Table of Contents
The beat of a different drum
The vast majority of individuals who are labelled shy are introverted. There is however another category, those with a
• Schizoid personality type (SPT)
Schizoids often behave in a similar way to introverts, but in terms of their internal mental states and their interests they are very different, both from introverts and from all the other personality types. Whereas many people can imagine what it is like to be introverted, very few can imagine what it is like to be schizoid.
The strong desires and emotions possessed by most personality types act as a fog that distorts perception. From within this fog it is easy for people to see what they want to see, to believe what they want to believe. But when desires and emotions are weak or non-existent, self-delusion is no longer a prerequisite for happiness, and the fog clears away, at least in part.
You take the blue pill - the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill - you stay in Wonderland
and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes.
Morpheus, The Matrix
Nature has decreed that those who are not schizoids swallow the blue pill and, according to their inclinations, believe whatever they want to believe. But those who belong to the pure schizoid subtypes are destined to take the red pill, and to discover, to a greater or lesser extent, just how “deep the rabbit-hole” of reality actually goes.
Bear in mind that the vast majority of individuals who are labelled schizoid are borderline schizoids, not pure schizoids, and that by standing on the threshold between two very different modes of being the borderline schizoid often finds himself in the worst of all possible worlds.
For a discussion of how schizoids and introverts compare with the extroverts, psychopaths, ASPDs, and autistics:
Schizoid, not schizophrenic
Despite loose English usage, the term schizoid has nothing to do with schizophrenia, beyond a shared etymology.
Whereas the schizophrenic has a mind that is split apart within itself, the schizoid has a mind that is split apart from the society in which he lives. Whereas the former dwells in torment, the latter abides in bliss. Anon
There is, however, a bridging personality type, the schizotypal, the includes traits drawn from both the schizoid and the schizophrenic.
There are several variants to the schizoid personality type, both in terms of how they feel internally and how then appear to other people. To begin with I’ll profile the general characteristics of the pure schizoid, before looking at the subtypes in more detail.
Human interaction
Whereas extroverts surround themselves with other people, and introverts long for a relationship with a soulmate, pure schizoids have no interest in human companionship whatsoever.
Every SPT is an Island, entire of itself. Anon
The reason that the other personality types interact strongly with people is that they are compelled to do so by their desires and emotions, and as a result they experience a mixture of pleasure and pain. Pure schizoids are not subject to strong desires and emotions, so they are free to chose whether or not to interact with others. Since people are not a source of pleasure (and largely a matter of complete indifference), and since pure schizoids attain a vast amount of pleasure from within their own minds it makes no sense to interact with people, other than on purely practical matters—people are just items of furniture, and rather worn and shabby items at that.
Happiness
Whereas most people, the extroverted and introverted alike, chase after happiness with indifferent success, pure schizoids have the luxury of being able to generate their own—happiness is their genie and they are its master.
However, to use the word happiness in this context is to stretch its meaning: pure schizoids, depending on their subtype, can experience a quiet contentment, an intense, yet tranquil, bliss, or mental states that are so far beyond the norm as to defy description.
It is a popular misconception that desires and emotions are a prerequisite for experiencing pleasure and happiness—a misconception frequently reinforced by the sci-fi genre, in the which the happy and emotionally rich human is contrasted with the feelingless and emotionally empty robot (perhaps with the every growing power of computers and robotics it is not surprising that such stories are told repeatedly to soothe the nascent fear that the days of human superiority are numbered). However when desires and emotions fall away, the result seems to be not an emptiness, but an otherness. It is within this otherness that the schizoid equivalent of happiness is to be found.
Social anxiety
In terms of decreasing levels of social anxiety, introverts, extroverts, and schizoids lie on a sliding scale in that order. Individuals with an overt schizoid personality type are generally assumed to suffer from social anxiety due to their aloofness. However, pure schizoids are completely free from social anxiety, and in this respect they resemble psychopaths. Whereas borderline schizoids may be both attracted to and repelled by people, pure schizoids usually find people totally uninteresting—it’s as though they were alien biologists visiting the earth and don’t happen to find human beings worthy of study.
Emotional independence
In terms of increasing levels of emotional independence, extroverts, introverts, and schizoids lie on a sliding scale in that order.
Extroverts, with a restricted internal life and a low innate mental stability, have a strong emotional dependence on other people, one that draws them into a wide variety of relationships, relationships that are both satisfying and frustrating.
Whereas introverts are often described as being emotionally aloof, it’s simply the case that they don’t readily display their emotions, which are often far more powerful than those of more outgoing individuals as a consequence of having fewer avenues of expression. However, introverts always direct a fair portion of their emotional energy internally, so they are less emotionally dependent on other people than are extroverts.
Pure schizoids lie at the extreme in that emotions are not hidden: they are either extremely weak or are simply not generated at all. The result is a complete absence of emotional dependence on other people. As an existence driven by emotions is usually regarded as one of the defining characteristics of human beings, schizoids are perhaps more alien than the beings that populate the realms of sci-fi and fantasy, beings that however diverse their physical appearances may be, nevertheless usually mimic humans in their emotional displays.
Were it not for their disengagement from society, schizoids would be regarded as very threatening. Indeed, one of the classic recipes for making a monster is to combine the schizoid’s lack of emotion with a malign intent. What is interesting is that pure schizoids do not regard such individuals as monsters, and, ignoring the malign intent and its consequences, are fascinated by the absence of emotion, as though pleasantly surprised to find a semblance of their own image reflected in a mirror. For example, one client quoted the following extract as one of his favourites:
I am going to show you why we insist on such precautions. On the evening of July 8th, 1981, he complained
of chest pains and was taken to the dispensary. His mouthpiece and restraints were removed for an EKG. When the nurse leaned over him,
he did this to her [shows a photo] . The doctors managed to reset her jaw, more or less. Saved one of her eyes. His pulse never got
above 85, even when he ate her tongue.
Dr. Frederick Chilton, Silence of the Lambs
When I asked my client what he liked about this quote he replied as follows:
The bit I particularly like is “His pulse never got above 85, even when he ate her tongue.” Now, it’s not that I have designs on anyone’s
tongue. But people always think that emotion has to be involved in everything. People are just like puppets on a string. Anything sets
them off. They’re crazy. Stupid. Just wear themselves out. There’s no reason why emotion should be involved in any aspect of
life. I mightn’t share Lecter’s predilection for flesh, but when it comes to emotions I’m with him one hundred percent. He
refreshing. He’s what humanity might evolve into in a few million years. Assuming it ever manages to climb out of the primordial swamp and
rid itself of its Stone Age emotions.
Client quote, with permission
This is one area where the schizoid is the exact opposite of the psychopath (as least real-world psychopaths, rather than the Hollywood variety). Psychopaths are very impulsive and possessed of strong, though superficial, emotions. As a result they are usually driven to a life of crime. Pure schizoids, on the other hand, have excellent self-control and either have no emotions or very weak ones that are never displayed or acted upon. For a comparison of the defining characteristics of the schizoid, the psychopath, and those with anti-social personality disorder (ASPD):
View of society
Because considerations of superiority and inferiority are only important to those who engage with other people, most pure schizoids are unlikely to give any consideration to their status relative to others. However, those borderline and disaffected schizoids who do pause to reflect upon society and their relationship with it seem to conclude that SPT stands not for “schizoid personality type”, but for “superior personality type”, and come to view the socially dependent majority with a mixture of bemusement and distain.
There is a quote much beloved by clergymen, politicians, and all those who seek to wield authority over others:
No man is an Island, entire of itself; … any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankind.
To the extent that these would-be tyrants actually believe what they say, they show a woeful lack of imagination, for there are indeed those
who are islands unto themselves, those for whom death does not serve as a painful reminder of their own mortality, those who are not in the
least “involved in Mankind”.
There is something degraded, deficient, and wretched about the vast mass of humanity. About those who huddle together within a small circle,
one dimly lit by a putative and putrefactive “togetherness”. About those who are forever afraid of the isolation, the darkness, the vastness
that lies beyond their neediness. But in that beyond others dwell, those who have no such fears and no such needs, those who can in good
grace die alone because they are possessed of the capacity and the character to live alone. Anon
Those schizoids who do express distain for society share a similar world view to the psychopath. While the psychopath cannot be manipulated by others, his implusive nature and chaotic life style means that his claim to superiority is ill founded. However, the schizoid’s claim to superiority does have some merit in it (at least as far as the covert schizoid is concerned), for there are few in any society who are immune to emotional blackmail, who are possessed of excellent social skills, and who are endowed with a high level of self-control.
Some covert schizoids exhibit varying degrees of cynicism, sometimes a relentless cynicism. However, the subtypes within which it occurs are restricted to the borderline schizoid, and the reasons why the cynicism is present are multi-faceted.
Social compliance
Another difference between extroverts, introverts and schizoids is in social compliance. For example, if invited to a party an extrovert will most likely agree, an introvert may well have no interest but will decline the invitation in a polite manner, whereas the overt schizoid, who will also have no interest, is more likely to either ignore the invitation or to declare his true opinion about parties and about those who offer invitations to them. It’s as though the pure schizoid is so far removed from society that he finds in social settings nothing to be anxious about.
Would you like to come to my party?
Extrovert: I’d be delighted.
Introvert: I’m sorry, but I can’t.
Schizoid: No.
The schizoid and the psychopath / ASPD are both similar in that they are not socially compliant. However, while the psychopath / ASPD expresses this lack of compliance by explicitly breaking society’s rules, the overt schizoid expresses this lack of compliance by completely disengaging from society. The psychopath / ASPD is anti-social whereas the schizoid is asocial—the psychopath / ASPD has a “bone to pick” with society, whereas for the schizoid society exists in a “galaxy far-far away”.
Morality
Schizoids are often said to be amoral, but this is not the case. Instead, they have different and often very diverse sets of morals compared to those typical of the societies in which they live. This diversity should not be surprising as the only reason why most people within a particular society share a similar moral code is that they interact strongly with, and are strongly dependent upon, one another. These interactions propagate and enforce the moral code and ensure a large degree of uniformity in moral values. Because overt schizoids engage so little with society their moral codes are not shaped by society. Usually their moral codes are more utilitarian than those found in the societies to which they belong.
It’s all about what’s the best way to deal with an emotionally deranged set of people. That’s assuming you can’t avoid them completely.
Client quote, with permission
There does, however, seem to be a common theme in the moral values adopted by pure schizoids, one that is eloquently expressed in the following extract.
[Scene: Hannibal Lecter has escaped]
Clarice Starling: He won’t come after me.
Ardelia Mapp: Oh really?
Clarice Starling: He won’t. I can’t explain it ... He ... he would consider that rude.
Silence of the Lambs
Rudeness seems to be the chief sin from the point of view of the pure schizoid. Lecter may not share Clarice’s emotions, but Clarice is an introvert and keeps her emotions to herself, which is the least that a pure schizoid expects from others. Indeed, some schizoid’s have considerable respect for, and will go to considerable lengths to help, those who are “polite”—Lecter is prepared to cut off his own hand rather than Clarice’s when he needs to escape. Dr. Chiltern, on the other hand, is a brash, vainglorious extrovert. To Lecter’s mind Dr Chiltern is decidedly “rude”. While both Clarice and Dr. Chiltern seek to imprison him, it is only Dr. Chiltern—as the ending of the film implies—who will make a personal contribution to the contents of the escaped Lecter’s next meal.
As one client said in a very matter of fact manner:
If I passed Hannibal on the street and later the police came calling, I’m sure I’d find myself suffering from amnesia. He’s a bit like the
bacteria in a sewage farm. He disposes [of] and recycles social excrement. He’s environmentally friendly.
Client quote, with permission
Introverts often hate the extroverts that they have to deal with. But they share society’s moral code and so would never act out in practice the torments that they inflict on their persecutors from within the safety of their fantasies. Pure schizoids on the other hand would have little compunction from a moral perspective in eliminating “rude” extroverts, but because they have so little to do with people, literally in the case of the overt schizoid and emotionally in the case of the covert schizoid, they usually find the “rude” no more than a minor annoyance, and so are just as unlikely as introverts to give them the Hannibal treatment.
Schizoid external subtypes
The schizoid can be classified by how he is perceived by the external world:
• Overt
• Covert
The overt schizoid is characterized by emotional aloofness and is readily labelled as shy. While the blunt honesty of the overt schizoid does little to oil the wheels of society, such behaviour is no more an illness to be cured than the overweening exuberance that is characteristic of the extrovert.
The covert schizoid can seem as outgoing as an extrovert. He has discovered that social ineptitude is an obstacle to some of the things he wants out of life, even if these are just the time and the money that allow him to engage as fully as possibly in his solitary pursuits. The covert schizoid can become, if so inclined, a master of the social scene, regarding it as a game in which winning is both easy and rewarding—rewarding not in itself, but in the freedom that it brings to pursue his own internal goals and interests.
As far as human happiness is concerned, the life of the covert schizoid is probably as good as it gets.
While the phrase “secret, schizoid personality type” is undoubtedly a hideous construction, we cannot but be envious of him to whom it applies: one who possesses the skills to procure what he wants from the world, and the great, good fortune not to be dependent upon it for his happiness. Anon
Schizoid internal subtypes
The schizoid personality type has its graduations. Ordered from top to bottom in terms of increasing levels of sentient awareness, self control, and innate mental stability they are:
• Borderline schizoid subtypes
• Affective
• Non-affective
• Pure schizoid subtypes
• Disaffected
• Internalized
• Serene
All the pure schizoid subtypes score substantially higher on these three attributes than any of the other personality types. For a comparison between the schizoid personality type and the other personality types see:
It is estimated that less than 1% of the general population falls into any of the schizoid subtypes. And of those who do belong to the schizoid subtypes only about 1% (a very rough estimate) belong to the pure schizoid subtypes (about one in 10,000 of the general population). From among the pure schizoid subtypes the vast majority will fall into the disaffected category. Internalized and serene schizoids are as rare as “hen’s teeth”, but they display such extraordinary characteristics that profiling them helps considerably in understanding those in whom the schizoid characteristics are less well pronounced.
The borderline schizoids are the only ones that mental health professionals normally come into contact with. From among these borderline schizoids perhaps 90% belong to the affective category. This is the category of schizoids that is almost exclusively focused upon when it comes to suggesting diagnostic criteria, and when it comes to recommending remedial treatment. So it’s important to determine if you actually belong to this category, and not to the 10% that do not, before acting on any professional advice that you might receive.
Borderline schizoid
Between a rock and a hard place
Extroverts readily display superficial emotions in both public and private settings. Introverts display few emotions in public but strong and deep emotions in intimate, private settings. Borderline schizoids, like introverts, display few emotions in public but possess conflicting tendencies when it comes to displaying emotions in intimate, private settings—they want to and don’t want to all at the same time.
However, it’s important to remember that the borderline schizoid subtype represents the conflation of variants of two quite distinct personality types. The variants happen to exhibit broadly the same characteristics, even though the underlying personality types do not. In both variants there is a conflict between displaying and not displaying emotions in intimate, private settings, but nurture has pushed individuals in different directions away from their natural, core personality types, so that they seem to belong to a cohesive subtype when they do not:
• Affective borderline schizoid (introverted variant)
• Non-affective borderline schizoid (pure schizoid variant)
Affective borderline schizoid
The affective borderline schizoid belongs by nature to the introverted personality type but he has distanced himself from the introvert’s desire to display emotions in private, intimate settings as a result of childhood trauma.
He is simultaneously attracted to and repelled by intimacy, feeling a strong desire for a close intimate relationship and yet, at the same time, feeling that such an intimate relationship would be dangerous and very threatening. Emotional displays on his part were rejected when he was a child, and subconsciously he fears the intense pain of being rejected if he were to open up emotionally once again. While suppressing his desire for intimacy alleviates his fear and anxiety, it also leads to an intense loneliness and depression.
The affective borderline schizoid finds intimate displays of affection directed at him unsettling and disturbing, and makes an assiduous effort to avoid situations where such displays are likely to be encountered, or, at least, to avoid situations where they cannot be controlled.
He is apt to divide the people in his life into two different categories. Those with whom he has long-term ongoing relationships, such as family, friends, colleagues at work, and his partner, he keeps at a safe emotional distance so as not to jeopardize the relationships. He supplements these long-term relationships with short-term ones enacted with people he need never meet again. It is within these short-term relationships that he expresses his pent up emotions, feeling that there is less to lose by exposing his feelings in these circumstances. This behaviour can lead to the odd situation where a man will engage more emotionally with a one-night-stand than with his long term partner.
Affective borderline schizoids are not any more sexually apathetic than the population at large. Whether or not they engage with others sexually depends on whether or not they regard sex as an intimate act. Women are more likely to bundle sex and intimacy together than are men. When sex is regarded as too intimate to be performed with a long-term partner, the affective borderline schizoid may seek out a prostitute, have a short-term affair with a stranger, or masturbate in private.
If you are an affective borderline schizoid then the best way to achieve happiness is to try to undo the damaged caused by early childhood trauma, and to move back towards your core introverted personality type. However, the advice frequently given by mental health professionals to take risks and to be more open emotionally with the people with whom you have long-term relationships can backfire disastrously. If the opening up does not go well, you are likely to feel the need to immediately distance yourself from the person concerned, leading to separation, divorce, and broken families. Emotional opening up needs to be done very gradually—don’t go any faster than you are comfortable with.
Note that the affective borderline schizoid personality type has nothing to do with the schizoaffective personality type.
Non-affective borderline schizoid
The non-affective borderline schizoid belongs by nature to the pure schizoid types for whom emotions are naturally very weak and for whom there is little inclination to display emotions in any setting, public or private. However, as pure schizoids are such a tiny minority of the population, perhaps one in 10,000, they are subject, from an early age, to a tremendous pressure to conform. They are constantly being told, both directly and indirectly, that emotions are a good thing, and that anyone who does not possess them and display them is somehow defective. In the face of such pressure it’s not surprising that some pure schizoids develop an identity crisis, feeling that they are missing out on something important by not having strong emotions, and yet, at the same time, feeling that emotional displays, whether displayed by others or simulated by themselves, are degrading and demeaning.
Extroverts are like a pack of dogs, milling around, sniffing each others butts.
An introvert is like a cat that sits contemplatively by the fireside, bewitched by the flickering flames.
A pure schizoid is like a mountain lion standing alone on a high mountain ridge, switching his gaze from the stars in the sky above to the pine trees in
the valley below as a branch breaks under the weight of newly fallen snow.
A borderline schizoid is like a mountain lion brought up in captivity, confined to a cage. There is a certain comfort to his captivity, for the cage is
warm and the meals are regular. But as he paces back and forth he resents the endless flow of curious faces gawking at him as they press against the
bars. Some mountain air drifts in on a lazy evening breeze. Something stirs deep inside, the rocks and trees and sky call out to him softly, and he
longs for a freedom that he has never known. Anon
The pull in the direction of simulating emotions and conforming to social norms represents the “comfort of captivity”, while the pull in the direction of not simulating emotions you don’t feel and of being true to yourself represents the “freedom that has never been known”. The non-affective borderline schizoid has a very strong sense that the answer does not lie with society and its constant churning of emotions, but without the presence of other pure schizoids who might act as exemplars he is unsure of what it means to be free.
The answer is out there, Neo, and it’s looking for you, and it will find you if you want it to.
Trinity, The Matrix
The attitude of the non-affective borderline schizoid to sex is quite different from his affective counterpart. The reason the pure schizoid subtypes feel low levels of emotions is that they have weak desires. This applies to desires in general, and to the desire to have sex in particular. They may have no interest in sex whatsoever, or they may simply masturbate on occasion. Whatever interest they may have in sex arises purely from the physical sensations that the act produces. Emotional displays by a partner or simulating emotions that they don’t feel with a partner would detract from the pleasure that they obtain from masturbation. As a result sex with a partner is only likely to be undertaken on the basis of curiosity, and quickly abandoned when they find it unrewarding.
If you are a non-affective borderline schizoid, then the best way to achieve happiness is to realize that the validity of your beliefs, opinions, and inclinations has nothing to do with the prevalence of those beliefs, opinions, and inclinations among the population at large. If you can reassert who you really are at heart then you will achieve that high degree of contentment that is characteristic of the pure schizoid subtypes. As one client put it:
I know society doesn’t like me. Is even afraid of me. But I’ve got to the point where as far as I’m concerned society can, well, just f*** off!
Client quote, with permission
This was said with a sense of resignation and irritation, rather than with strong emotion, irritation being a key characteristic of the non-affective borderline schizoid—why don’t they just leave me alone.
Some mental health professionals display a considerable bias in the way they treat people with different personality types. Just as environmental charities find it much easier to raise funds to support a warm-blooded mammal than a cold-blooded reptile (even common metaphors conceal an emotional bias), so too mental health professionals are apt to exhibit a preference for treating those personality types that they most easily identify with. In particular, helping an affective borderline schizoid to return to the “introverted fold” is much more appealing than helping a non-affective borderline schizoid reassert his identity as a pure schizoid. So if you’re a non-affective borderline schizoid and are looking for appropriate help from the mental health profession you may well find that you’re on your own—and in more ways than one.
Comparison matrix
So, are you an affective borderline schizoid, a non-affective borderline schizoid, or neither of these? Have a look at the following comparison matrix to find out:
| Characteristic |
Affective Borderline Schizoid |
Non-Affective Borderline Schizoid |
| Attitude to Emotions | I value emotions. | Emotional displays by other people or simulating such displays myself is degrading and demeaning. |
| Emotions Experienced | I have strong emotions, but displaying them is too risky. | I don’t have much by way of emotions, but society keeps telling me I’m missing out on something. It’s confusing and irritating. |
| Loneliness Experienced | I feel very lonely at times. | I feel isolated. I don’t meet any people like me. But I don’t feel lonely at all. |
| Depression Experienced | I feel depressed at times. | I don’t feel depressed at all. |
| Pleasure Experienced | My life is limited in some respects, but I experience pleasure just like everyone else. But I don’t always express what I feel. | Other people take pleasure, or pain, in things. I don’t do pleasure. I do contentment. You wouldn’t understand. |
| Attitude to Sex | I enjoy sex with a partner provided there is no intimacy involved. | I’m not interested in sex with a partner at all. If I want pleasure masturbation is much more pleasant and more convenient. |
| Attitude to Praise and Criticism | I’m sensitive to praise and criticism, but I don’t let on. | I’m largely indifferent to praise and criticism. I’m not interested in people, so why should I care what they think about me? |
| Attitude to Society | Deep down I guess I’d like to belong. | I just don’t have anything in common with these people. All I want is peace and quiet. |
| How People Treat Me: Overt Schizoid | People victimize me. They need to be handled with care. | People victimize me. They need to be handled with care. |
| How People Treat Me: Covert Schizoid | People think I’m just like them, but I’m not. | People think I’m just like them, but I’m not. |
Affective or Non-Affective Borderline Schizoid?
As you can see from the matrix, the affective and non-affective subtypes are very different, apart from the way in which they are viewed by society.
Appearance to other people
Borderline schizoids span a considerable range. Some can appear quite normal to those who do not know them well. For example, one client, a shy introvert, described a former girlfriend, who was most likely a covert borderline schizoid, in the following manner.
I met her when we were at college and we dated for several years. To most people’s eyes she was ordinary, a little quiet perhaps. But there was
something very different about her. Something deep, something sad. She liked sex alright, but she fought hard against letting ago every time as she
approached orgasm. I knew she loved me, but in all those years she never said so. Whatever she was feeling she always kept it locked up tight
inside. I guess I was looking for something more from the relationship, so in the end I broke it off. That was the first time I saw her cry. The
tears flowed down her face but she didn’t say a word. If she’d said something perhaps it would have been different. I still think of her now and
then. Wonder where she is. How she spends her days.
Client quote, with permission
Other borderline schizoids may appear very different, distant and cold even on a casual acquaintance.
While very little is known about the pure schizoid subtypes for the simple reason that they are immensely satisfied with their lives and do not seek therapy, the borderline schizoid is readily aware of the unsettling nature of his interactions with other people. This curiosity about the mind and its workings means that he may well become involved in psychiatry or psychotherapy—and not always at the receiving end, as evidenced by my encounters with some others in the profession.
Disaffected schizoid
Whereas the borderline schizoid worries about his identity, the disaffected schizoid has no such concerns. Most disaffected schizoids belong to the overt external subtype and lead solitary lives. Their desires and emotions are weak and are unlikely to be focused on people. But when the practicalities of daily life require them to interact with people their feelings range from an indifferent toleration to a self-contained disgust.
Contempt for extroverts
The disaffected schizoid’s reaction to people could best be described as resentful, and he finds the behaviour of those possessed of an extroverted personality type especially distasteful. Unlike the shy introvert, the reaction of the disaffected schizoid to the “in your face” extrovert is not one of anxiety. Instead, it varies from disapproval to disgust:
When you walk down the street you look where you walk to avoid stepping in dog pooh? Well, people are my dog pooh!
Client quote, with permission
The above was said in a rather matter of fact manner, but sometimes there can be a very strong disgust at what human beings represent, as the following quote selected by a client demonstrates:
I’d like to share a revelation that I’ve had during my time here. It came to me when I tried to classify your species, and I realised that humans are
not actually mammals. Every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with the surrounding environment; but you humans do
not. Instead you multiply, and multiply, until every resource is consumed. The only way for you to survive is to spread to another area. There is
another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern ... a virus. Human beings are a disease, a cancer on this planet, you are a plague,
and we ... are the cure. … I’m going to be honest with you. I ... hate this place, this zoo, this prison, this reality, whatever you want to call
it. I can’t stand it any longer. It’s the smell, if there is such a thing. I feel saturated by it. I can taste your stink. And every time I do I
feel I have somehow been infected by it. It’s repulsive, isn’t it? I must get out of here. I must get free and in this mind is the key, my key.
Agent Smith, The Matrix
This level of animosity towards people is uncommon but the words “I can taste your stink. And every time I do I feel I have somehow been infected by it.” seem to resonate with many non-affective borderline and disaffected schizoids when reflecting on their encounters with extroverts.
Self-perception
The disaffected schizoid does not regard himself as being of any importance—his score on narcissism is zero.
I’m nobody! Who are you?
I’m nobody! Who are you?
Are you nobody, too?
Then there’s a pair of us - don’t tell!
They’d banish us, you know.
How dreary to be somebody!
How public, like a frog
To tell your name the livelong day
To an admiring bog!
Emily Dickinson
The disaffected schizoid would genuinely find it “dreary” to be a somebody. It’s not that the attention would make him anxious; it’s that the attention and admiration would simply be totally unrewarding.
Distain for shallowness
The disaffected schizoid distance from people lends him a certain perceptiveness with regard to people’s motivations and intentions. He is well aware that those who admire celebrity are somehow deficient and empty—“the admiring bog”—just as uninteresting and empty as those who seek out and covet such attention. To the extent that the disaffected schizoid tolerates other people, it is only those people who are nobodys like himself.
Wariness
The disaffected schizoid’s concern, if he belongs to the overt subtype, which is most likely to be the case, is the damaging impact that other people’s emotions have on the way in which he is treated. As is always the case with the victimization of minorities it is individuals with an extroverted personality who are largely to blame—hence, in part, his distaste and distain for extroverts, and his comparative tolerance for introverts. He is well aware that his coldness and emotional distance cause many people to regard him as strange, even to be fearful of him—“they’d banish us you know”—so even if he was interested in companionship, which he is not, people are best avoided.
Internalized schizoid
Interaction with people
Physicists tell us that matter is made up of elementary particles. Now most of these particles react very strongly with ordinary matter, and travel no more than a very tiny fraction of a millimetre through a material before interacting and being absorbed. But some elementary particles, called neutrinos, have such little affinity for ordinary matter that they pass in their trillions through the earth each day, as though oblivious to its existence—for neutrinos, the earth, which seems so solid to us, is no more than empty space. When it comes to interacting with people we could stretch the metaphor and say the that internalized schizoid is the neutrino of personality types.
For the internalized schizoid people are in a certain sense invisible.
Invisibility is not about being hidden from view; it’s about not being an object of interest, the focus of attention. A man may walk the length of the high street and notice with pleasure the faces of the few beautiful women that he meets. But he will be totally unaware of the hundreds of plain, fat, ugly, and aged specimens that have passed him by. For him they do not exist. They do not register on his consciousness, no more than the beating of his heart, the blinking of his eyes, or the click of his heals upon the pavement. Anon
Whereas in this quote the focus of attention is a rather mundane one, in the case of the internalized schizoid the focus of his attention lies entirely within his own mind. Whereas the borderline and disaffected schizoid subtypes have a proclivity for solitary pursuits, these pursuits are not necessarily mental pursuits. However, in the case of the internalized schizoid phenomena, objects, and people that are external to his mind rarely register upon his consciousness.
Happiness
The life of the internalized schizoid embodies in a very extreme way a wisdom that many aspire to but which very few realize in practice.
The essence of philosophy is that a man should so live that his happiness shall depend as little as possible on external things.
Epictetus
Now, focusing on the internal rather than the external world is no recipe for happiness—as those with schizophrenia will readily testify to. However, the internalized schizoid’s defining characteristic is a very high innate mental stability. Just as he is unphased by external events, so too he reacts calmly to internal events as well.
Mind can be divided into a self on the one hand, and the thoughts and images that appear to that self on the other. Let’s say an image or thought of something unpleasant arises. Now in the case of most personality types the self reacts to what has arisen with a strong desire or emotion. This reaction stirs up the mind so that the unpleasant image or thought is reinforced and gains strength. But because the internalized schizoid generates such weak emotions and desires in response to events, he never unwittingly reinforces thoughts and images. The result is that his mind’s natural state is one of pervasive calm. From within this state the internalized schizoid can now choose those thoughts and images into which he wishes to add energy, steadily strengthening and reinforcing them. This unparalleled degree of control over his mental state brings to the internalized schizoid an unparalleled degree of of happiness.
It is very difficult to find internalized schizoids. The stereotype is those monks and nuns who live in monastic seclusion within a closed religious order. These individuals would describe the mental state of the internalized schizoid as devotion to the deity. But even here we are talking about a tiny minority, as people who enter religious orders do so for many reasons, and very few of them will be internalized schizoids.
Internalized schizoids are not exclusively found amongst those with a religious vocation. However, the secular variety will focus, like their religious counterparts, on something that is internal to the mind, such as a fantasy world of their own creation. And their chosen lifestyle is almost certain to be a solitary one that facilitates their internal quests.
Serene schizoid
It’s not the spoon that bends
The key feature of the serene schizoid is a phase change in mental functioning and the extraordinarily different world view that comes with it, making the serene schizoid unique amongst personality types. This type of mental functioning is qualitatively different from that which passes for normal human understanding—as different as human understanding is from that found in the animal realm—so the serene schizoid could legimately be said to belong to a different order of being. As such it is only possible to hint at what this world view entails.
Boy with spoon: Do not try and bend the spoon. That’s impossible. Instead ... only try to realize the truth.
Neo: What truth?
Boy with spoon: There is no spoon.
Neo: There is no spoon?
Boy with spoon: Then you’ll see, that it is not the spoon that bends, it is only yourself.
The Matrix
While the serene schizoid may not have any particular religious or philosophical affiliation, his world view is very much that of certain Eastern meditative traditions, especially Buddhism, in which both internal and external phenomena are realized to be illusory, dream-like creations. This understanding applies equally to the concept of an enduring self that observes and experiences these phenomena.
World view
The serene schizoid develops one or more of the following realizations, that:
• The appearance of agency is an illusion;
• There is no difference between internal and external phenomena;
• Internal and external phenomena do not exist;
• A self that observes phenomena does not exist.
The nearest easily understandable analogy that illustrates, in a small way, the serene schizoid’s understanding is that of the dream.
Morpheus: Have you ever had a dream, Neo, that you were so sure was real? What if you were unable to wake from that dream? How would you know the
difference between the dream world and the real world?
The Matrix
Morpheus: The Matrix is everywhere. It is all around us. Even now, in this very room. You can see it when you look out your window or when you
turn on your television. You can feel it when you go to work ... when you go to church ... when you pay your taxes. It is the world that has been
pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth.
Neo: What truth?
Morpheus: That you are a slave, Neo. Like everyone else you were born into bondage. Into a prison that you cannot taste or see or touch. A prison
for your mind.
The Matrix
The analogy of the lucid dream makes it possible to understand the first two characteristics listed above:
• The appearance of agency is an illusion;
• There is no difference between internal and external phenomena.
In a lucid dream people appear to be real people, and act as real people, but the dreamer knows that they are not, even as the dream progresses and he continues to interact with the dream appearances—in a lucid dream you are no longer subject to the illusion of agency.
If all your “night dreams” were intense lucid dreams, then there would be no difference between “night dreams” and “day dreams”—there would be no difference between internal and external phenomena. While at first the seemingly “real” people that appeared in the two dreams might not necessarily seem to have knowledge of one another, what if a person in the “day dream” suddenly remarked on something that someone in the “night dream” had said?
Well, in these circumstances a psychiatrist would conclude that you were suffering from a severe mental illness and would have you locked up in secure mental unit, or else would prescribe a heavy dose of some antipsychotic medicine—as a result of which you might feel even weirder! However, that is only one possibility. The other is that you have now recovered from a severe mental illness in which you were previously suffering from delusions, had mistakenly believed that phenomena were real, and during which your intermittenly malfunctioning brain had caused you to blank out on a regular basis—a mysterious state called “sleep”. Either interpretation is equally tenably—take your pick!
When it comes to gaining an understanding of the other two characteristics:
• Internal and external phenomena do not exist;
• A self that observes phenomena does not exist.
the human mind just gives up. True, we can see that phenomena might not be real but they still exist, in some sense, as dream appearances. And whether it is the “day dream” or the “night dream” we still have the feeling that there is an “I” that observes everything that is going on.
A parallel with science
Psychiatrists call the experience of feeling that external phenomena are not entirely real “derealization” and the experience that one is not entirely real oneself “depersonalization”. While mild experiences of derealization and depersonalization can occur as a result of mental trauma, the more pronounced occurrence of either of these phenomena is usually considered to be a symptom of a severe mental disorder (those classified in DSM-IV as dissociative disorders).
However, just because something is classified as a disorder, is not the same as saying that it is a delusion. Psychiatrists and those who claim to be mental health experts like to think that their findings and recommendations are based on solid scientific evidence. However, the neurologists working in the department next door will readily assert that there is no such thing as a self—it is just an illusion constructed by some means they do not as yet understand. So depersonalization is the way the world really exists—to believe that you have a self, when do not, is to suffer from a delusion. So the depersonalization experienced by the serene schizoid might just be a case of an individual with an unusual neurobiology being able to perceive internally how this illusory self is constructed. But, of course, that doesn’t mean that all instances of depersonalization fall into the same category, nor does it make the experience any the less unpleasant for the vast majority of people who experience it.
Both psychologists and the police will readily confirm that an individual’s experience of the “world out there” bears at best a resemblance to “reality”. The perceived world is a construct based on sensory data and is filled in, in part, based on what memory tells us “should be out there”. As if that was not bad enough, the physicists tell us that reality doesn’t really exist at all, being merely a probabilistic superposition of different things that might be, but which don’t actually exist until you look at them—the cat in the box with the poison pill is both simultaneously alive and dead! Since reality is not “real” we must therefore conclude that the experience of derealization is at least heading away from delusion and in direction of truth. But, again, that doesn’t mean that all derealization experiences are functionally adaptive or desirable.
Interaction with peopleOnce the serene schizoid understands how reality’s “magician’s trick” works—once he wakes up within the “day dream”—the behaviour of phenomena ceases to be of interest and with that the desires and emotions previously engendered by phenomena fall away.
The serene schizoid understands very well how “dream people” appear to make decisions and how they react to events—he has an excellent understanding of the mechanics that underlie the theory of mind. However, he does not attribute agency to the people he interacts with. Instead he regards them as most people might regard a computer or a robot programmed to simulate human behaviour. It’s interesting to note that some people attribute agency to a computer or a robot programmed in this manner even though they are well aware that it is not a living being. The serene schizoid leans in the other direction and does not attribute agency to anything.While the serene schizoid has no interest in interacting with people (or indeed with anything else), he can deal with people with ease when the need arises. But in doing so he does not suffer from the frustrations of desires not satisfied, of objectives not attained. Unlike the rest of humanity, he “does not cry over spilt milk”. He just mops it up. Whether it was spilt or not split is a matter of indifference to him in any case. To the extent that the serene schizoid focuses on anything it is on the underlying process by which the dream appearances arise out of emptiness—he does not wish, hope, or desire to see any particular dream outcome fulfilled.
In a sense the serene schizoid deals with people in the same way most people deal with machines. If operated correctly a machine will perform its function, but it has no opinions, views, beliefs, or politics. It is not a source of friendship or enmity. It is not something to be liked or disliked. It just is. Either it works and performs its function, or it does not.
The world view of the serene schizoid might seem bleak in the extreme, but he is rewarded for his understanding of this unpalatable and inconvenient truth by a happiness that is unknown to the other personality types.
Happiness
The normal basis of happiness is the presence of positive emotions and the corresponding activation of reward centres. But emotions are fickle, as positive emotions inevitably give way to negative ones, and a high level of reward centre activation is followed by a crash—a crash that those addicted to drugs are so very familiar with. Even worse, with time the things that once gave rise to pleasure now cease to do so, as the brain adjusts the numbers and nature of its neurotransmitter receptors to maintain the status quo. In short, looking to pharmacological or emotional fixes to generate happiness only works on an intermittent basis, and comes with the caveat that “there’s no such thing as a free lunch!”
Happiness for the serene schizoid is very different from the desire and emotion-driven happiness that is experienced by the other personality types. Once desires and emotions fall away the result seems to be a mental state that while empty of desires and emotions is not empty of everything. In these circumstances the mind seems to undergo a phase change in the way it operates. In the absence of desires and emotions a calm yet very intense bliss seems to arise in their stead. This bliss is not only more intense than the peaks of emotion-driven happiness it replaces, but it is also relatively unvarying. While it may slowly increase or decrease in intensity, it never dissipates, and never reverses its polarity.
So the serene schizoid abides in bliss, observing the dream appearances as they arise and fall away, including that dream appearance that he once mistook to be himself.
Of course, if you have a pure schizoid personality type then you won’t care whether or not the world labels you as shy, so it’s unlikely that you’ll be reading
this in the first place.