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 SCHIZOID
PERSONALITY DISORDER
Schizoid personality
disorder is a pattern of indifference to social relationships, with
a limited range of emotional expression and experience. The disorder
manifests itself by early adulthood through social and emotional
detachments that prevent people from having close relationships.
People with it are able to function in everyday life, but will not
develop meaningful relationships with others. They are typically
loners and may be prone to excessive daydreaming as well as forming
attachments to animals. They may do well at solitary jobs others
would find intolerable. There is evidence indicating the disorder
may be the start of schizophrenia, or just a very mild form of it.
People with schizoid personality disorder are in touch with reality
unless they develop schizophrenia.
Symptoms
 Takes
pleasure in few, if any, activities
Does
not desire or enjoy close relationships, including family
Almost
always chooses solitary activities
Little
or no interest in sexual experiences with another person
Lacks
close relationships other than with immediate relatives
Indifferent
to praise or criticism
Shows
emotional coldness, detachment or flattened affect
Exhibits
little observable change in mood
Individual therapy that
successfully attains a long-term level of trust may be useful in
certain cases of schizoid personality disorder by giving patients an
outlet to transform their false perceptions of friendships into
authentic relationships.
Ask
for help, now.
COMPULSIVE GAMBLING
A compulsive, or
pathological, gambler is someone who is unable to resist impulses to
gamble. This leads to severe personal and/or social consequences.
The urge to gamble becomes so great that tension can only be
relieved by more gambling.
Symptoms
Occasional
gambling becomes habitual
Loss
of control over time spent gambling
Gambling
continues, whether winning or losing, until all money is
lost or the game is terminated
Gambling
until large debts are accumulated
Lack
of concern for society's expectations and laws
Unlawful
behavior may occur to support the habit and pay debts
Compulsive gambling can
be treated. Treatment begins with the recognition of the problem . Ask
for help, now.
KLEPTOMANIA
Kleptomania is defined by a
number of features including a consistent tendency to steal items
not needed for personal use or monetary value. The objects are
stolen despite that they are typically of little value to the
individual, who could have afforded to pay for them and often gives
them away or discards them. Another aspect of kleptomania involves
experiencing tension before the theft and feelings of pleasure,
gratification or relief when committing the theft. The stealing is
not done to express anger or vengeance, or in response to a delusion
or hallucination, and is not attributed to conduct disorder, a manic
episode or antisocial personality disorder.
Symptoms
Recurrent
failure to resist stealing impulses unrelated to personal
use or financial need
Feeling
increased tension right before the theft
Thefts
are not committed in response to delusions, hallucinations
or as expressions of revenge or anger
Feeling
pleasure, gratification or relief at the time of the theft
In a therapy it is
usually aimed at dealing with underlying psychological problems that
may be contributing to kleptomania. Ask
for help, now.
SCHIZOTYPAL PERSONALITY DISORDER
Schizotypal personality
disorder is a pattern of deficiency in appearance, behavior, and
thought patterns affecting interpersonal relationships, and behavior.
Speech may include digressions, odd use of words or a strikingly
weak vocabulary. Patients usually experience distorted thinking,
behave strangely, and avoid intimacy. They typically have few, if
any, close friends, and feel nervous around strangers although they
may marry and maintain jobs. These symptoms may place people with
this disorder at a high risk for involvement with cults. The
disorder, which may appear more frequently in males, surfaces by
early adulthood and can exacerbate anxiety and depression.
Symptoms
Discomfort
in social situations
Odd
beliefs, fantasies or preoccupations
Odd
behavior or appearance
Odd
speech
No
close friends
Inappropriate
display of feelings
Suspiciousness
or paranoia
Behavioral modification,
a "cognitive-behavioral" treatment approach, can allow schizotypal
personality disorder patients to remedy some of their bizarre
thoughts and behaviors.
Ask
for help, now.
MORE ABOUT...
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity
DisorderAntisocial
Personality DisorderAvoidant
Personality Disorder
Borderline Personality DisorderDelusional Disorder
Dependent Personality Disorder
Dissociative Identity DisorderGender Identity DisorderHistrionic Personality Disorder
Intermittent Explosive Disorder
Narcissistic Personality DisorderObsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Paranoid Personality Disorder
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