Schizoid Personality Disorder

In the 5th century B.C., Hippocrates first propounded his theory of humorism to describe the different temperaments. This idea postulated that human behavior could be categorized into four distinct temperaments, black bile, sanguine (blood), yellow bile, and phlegm, which in turn correlated with the four elements earth, air, fire, and water, respectively. Hippocrates further elaborated on his theory by describing black bile as melancholic, sanguine as optimistic, yellow bile as irritable and choleric, and phlegm as apathetic. Derivations of this initial theory would be alluded to up until the 20th century, as seen by the descriptive terms, melancholic, sanguine, and choleric used by Emil Kraepelin to describe his "manic-depressive patients." Eventually, formal attempts to list personality types occurred via the production of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) I in 1952, which listed seven "personality disturbances." This list was lengthened and then condensed over the subsequent three editions of DSMs, finally settling on a list of ten personality disorders, which is seen in the most recent edition of DSM (DSM V). According to the most recent consensus, personality disorders are explained as chronic maladaptive behavior patterns that are inflexible, pervasive, and lead to social isolation and distress.These disorders are categorized into three groups or clusters, namely A, B, and C. Cluster A includes paranoid, schizoid, and schizotypal personality disorders. Cluster B consists of borderline, narcissistic, histrionic, and antisocial personality disorders. And lastly, cluster C subsists of avoidant, dependent, and obsessive-compulsive personality disorders. Of salience for this article is the evaluation of the schizoid personality disorder. The adjective "schizoid" was originally coined to describe the prodromal seclusiveness and isolation observed in schizophrenia. The schizoid personality type was made official in DSM III in 1980, to describe persons experiencing significant ineptitude in forming meaningful social relationships.