/schizoid/ - Schizoid Personality Discussion Group

>>50

I've gone through it more or less. I never knew what to say in response, because I didn't know why myself. My parents just thought I was shy.

>Do any of you go "under the radar", so to speak, leaving people oblivious to the inner-you?

Yes, unless I'm just dog tired, I often try to play a sociable role at work, so I don't seem too odd. (See this section of the Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schizoid_personality_disorder#The_.27secret_schizoid.27 )

I am not emotionally close to anyone at work though and have never done something outside of work with anyone there. The hardest thing about interaction is forcing out some emotions they expect to see on my end.

>How does one achieve that without leaving their comfort zone?

It just became habitual for me after lots of practice I guess.

>>50
You may need to learn more about banter if you are being attacked all the time. Transactional analysis, arguing, etc.

I've been in loads of trouble before for not censoring my speech. Saying supposedly hurtful, gross, personal, and spooky things. I just really don't like lying and don't find any subject particularly repulsive, only repulsive people.

I now know better. The vast majority of people are in search of some ego feed, not information. They want you to give them something to criticize, so I refuse to answer anything I do not have to. It's the wisest approach I've found in any case. The only person who can mess up is the person running their mouth, so I give them questions right back; try to make it clear to everyone that they are attacking me and I'm not taking it at all. And the most important thing to remember is not to persuade the person who's attacking you, but to persuade the audience. The attacker already hates you and has committed to your destruction. The audience holds all of the power, if they see you are nice and the other person is scum, you've won.

If it's a friend (people I've known for years), I'm open, but I'm careful not to stray into anything popularly offencive. I tell the truth all the time, ask questions, or refuse to answer.

As far as disorder in general social interaction goes, I'm ok, just very subdued. It is exhausting though. I don't answer the door to anyone that arrives unannounced. I let my phone go to voice-mail unless it's family (they only ever call for emergencies). And I don't go to any social gatherings I don't want to.

>>50
I’ve been pretty lucky when it comes to my family berating me to be sociable; only a couple of my family members really pester me to talk more often and/or get off the computer (they refuse to acknowledge that you can socialize meaningfully online). When it does come up though, I usually respond with neutral phrases such as ‘ok,’ ‘fine,’ or 'ya'.

>Most of the time I just answer with a simple "I don't know"

I use 'I don't know' a lot so much that it's kind of a joke with my close family.

>Do any of you /schizoids/ go through this? How do you deal with it? Do any of you go "under the radar", so to speak, leaving people oblivious to the inner-you? How does one achieve that without leaving their comfort zone?

I’ve just grow used to it, and I don’t really care at this point. I speak when spoken to unless I’m isolated with close friends. Like what I said with ‘I don’t know,’ my responses seem to be humorous to significant number of people, and people are more inclined to leave me alone if they laugh at my short responses. Why they’re funny to them, I do not know, but if I were to guess, it would probably have to do with the answer they were expecting. My peers will answer with several sentences full of frivolous information, and I will answer with one or two syllables that are on point and everyone laughs.

I try (and hopefully succeed) to present myself as an ordinary introvert. People eventually learn to treat you accordingly.