Which is more severe?

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I am just wondering--generally speaking, of course--which is more severe: schizotypal or schizoid personality disorder? And if one is (at least generally) considered more severe, what makes it that?

I have no idea what the difference is.

I believe they are going to go away with the schizoid label in the new DSM because it's too similar to Schizotypal. They really should just redefine everything under a spectrum. From schizophrenia down to schizotypal. Personality disorders are too damn subjective to even exist in the first place.

I was just talking about this with my therapist the other day... if you really look at them, a lot of the personality disorders sound very similar to one another. Their inclusion in the DSM at all, with a few notable exceptions, should be reevaluated. They seem to me like a convenient excuse to apply labels.

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Schizotypal is generally more severe, because all the characteristics of schizoid are also typical of schizotypal, but not vice versa.

Schizoid is basically lacking social desires - being extremely introverted, in other words.

Schizotypal is 'schizophrenia-lite', with strange beliefs and such, but not the serious difficulty functioning that schizophrenics have. And like schizophrenics, schizotypals are usually not very sociable either.

Thank you! That's exactly what I was looking for. That was also what I suspected, but wasn't sure about. Thanks again!

I would disagree on whether one is more severe than the other. It depends on the impact it has on the individual. They can be either disruptive or people can work around it. It really depends from case to case.

I have not heard of schizoid being removed from the DSM, but then again I haven't been following lately. The only PD I heard that might be going was Narcissitic PD.

It's also interesting to see the difference the ICD and DSM have with schizotypal. The ICD sees it as a mild schizophrenia, the DSM sees it as a personality disorder.

I've had several relatives with schizophrenia, and one 'schizotypal'. I only know of schizoids through their forums. A schizoid is rational as you and I, where these others are clearly not. It is extreme introversion as Ettina pointed out and they do exhibit an unusual "affect." I've read of one anecdote of a male being bullied for this by several people--- his body language or very essence is locked away in introversion-- a ripe pick for bullies.

He was married and his wife wrote a short story about him -- "very intelligent" but isolated and her family more or less rejected him -- some things I remember.

If I find the link I'll post it-- it was interesting.

At the time of this article they were dating. I read a follow up that eventually they did divorce.
http://inresco.org/as/oppressed.html

I was reading an article in a book that spoke of the similarities between Aspergers and Schizoid disorder, and I would say this is why there has been so many misdiagnoses involving the two.

Schizotypals have "occasional transient quasi-psychotic episodes with intense illusions, auditory or other hallucinations, and delusion-like ideas, usually occurring without external provocation".

schizoid is more like AS you could consider it worse than schizotypal because it is very isolating, while schizotypal's are more creative and out going. On the other hand schizotypal's are more likely to develop full blown schizophrenia. Pick your poison. You have to remember with personality disorders that they aren't completely a disorder if the person with those traits does not suffer from debilitating impairment. So unless schizoid becomes major depression or schizotypal becomes schizophrenia are they really that bad? It's almost like asking if AS is bad some people like the difference, and not the current society that we can't fit into.

That's probably exactly what they are. It's like they act together as a filter so no drug lord psychiatrist lets a potential "client" slip through his dirty little fingers. Infact the whole system is currently getting so out of hand that "good psychiatrists" are petitioning against the DSM5 http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/dsm ... inst-dsm-5 Apparently the addition of several new disorders is making people question the industry. Now doctors are finally realizing this is getting out of hand.

I also watched a good episode of south park that high lighted the ridiculousness of "Sex addiction" which is being added to the new DSM. Sexual Healing Season 14 Episode01

Last edited by Angel_ryan on 12 Nov 2011, 9:52 pm, edited 1 time in total.

It probably depends on the person who has it and how they deal with it........I don't think one disorder is nessisarly more severe than the other.

True enough. The DSM V lumps schizoaffective disorder in with the schizophrenics. Much to the horror of my Schizoaffective friends.

That debate makes the Aspie vs Autism argument look like a Kindergarten play date disagreement.

Whwn it comes to personalty disorder, it's the level of impairment and the person's willingness to be treated that determines severity.