AvPD vs Schizoid PD

tired_of_starting_again

Well-known member
It has always bothered me that when AvPD & SPD are differentiated from (as in avoidants deeply desire intimacy & social contact while schizoids do not), they always make it seem as you either are sitting around desperately yearning for affection or you have absololutely no interest whatsoever in it.

Avoidant Personality Disorder (DSM-III[R]):
"Unlike people with Schizoid Personality Disorder, who are socially isolated, but have no desire for social relations, those with Avoidant Personality Disorder yearn for affection & acceptance."

They make it seem black & white, either you do or you don't.
What if the reason for your avoidance is a major confusion for you?
I've gone back & forth trying to say that I really want friends & closeness but am afraid, that sounds right, but I also maintain an indifference to people & am territorial about my personal space & privacy & etc. so I thought that maybe I just don't like socialising.... :confused:

I want it but I don't, I don't know if I want it...... it goes on & on.
 

TheStatue

Well-known member
I've gone back & forth trying to say that I really want friends & closeness but am afraid, that sounds right, but I also maintain an indifference to people & am territorial about my personal space & privacy & etc. so I thought that maybe I just don't like socialising.... :confused:

Sounds similar to my situation. I feel as though I may have had Schizoid PD as a child, which then developed into AvPD as I grew older. When I was younger I didn't really care about socializing that much. I remember turning down a friend, who was asking if we could play together, because I was having more fun reading my comics (which pretty much was my only interest for several years).

I started to create the delusion that I really didn't need or want any friends. That I was all I needed to keep myself happy and live a full life. Following a series of really bad panic attacks over Christmas, I recently broke down and realized I had been lying to myself my whole life. All I want now is to not be alone anymore. And that is hard to live with since I don't have any social skills. On top of that the anxiety makes me avoid every opportunity for socializing. It keeps spiraling out of control.
 

Illusions

Well-known member
Well it's definitely not black and white for me. Just yesterday I read about those two disorders on Wikipedia and got confused after realising that the descriptions and behavioural symptoms for both hold true for me to some degree.

Perhaps it's possible to have both? :S I definitely have AvPD and yearn for intimacy and social contact, but at the same time I can be a Schizoid in the sense that I don't bother socialising sometimes since I suck at it (an "ah, f**k it" mentality).
 

Hellhound

Super Moderator
I suppose if you were a Schizoid, you would be isolated not wishing for social relations and think it's normal, you wouldn't be concerned at all about it.
 
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