WarningOutside of the medical interdependences shown previously, SPD and its syndromes are also typically misinterpreted by the general population.

Schizoid v/s schizophrenia: Only thing they have in common is their Greek roots. “schizo” meaning “split”. Other than that they have nothing in common, The schizoid is “split from the society” when schizophrenia is “split from reality” ( the fantasizing part of the schizoid does not even compare to schizophrenia, the schizoid never doubt for a minute that he is day dreaming and nothing of it is real). I have read an interesting post where someone suggested to change the term schizoid to “souls of solitude”. Not very clinical, but very poetic indeed.

Introverts (it’s not just the schizoids) are egoist and narcissist: Faceit the general population thrives in an extrovert society, so as soon as you look at your shoes and keep quiet you are egoist (for not sharing your life), if on top of it you seem the slightest at ease being alone (like the schizoid will) then you are a self absorbed narcissist. Funny when medically, the narcissism disorder is actually an extrovert behavior… Those are more due to ignorance and vocabulary misunderstanding than anything else but they were worth mentioning as they do sent the wrong message about introverts.

Introverts are always shy / timid: Seems obvious right? Yet it is not ALWAYS true. Shy and timid people are not necessarily introverts either… An introvert is someone interiorizing things, bottling up things tightly inside (could be feelings or emotions for the schizoid, could be fears for the paranoid, or delusions for the shizotypical) but not necessarily himself. Yes in most cases an introvert will display shy or timid like behaviors, but not always. Which bring me to the last part.

The “secret schizoid”: Shattering some bases of the DSM-IV-TR and ICD-10 heavily focusing on the avoidance and reluctance side of the schizoid towards the external world and interpersonal relationship, the concept of “secret schizoid” (I like to call it “the social schizoid” or “The ubber impersonator”) first rose in the 40’s while a study conducted by psychologist Fairbairn made him cross path with a diagnosed schizoid showing sign of nothing less than “impressive social contacts”.
Who is that “secret schizoid”? Well it is a schizoid who mastered his tools of defense mechanism to a whole new level. He can actually “act” like social, appear socially appealing, and even engage in group activities… But the toll to pay is heavy to achieve the level of detachment implied (trust me on that one: The show is good, but don’t try to get backstage).

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