy, dissociation, autism),
• positive symptoms (hallucinations, delusions, catatonic symptoms),
• proceeds with the formation of apatho-dissociative personality defect,
• requires drug treatment.

Patients suffering from schizophrenia are immersed in their unhealthy inner world. They live in their own experiences while ignoring reality, which has nothing to do with the outside world. Their thinking is not only autistic, but also paralogical, and then it becomes divorced from reality, and their judgments are not amenable to any correction and logical arguments.

Often in patients with schizophrenia, “ blockages" and interruptions of thoughts (sperrungs). He notes that “he feels empty and lack of thoughts in his head.” There may also be a “stream of thoughts (mentism), where there are many uncontrollable thoughts that do not meet the given needs and situation (“off topic”).

When thinking is impaired, people suffering from schizophrenia are characterized by the phenomenon "thought slippage". The patient talks about one situation, and a moment later describes a completely different one. For example, to the question: “What is the difference between a doll and a woman?”, the patient answers: “The doll is made of plastic, but it is alive. Everything in the world is alive. If the stone were dead, it would have disintegrated long ago.”

People with schizophrenia are characterized by disorders of thinking (delusions) and perception (hallucinations), catatonic motor disorders, which never occur in individuals with schizoid psychopathy.

Delusion is when a person with schizophrenia is convinced of something that does not correspond to reality, and it is impossible to dissuade him of this. These are delusions of jealousy, persecution, relationship, damage, influence, greatness, etc.

Hallucinations can be visual, auditory, tactile, etc.

A person with schizophrenia perceives these images as truth. He integrates them into the framework of his delusional thoughts. If a common person may believe in magic, aliens and paranormal activity, then when he really sees, hears and touches them, this already speaks of illness.

As the disease progresses, such people become apathetic; it is difficult for them to study, work, and communicate. They lose their professional skills, their incompetence increases, although their intelligence is not formally impaired.

With the right approach and medication correction, a patient with schizophrenia can return to normal life, continue to work or study. He may develop criticism towards painful experiences and illness, and he can establish contacts with others.

Psychology and psychoanalysis of character Raigorodsky Daniil Yakovlevich

Schizoid type

Schizoid type

The most significant feature of this type is considered to be isolation, isolation from the environment, inability or unwillingness to establish contacts, and a decreased need for communication. A combination of contradictory traits in personality and behavior - coldness and refined sensitivity, stubbornness and pliability, wariness and gullibility, apathetic inactivity and assertive determination, unsociability and unexpected importunity, shyness and tactlessness, excessive attachments and unmotivated antipathies, rational reasoning and illogical actions, the wealth of inner peace and the colorlessness of its external manifestations - all this made us talk about the lack of “internal unity”. Recently, attention has been drawn to the notion that lack of intuition is the main defect. By intuition here we should mean, first of all, the use of unconscious past experience.

Schizoid traits are revealed earlier than the character traits of all other types. From the first years of childhood, I am struck by a child who likes to play alone, is not drawn to peers, avoids noisy fun, prefers to stay among adults, and sometimes silently listens to their conversations for a long time. To this is sometimes added some kind of coldness and childish restraint.

Adolescence is the most difficult period for schizoid psychopathy.

With the onset of puberty, all character traits appear with particular brightness. The isolation and isolation from peers is striking. Sometimes spiritual loneliness does not even bother a schizoid teenager who lives in his own world, with his interests and hobbies that are unusual for others, treating with condescending disdain or obvious hostility towards everything that fills the lives of other teenagers. But more often, schizoids themselves suffer from their isolation, loneliness, inability to communicate, and inability to find a friend to their liking. Unsuccessful attempts to establish friendly relationships, mimosa-like sensitivity at the moments of their search, rapid exhaustion in contact (“I don’t know what else to talk about”) often encourage even greater withdrawal into oneself.

Lack of intuition is manifested by the lack of a “direct sense of reality”, the inability to penetrate into other people’s experiences, guess the desires of others, guess about hostility towards oneself or, conversely, about sympathy and disposition, to grasp the moment when one should not impose one’s presence, and when, on the contrary, , you need to listen, sympathize, and not leave the interlocutor to himself.

To the deficiency of intuition should be added the closely related lack of empathy - the inability to share the joy and sadness of another, to understand the insult, to feel another's excitement and anxiety. This is sometimes referred to as a weakness of emotional resonance. The lack of intuition and empathy probably causes what is called the coldness of schizoids. Their actions can be cruel, which is more likely due to an inability to empathize with the suffering of others than a desire to receive sadistic pleasure. To the range of schizoid characteristics we can add the inability to convince others with our own words.

The inner world is almost always closed from prying eyes. Only for a select few can the curtain suddenly rise, but never completely, and just as unexpectedly fall again. A schizoid often reveals himself to people he doesn’t know well, even randomly, but somehow appeals to his whimsical choice. But he may forever remain a hidden, incomprehensible thing within himself for those close to him or those who have known him for many years.

The wealth of the inner world is not characteristic of all schizoid adolescents and, of course, is associated with a certain intelligence or talent. Therefore, not every one of them can serve as an illustration of Kretschmer’s words about the similarity of schizoids to “decorated Roman villas, the shutters of which are closed from the bright sun, but in the twilight of which luxurious feasts are celebrated.” But in all cases, the inner world of schizoids is filled with hobbies and fantasies.

Schizoid teenagers fantasize for themselves; they are not inclined to talk about their dreams to others or mix things up. everyday life with the beauties of your imaginations and dreams. This is the fundamental difference between schizoid and hysterical fantasies. Schizoid fantasies either serve to console one’s own pride or are of an erotic nature.

The inaccessibility of the inner world and restraint in the manifestation of feelings make many of the actions of schizoids incomprehensible and unexpected for those around them, because everything that preceded them - the entire course of experiences and motives - remained hidden. Some antics are eccentric in nature, but unlike hysterics, they do not serve the purpose of attracting everyone's attention.

The reaction of emancipation often manifests itself in a very peculiar way. A schizoid teenager can endure petty supervision in everyday life for a long time, obey the routine and regime established for him, but react with violent protest to the slightest attempt to invade the world of his interests, hobbies and fantasies without permission. At the same time, emancipatory aspirations can easily turn into social nonconformity - indignation at existing rules and orders, ridicule of the ideals, spiritual values, interests widespread around, and rancor about the “lack of freedom.” Judgments of this kind can be nurtured for a long time and secretly and, unexpectedly for others, come to fruition. public speaking or decisive action. Often one is struck by straightforward criticism of others without taking into account its consequences for oneself.

The grouping reaction is usually weakly expressed outwardly. As a rule, schizoid teenagers stand apart from their peers. Their isolation makes it difficult to join the group, and their intractability to the general influence, the general atmosphere, their non-conformity does not allow them to either merge with the group or submit to it. Having found themselves in a teenage group, often by accident, they remain black sheep in it. Sometimes they are ridiculed and even brutally persecuted by their peers, but sometimes, thanks to their independence, cold restraint, and unexpected ability to stand up for themselves, they inspire respect and force them to keep their distance. Success in a peer group may be the deepest dreams of a schizoid teenager. In his fantasies, he creates similar groups, where he occupies the position of leader and favorite, where he feels free and easy and receives those emotional contacts that he lacks in real life.

The reaction of infatuation in schizoid adolescents is usually more pronounced than all other specific behavioral reactions of this age. Hobbies are often distinguished by their unusualness, strength and stability. Most often we come across intellectual and aesthetic hobbies. Most schizoid teenagers love books, devour them voraciously, and prefer all other entertainments to reading. The choice for reading can be strictly selective - only a certain era in history, only a certain genre of literature, a certain movement in philosophy, etc. In general, in intellectual and aesthetic hobbies, one is struck by the whimsical nature of the choice of subject. We have seen a passion for Sanskrit among modern teenagers, Chinese characters, the Hebrew language, drawings of the portals of cathedrals and churches, the genealogy of the House of Romanov, organ music, comparison of the constitutions of different states and different times, etc. and so on. All this is never done for show, but only for oneself. Hobbies are shared if they meet sincere interest. They often hide them, fearing misunderstanding and ridicule. With a lower level of intelligence and aesthetic aspirations, matters may be limited to less refined, but no less strange objects of hobby. The collections of schizoid teenagers, sometimes unique, sometimes striking in their worthlessness, also serve more the purpose of sophisticated aesthetic needs than just hoarding. One teenager collected doublets of postcards with reproductions of paintings by famous artists and postage stamps depicting the same paintings.

In second place are hobbies of the manual-physical type. Clumsiness, awkwardness, and inharmonious motor skills, often attributed to schizoids, are not always found, and a persistent desire for bodily improvement can smooth out these shortcomings. Systematic gymnastics, swimming, cycling, yoga exercises are usually combined with a lack of interest in collective sports games. Hobbies can take place in lonely long hours of walking or cycling. Some schizoids are good at fine manual skills - playing musical instruments, applied art - all this can also form a subject of hobbies.

Reactions associated with emerging sexual attraction may, at first glance, not appear at all. External “asexuality”, contempt for issues of sexual life, is usually combined with persistent masturbation and rich erotic fantasies. The latter are prone to development, feed on random information and episodes and easily include perverse components. Painfully sensitive in company, incapable of courtship and flirtation, and unable to achieve sexual intimacy in a situation where it is possible, schizoid adolescents can, unexpectedly for others, discover sexual activity in the most crude and unnatural forms - standing guard for hours to spy on someone’s naked genitals, exhibiting in front of children, masturbate under other people's windows, from where they can be seen, enter into relationships with random people they meet, make phone dates with strangers “for one time,” etc. My sex life and sexual fantasies are deeply hidden by schizoid teenagers. Even when their actions are discovered, they try not to reveal their motives and feelings.

Alcoholization among schizoid adolescents is rare. Most of them do not like alcoholic drinks. Intoxication does not cause pronounced euphoria in them. They easily resist the persuasion of their comrades and the drinking atmosphere of companies. However, some of them find that small doses of alcohol, without causing euphoria, can facilitate the establishment of contacts and eliminate the feeling of timidity and unnaturalness during communication. Then a special kind of mental dependence is easily formed - the desire to regularly use small doses of alcoholic beverages, often strong, in order to “overcome shyness” and facilitate contacts. Drinking alcohol as such a communicative dope can be done both with friends and alone. For example, a 15-year-old schizoid teenager secretly kept a bottle of cognac in his bed and drank it every morning in order to “feel free at school.”

Drugs apparently pose no less of a threat to schizoid adolescents than alcohol. Perhaps they can fulfill the role of communicative doping better than alcohol. Perhaps some volatile substances add grist to the mill of schizoid fantasies, making them more sensual, colorful, and emotional.

Suicidal behavior is not characteristic of schizoid psychopathy, and schizoid accentuation does not, apparently, favor such a method of solving difficulties. On mental trauma, on conflict situations, to situations where the schizoid personality is presented with demands beyond its strength, the reaction is manifested by an even greater withdrawal into oneself, into one’s inner world of deeply hidden fantasies. Or this reaction is revealed by unexpected, pretentious, and sometimes cruel actions.

Delinquency occurs infrequently, and schizoid features are clearly evident in delinquent behavior itself. While still examining homeless teenagers in the twenties, N.I. Ozeretsky noted that schizoids prefer to steal alone, choosing a thieving “profession” that requires skillful skills - for example, stealing money from inside pockets or the ability to get into an apartment through a window. Indeed, schizoid adolescents are not prone to group delinquency, but can commit serious offenses, acting “in the name of the group,” wanting to be “recognized by the group as their own.” Sexual crimes are also committed alone (exhibitionism, indecent acts against minors, sexual aggression, etc.). Sometimes delinquent behavior is preceded by taking a small dose of alcohol as a “doping”, but there is no real alcohol intoxication.

The self-esteem of schizoids is distinguished by a statement of what is associated with isolation, loneliness, difficulty in contacts, and misunderstanding on the part of others. Attitudes towards other problems are rated much worse. They usually do not notice the contradictions in their behavior or do not attach any importance to them. They like to emphasize their independence and independence

Somatic signs that since the time of Kretschmer have been considered characteristic of schizoids - asthenic build, flabby muscles, stooped figure, long legs and high pelvis, poorly developed genitals, angular movements - can not always be seen in modern adolescents. Acceleration and associated endocrine changes can distort these traits, causing, for example, excessive obesity, early and strong sexual development.

From the first steps in identifying schizoid psychopathy, attention was drawn to its similarity with some forms of schizophrenia (in particular, with the sluggish form and with pictures of the defect after a schizophrenic attack). This gave reason to many psychiatrists to generally doubt the existence of schizoid psychopathy as a constitutional character anomaly, and to interpret everything that was described under its name as a defect after an attack of schizophrenia that went unnoticed or happened in early childhood, or as “latent schizophrenia.” IN last years attention was again drawn to the fact that in families of patients with schizophrenia, especially its continuously progressive form, schizoid personalities can often be found.

As a result, in recent decades schizoid psychopathy almost ceased to be diagnosed and its pronounced cases began to be usually interpreted as sluggish schizophrenia, and the corresponding schizoid accentuations with good social adaptation again suggested the idea of ​​“latent schizophrenia.” Even the differential diagnosis between schizophrenia and psychopathy began to be carried out in relation to all types of the latter, except schizoid.

This situation cannot be considered correct. The diagnosis of sluggish schizophrenia is legitimate if there are signs of a process, albeit slowly developing, if these signs are identified by a carefully collected anamnesis and confirmed by observation. Guesses about a “fur coat” that was transferred unknown when and not noticed by anyone remain only guesses and cannot serve as the basis for a diagnosis.

Adolescence creates special difficulties for the differential diagnosis of schizophrenia and schizoid psychopathy. The pubertal sharpening of the latter can easily be mistaken for a process that has begun or for a “new coat.” And, conversely, the onset of schizophrenia may be masked by pubertal behavioral disorders. We consider it important to emphasize the identification of schizoid psychopathy as a special form.

The schizoid type is not a very common character option. Only 5% of 300 hospitalized adolescents with psychopathy or accentuations were classified as this type, and another 5% had a combination of schizoidism with traits of other types - sensitive, psychasthenic, hysterical or epileptoid. It should be noted that all cases of “pure” schizoids were regarded as psychopathy, including most as severe and pronounced. In moderate cases, social disadaptation was partial - a breakdown occurred either at home when the place of study or work was good, or at school or at work when adaptation in the family was satisfactory.

Schizoid accentuations usually do not lead to social disadaptation, severe behavioral disorders, or acute affective reactions and therefore probably do not come under the supervision of a psychiatrist. The schizoid type of accentuation is not so rare.

Hidden schizoid accentuation can be detected if demands on a person are suddenly made that are beyond their capacity - for example, to quickly establish a wide range of informal and fairly emotional contacts. Schizoids also break down when someone persistently and unceremoniously “gets into their soul.”

Even Kretschmer, describing the schizoid type, identified expansive and sensitive options. The latter, as indicated, is more correctly considered as a special type, belonging to the group of asthenic psychopathies, since isolation here is secondary, compensatory. Nevertheless, among schizoids there are also more sthenic, and completely asthenic personalities. The variety of schizoid manifestations can be so great that the number of described options could become two-digit. Therefore, it seems appropriate to us to state the combination of schizoidism with traits of other types. The main basis of character, its core always remains schizoid. Sensitive, psychasthenic, paranoid, epileptoid, hysterical or unstable features may be layered on it.