Schizotypal Personality Disorder SymptomsLack of close friends outside of immediate family.Eccentric or unusual beliefs or mannerisms.Belief in superpowers (i.e. telepathy) or superstitions.Excessive social anxiety associated with paranoid fears.Paranoid thoughts or doubts about others' loyalty.More items...•
Tend to misinterpret reality or to have distorted perceptions (for example, mistaking noises for voices) Have odd beliefs or magical thinking (for example, being overly superstitious or thinking of themselves as psychic) Be preoccupied with fantasy and daydreaming.
Doctors diagnose schizotypal personality disorder based on specific symptoms, including intense discomfort with close relationships, distorted ways of thinking and perceiving, and odd behavior. Treatment includes antipsychotic drugs, antidepressants, and cognitive-behavioral therapy.
Schizotypal Personality Disorder Causes and Risk Factors Brain malfunction, including brain trauma. Childhood experiences including abuse or neglect. Having a parental figure who is cold or detached from you. Injury or illness before or during birth.
According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5), schizotypal personality disorder is primarily characterized by an individual's persistent social deficits marked by serious discomfort with close relationships and by cognitive distortions of behavior.
The main difference between schizotypal and schizoid personality disorder is that schizoid does not have any paranoid ideation or suspiciousness. This means that people with a schizoid diagnosis will not be overly worried about other people's motivations or worried that people are out to get them.
What causes the development of schizoid personality disorder is unknown, although a combination of genetic and environmental factors, particularly in early childhood, may play a role in developing the disorder.
Those diagnosed with schizotypal, schizoid, and paranoid personality disorders are grouped together in Cluster A, and are classified by the DSM-IV-TR as representing “odd and eccentric behaviors” (APA 2000).
Its lifetime prevalence in the general United States population has been estimated at just under 4 percent. The disorder is associated with significant disability, as well as a wide range of psychiatric comorbidities. Schizotypal personality disorder is challenging to treat.