FULL PERMISSION LIVING: SCHIZOID CHARACTER STRUCTURE http://fullpermissionliving.blogspot.com/2008/09/schizoid-character-stru...

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LIF E, LIB ERTY, A N D TH E P U RSUIT O F HAPP I NESS TH RO UGH SE LF-AC TU AL IZAT ION

peter loffredo, lcsw SCHIZOID CHARACTER STRUCTURE links

Here's the fourth in my series on Character Structures, again not in
THE TRUTH ABOUT
chronological order. In fact, this defensive structure is the formed in
EVERYTHING
the very first months of life. As a reminder of how a character
structure is formed - When the childs basic needs are not met, THE CHARACTER STRUCTURES
rage, terror, and grief are the ultimate affective responses to that PATHWORK GUIDE LECTURES
reality. Because the child cannot live in such a state of chronic THE STAGES OF HEALING
negative emotion, a defensive structure will be created to ward off
FALSE CLARITY TO GENUINE
these incapacitating feelings. The particular defenses used will be a
function of the severity of the trauma, the developmental level of CONFUSION TO GENUINE
the child, and its genetic strength or weakness. That difference will CLARITY
largely determine the defenses chosen to avoid the affect and cope SOUL AGES
with the environment. Similarly, the development of the ego, of the THE FULL PERMISSION LIVING
self, and of the living sense will be stuck at the point at which these
WEB TV SHOW
defenses are chosen and cemented into the character structure.
AN INTERVIEW WITH PETER
SCHIZOID CHARACTER STRUCTURE LOFFREDO
FIND YOUR TRUE VOICE
blog archive TYPICAL PRESENTING PROBLEMS (when first arriving to therapy ORGASMIC ALCHEMY
2017 (9)
THROUGHHARLEY
- Lack of feelings, numbness, little or no joy or pleasure in life;
2016 (73)
- Inability to engage in intimate relationships; BLISSMONGER
2015 (93) - Intense fears, paranoia, phobias, panic attacks, dissociative STEVEN PRESSFIELD
episodes, chronic anxiety, intense perfectionism, procrastination;
2014 (93) FULL PERMISSION LIVING
- Physical problems that could not be diagnosed medically;
2013 (114) HOMEPAGE
hypochondriasis;
- Existential angst, questioning ones right to exist; feelings of THE LOVE WE MAKE
2012 (148)
emptiness and meaninglessness; CITY ROCK NETWORK
2011 (155) - Suicidal/homicidal ideations, impulses or actions; excessive CITY ROCK YOUTUBE VIDEO
2010 (279) concerns about death;
- Episodes of explosiveness, which may include physical violence;
2009 (701) - Self-mutilating behavior (biting, burning or cutting of the skin); full permission living
- Primary falling fear: falling apart;
2008 (671)
- Primary holding pattern: holding together
radio show!
December (35) - Primary longing: to feel whole; Episode 1: "CREATING
November (71) - Primary survival struggle: the right to exist. REALITY!"

October (101)
September (70) EARLY ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS
(Developmental Period Prenatal to First Four Months of Life)
Today's "YABBA DABBA DO"
Quote
- Mother (or primary caretaker) was chronically any or all of the FULL PERMISSION LIVING
Today's Quote following very early in the childs life, including during pregnancy: RADIO SHOW by fpliving
cold, hostile, rageful, abusive, erratic, unreliable, removed, distant,
THE SEXY PURITAN?!
disconnected emotionally, fearful and/or anxious;
Today's "YABBA DABBA DO" - Eye contact and physical contact between mother and child was
Quote avoided by mother, due to mothers schizoid elements, or interfered
with due to physical illness of mother or child, or due to traumatic
HOW STUPID ARE WE? PART
birth circumstances (Caesarian, premature or breech delivery,
TEN: "MEET THE FPL Radio Show Episode #2:
incubator, etc.);
FLINSTONES!... "FEELING HUMAN" by fpliving
- Home environment was chaotic or threatening due to alcohol/drug
Today's Successful Quotes abuse, violence, poverty, or external traumatic environmental
circumstances (i.e. - natural disasters, political oppression, war);
THE RIGID CHARACTER

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FULL PERMISSION LIVING: SCHIZOID CHARACTER STRUCTURE
STRUCTURE: "WE ARE THE
CHAMPIO...
OBAMA'S TOO COOL?!
FAREWELL, PAUL NEWMAN
Today's Quote
THE STAGES OF HEALING: PART
TWO
Today's Quote
THE REAL McCAIN & THE VERY
RIGHT BUT STILL WRONG D...
THE STAGES OF HEALING
Today's "What's Wrong With This
Quote" Quote
Today's Quote
NOTHING IN LIFE IS RANDOM -
McCAIN CANCELS DEBATE ...
Today's Quote
SCHIZOID CHARACTER
STRUCTURE
"Rick" Straightens PL Out and
PL's Response
Today's Extra Bonus Quote!
Today's BONUS Quote
Today's Reposted Quote
WAIT! WOAH! HOW STUPID ARE
WE?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME...
HOW STUPID ARE WE?
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PRESIDENT BARTLET SPEAKS TO
OBAMA
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HOW DO I LOVE THEE? LET ME
COUNT THE LIES!
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DAVID BROOKS - SO RIGHT, BUT
SO WRONG
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BILL O'REILLY SAYS McCAIN ADS
ARE WRONG!
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"WHAT MAKES PEOPL...
Follow-up to PL's "TRICKLE
THIS!"
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TRICKLE THIS!
HOW STUPID ARE WE? PART
NINE: "NOT THAT STUPID,"
S...
Today's Quotes: "BLIZZARD OF
LIES"
HOW AMAZINGLY STUPID ARE
WE? PART 8!
Today's Quote
And while you're at it...
HOW STUPID ARE WE STILL?
PART SEVEN: "PLEASE TELL ...
Today's Quote
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- One or both parents were resentful of childs presence
(exacerbated by being unprepared for child-rearing due to an
unwanted pregnancy, youth or other social conditions);
- Child did not meet parents idealized expectations of a perfect
baby, and was greeted with disappointment or avoidance.
FPL Radio Show Episode #3:
"SEXUAL HEALING" by fpliving
BODY STATUS
- Body is often narrow and contracted in an effort to hold together angels and crickets
against the fear of falling apart (body may be fuller and more
athletic if there are paranoid elements present due to sexualizing by
parents); pervasive tension and stiffness throughout the body, with
a frozen or wooden quality;
- Head, often large or with a large forehead, is pushed forward,
drooping down or off to the side (due to tension created at base of
skull to sever the head from the body and feelings);
- Shoulders up (in fear), and arms hang like appendages (to
prevent contact with others or violent acting out);
- Feet are often cold and contracted; person is frequently on their
toes, ungrounded, in the fight or flight position (curled, flexed
and/or tight in the Achilles tendon);
- Splits in the body are quite marked, most often between the upper
and lower halves, but also between front and back and left and right city rock trailer!
sides, including the eyes, and between the head and the body
(correlates to use of splitting defense);
- Twisted spine (trying to get away from the threatening
environment or parent that it also needs); person has particular
difficulty with the bow position;
- Ocular blocks are very common, causing vision problems (doesnt
want to see the coldness or hostility), and the expression in the
eyes is often either frozen terror or disconnectedness, with flashes
of murderous fury; expression in the eyes is split from the
expression of the rest of the face; about peter
- Lack of color to the body and coldness in the extremities; also cold
to the touch in the areas of chronic constriction;
- Skin is hypersensitive due to the withdrawal of energy from the
View my
exterior surface; touch is experienced as uncomfortable or painful;
complete profile
- Shallow, constricted breathing (cannot embrace life), and
high-pitched or constricted voice; choke response is easily elicited if
the person is asked to breathe deeply (or on roller);
- Psychosomatic illnesses (headaches, eczema, digestive and
View My Stats
respiratory problems common) due to chronic contractions and
de-energized condition which tend to be worse in persons who are
more strongly defended;
- Chronic areas of severe tension: base of the skull, joints of the
shoulders, legs and hips, the diaphragm, and the ocular segment of
the face;
- Dominant spasticities are in the small muscles around joints (fear
of moving), so there is either inflexibility or hyperflexibility (more
severe because muscles have given out).
ENERGETIC CONDITION
- Energy is withheld from the peripheral structures of the body,
those that make contact with the world: the face, hands, genitals
and feet (correlates to poor reality testing);
- Organs are not fully connected energetically to the core, but are
blocked by chronic tensions at the base of the skull, shoulders,
pelvis and hip joints;
- The inner charge tends to be frozen in the core, making the will
weak, but also precipitating explosive eruptions because of the
compression;
- Energy flow is severely diminished at the waist due to severe
contraction in the diaphragm and the separation from sexual
feelings, and at the base of the head due to separation of thoughts
from feelings;
- Chakras (energy centers): Crown - (spiritual connection) open but
asymmetrical; Third Eye - (intuitive abilities) open, but
asymmetrical; Throat - (self-expression) contracted and inverted;
Heart - (love feelings) contracted and inverted; Solar Plexus -
(universal wisdom) partially opened; Sexual - (pleasure and
creativity) contracted and inverted; Base (grounding and
connection to physical life) contracted and inverted.
OPERATING MODES OF THE MIND, EMOTIONS AND WILL
- Tremendous efforts are made internally to avoid and control any
feelings due to the presence of deep-seated terror and murderous
rage, which leads to intense fears of annihilation if feelings are
expressed (this later becomes attached to any experiences of
perceived rejection or failure); crippling anxiety, panic attacks and
phobias often arise when feelings threaten to emerge;
- As if feelings are expressed according to what one should feel
in a given situation, but there is no real spontaneity; self-expression
13/01/2017 21:36
FULL PERMISSION LIVING: SCHIZOID CHARACTER STRUCTURE
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Today's Quote
Deepok Chopra on Sarah
Palin/Barack Obama
Today's Quote
LOFFREDO FOR PRESIDENT?!
Today's Quote
GUT FEELINGS? LET'S CLARIFY...
TEENAGERS HAVE SEX!!
Today's Quote
ANOTHER ROUND BETWEEN
LOFF56 & PL
HOW STUPID ARE WE? PART SIX:
Watch this, and if yo...
Today's Quote
"Loff56's" Response to PL on "A
No-Brainer Electio...
A No-Brainer Election
PAPA DON'T PREACH?!
Today's Bonus "WHAT?!" Quote
Today's Quote
THE ORAL CHARACTER
STRUCTURE
Today's "WHAT?!" Quote... or
How Stupid Are We? Pa...
Today's "WHAT?!" Quote
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full permission living
FULL PERMISSION LIVING is an
approach to healing and
self-actualization, but moreso, it is an
approach to living life as it is naturally
meant to be lived.
Full Permission Living is the based on
the understanding that human beings
are, by first nature, sane, loving,
cooperative, creative, humorous,
intelligent, productive and naturally
self-regulating. Full Permission Living
rests on the foundation of truth that
all people are entitled to live pleasure-
filled, spontaneous, lives without guilt,
shame or oppressive inner rules and
prohibitions. Indeed, we are meant to
live with full inner permission to follow
our natural inner guidance and our
inborn pleasure instinct to seek out
gratification in all of our actions and
endeavors, and that such a way of
living always benefits those around us
and those that we love.
On this blog, we will explore ways in
which we can reconnect to our true
selves and live lives of physical,
emotional, mental, spiritual, and
material fulfillment, while remaining in
a state of harmony with others and
with the world around us. We will
discover the truth that life is meant to
get better and better as time
progresses, that growing up, maturing
and aging is not at all a deteriorating
process, but rather one in which the
individual becomes more and more
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is mechanical and controlled; aggression is expressed through
passive withdrawal, though explosions are a potential;
- Feelings are talked about, or thought about, but not really felt or
acknowledged as being in the body;
- Will is used predominantly to withdraw from external reality and
to freeze feelings internally, so outward, assertive expressions have
no energy and are weak and scattered;
- Mental faculties are usually highly developed, frequently with a
brilliant intellect; the mind is valued above all else, and deduction,
reasoning, calculating, and figuring things out logically are the
only modes of operating that are trusted; gut feelings and intuition
are denigrated and feared; this person is always in their mind.
PSYCH0LOGICAL FUNCTIONING
- An inadequate sense of self because of a lack of identification with
the body;
- Hypersensitivity and hyperawareness because of weak ego
boundaries (correlates to the lack of peripheral charge in the body);
- Poor reality testing;
- Paranoia, from projected rage, which is exacerbated if either
parent invested sexual energy in the child;
- Psyche is experienced as a house of many rooms without access
between them;
- Person feels possessed by a demonic, alien presence or voice at
times (introjected hostile parental image);
- Subject to dissociation, depersonalization and fugue states;
- Main defenses: denial, projection, introjection, splitting,
disintegration, withdrawal, fragmentation, compartmentalization
and intellectualization;
- Typical masks: spiritual or mental arrogance or aloofness (I am
special, I am superior because I am above physical existence.),
exaggerated appearance of serenity or peacefulness (I am never
angry or afraid.), Don Quixote- like Idealized Self Image (I
dream the Impossible Dream; I am an unrecognized genius;
legends in their own mind.)
- Childhood history may include: frequent nightmares or sleep
disturbances, withdrawn behavior with occasional outbursts of rage,
autism, pervasive fears, preference for fantasy over reality,
psychosomatic illnesses, head-banging or self-mutilation, school
phobia.
INTERPERSONAL AND SEXUAL FUNCTIONING
- Reaching out or self-assertion in connecting to others is avoided
(very little eye contact or physical closeness can be tolerated);
- Intimacy and emotional and physical letting go are intensely
feared, so relating is mental and abstract; others will often
experience this person as spacey or not really there;
- Sexual interaction is mechanical, with fear of losing control; sex is
desired mainly to subscribe to a romantic or erotic idea, rather than
for actual feeling; some warmth and closeness physically is desired,
but in limited quantities; orgasm is not an important objective;
- Others, including love objects, are idealized (positively or
negatively) as are relationships, which are seen in a lofty spiritual
light with little real human contact.
PREDOMINANT NEGATIVE CORE BELIEFS
- I should not exist. There is something essentially wrong with
me.
- I am my mind. I think therefore I am.
- Life is threatening to my life. I will survive by deadening
myself.
- I must control my feelings and others with my mind. If I feel, I
will disintegrate.
- My rage will annihilate others and me. The world is a dangerous
place.
HIGHER SELF ASPECTS
- Strong connection to and awareness of the profoundly spiritual
nature of life;
- Access to vast universal wisdom and the capacity to teach others
how to make the connection to that wisdom;
- Great courage and fearlessness to connect with feelings;
- Great capacity to create and appreciate beauty, including through
artistic abilities.
THERAPEUTIC TASKS
- Become grounded and energized in physical life and in the body as
a whole;
13/01/2017 21:36
FULL PERMISSION LIVING: SCHIZOID CHARACTER STRUCTURE
potent and powerful in all areas until
the very end of a lifetime. We can
discover that everyone has everything
already built in that is necessary to
achieve the fulfillment of their deepest
desires. And it's no secret!
Contact PETER LOFFREDO at:
fpliving@aol.com
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- Develop basic trust in the self, others and life;
- Become aware of, feel consciously, accept and express the deep
primal rage and terror in a non-destructive way without retreating
to primitive defenses;
- Face original state of helplessness and hurt underlying
perfectionistic attitude;
- Reverse the denial of early trauma at the hands of parents and the
environment;
- Develop tolerance for ambivalence in oneself and others (correct
good-or-bad, right-or-wrong and other dualistic images); and
heal the splits between thoughts and feelings, and between positive
and negative feelings;
- Acknowledge and experience the different aspects of the
personality (child, adult, higher self), opening the lines of
communication between them, while establishing an identification
with the adult self;
- Become aware of the erroneous conclusions, images and beliefs of
the mask/false self, and the limitations and unreality of the
idealized self image;
- Experience pleasure and expansion and recognize and express
ones higher self aspects with less fear of being annihilated;
- Primary negative expression that needs release: I hate you! I
kill you!
- Primary positive self-affirmation that needs assertion: I have the
right to be.
THERAPEUTIC APPROACH
- Establish an accepting, non-critical, human environment,
understanding that trusting the therapist and the environment may
take a long time; even fairly well into the treatment, this person
can become paranoid;
- Engage the formidable intellect in a playful, patient and respectful
way to begin the process of exposing the attitudes and beliefs of the
mask, and their fallibility, including wrong conclusions made in
childhood;
- Address concrete self-care, daily living tasks that may be
ineffectively tended to with information, advice, direct teaching and
personal anecdotes to relieve the judgmental attitude towards the
self as a failure or outcast;
- Gradually guide the person into their body through breathing and
grounding exercises initially, then introduce the roller; touching or
hands-on work must be very limited at first, nothing too penetrating
or soothing; help the person to feel their feet on the ground, to feel
energy in their body, to begin noticing the increasing aliveness;
- Remind the person periodically that they survived their childhood,
that the real trauma was in the past;
- Move into the expression of rage using the body once some basic
trust in the therapeutic relationship has been established and there
is some physical groundedness; remind the person that no one gets
destroyed by expressing rage this way; have them look in a mirror
to see that they havent disintegrated after bodywork;
- When the person has become able to tolerate some exposure of
the mask and to feel moderate emotions consistently, more
penetrating bodywork and group process can be added to the
therapy;
- Help the person recognize their Higher Self aspects, especially
their wisdom, to see that their gifts are there even when hidden
behind the mask, and that although they have a wounded aspect in
their personality, they need not identify with that aspect in order for
it to get the help it needs;
- In the later stages of therapy, as the person drops the mask and
releases the raw negative feelings, fear of pleasure and expansion
must be addressed as it comes up with reassurance, based on their
own new experiences, that they can tolerate the energy now and
that the fear is not a regression or a setback;
- The major vehicle for healing the inner splits of this structure is
the relationship itself; the therapist can reveal his own struggles,
imperfections and mistakes at carefully chosen moments, in small
doses, reminding the person that neither of them is perfect and that
even when there is conflict in their relationship, the connection
between them is still a viable and caring one. (Aloofness in the
therapist cannot aid someone who wears a mask of aloofness!).
DEFINITIONS
Denial: a primitive defense consisting of an attempt to disavow the
existence of unpleasant reality or feeling.
Depersonalization: a state in which the person feels as though he
has lost his identity, that he is different or strange or unreal, or that
the environment is strange or unreal (derealization).
Disintegration: collapsing into a state of disorganized mental chaos.
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Dissociation: sudden and temporary alteration in the functions of

consciousness, the fracturing of the integration of ones identity, or
the splitting off of certain mental process from the main body of
consciousness (i.e. thinking from feeling)

Fragmentation: functioning as though the psyche is broken up into

many separate parts. (When fragmented feelings such as rage are
projected, one may feel plagued by many apparently external
voices or faces.)

Fugue: an episode in which a person suddenly leaves an intolerable

situation or activity in a way that appears to have no connection to
what the person was just doing and of which he or she has amnesia
afterwards.

Intellectualization: an attempt to avoid objectionable impulses or

feelings by escaping from the world of emotions into a world of
intellectual concepts and words.

Introjection: incorporating into ones mental structure an image,

usually harsh and not necessarily accurate or complete, of another.
(This can be experienced as an inner alien or demonic oppressive
presence.)

Projection: the process of throwing out upon another the ideas,

feelings or impulses that belong to oneself.

Splitting: compartmentalization of opposite and conflicting affect

states; a defense mechanism in which a person, when faced with
emotional stress or conflict, views himself or others as all good or
all bad, or alternates between idealizing and devaluing the self or
another; positive and negative qualities in the self or others are
unable to be integrated into cohesive images.

Withdrawal: the turning away from reality and shutting off the
perceptive system in order to avoid the anxiety aroused by
interpersonal relationships or feelings.

18 comments:
mind body shop said...
What is it? It is a state of mind in which there are no boundaries. It
is the goal you have chosen. It is the area of your consciousness
that motivates you to achieve. It is the compass of your thoughts. If
you can dream it...you can achieve it... But you... Gotta want it.

September 24, 2008 at 8:51 PM

anonymous said...
I am a very high functioning schizoid who has fired a number of
therapists. Recently I have been studying Schizoid Personality
Disorder on the internet. Please know that this is the best article I
have read to date.

Having written that, has it ever occurred to you non-schizoids that it

is rather arrogant to demand that others spend their emotional
energy on you -especially in a work environment? I get tired of
dealing with gregarious time wasters who belive they are gracing
my life with their prattle. It is not so much that I think I am better
than they are as it is that they consume energy and do not give
anything in return that I deem valuable.

"Intimacy and emotional and physical letting go are intensely

feared" Fear? NOT!Usually what I am bottling up is a desire to tell
the people who are urging me to "let go" that I am indifferent to
whatever has them wound up. I have come to realize when others
dislike the fact that I am not emoting as they feel I should what is
really going on is that they are not able to dictate my emotional
response. Why must I "let go" because others want me to? My
emotions are MY EMOTIONS. My energy is MY ENERGY. I do not
have to "let go" of anything and that presupposes that I have
something I am holding on to. In short, I do not feel as others do
because I do not have to. Other people should deal with it.

November 17, 2008 at 10:53 PM

anonymous said...
This is me. I've been dealing with a psychologist for the past three

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months trying to find out what is "wrong" with me. This blog has
helped me to put things I couldn't convey into proper words. It has
also helped me to understand myself and why things don't work like
they should. Thanks a lot for helping me.

January 11, 2009 at 9:22 AM

anonymous said...
I have been diagnosed as having "schizoid" traits and I have
appreciated this article very much as well. I have satisfying
friendships and other social activities, but I seem to have the
biggest difficulty in interpersonal situations such as my marriage
and with my work partner, where I am expected to work so closely
with these people, share decision making, and sacrifice many of my
own desires and inclinations for the sake of the relationship. At
times, I feel like an "alien" watching people's emotional reactions to
things and insistence on following certain rules and roles, and just
not getting it - and not wanting to get it, either, because I like the
way I am! But I have had some success with having compassion for
these people and found that, at least, it made me feel happy that
they were feeling happier, and helped things go more smoothly
when I was willing to empathize with them and give energy to their
concerns, even for short amounts of time. I recently went to several
personal growth workshops that focused on awareness of the body
and the importance of touch, and these produced major shifts in
me. I still have significant inner conflicts around whether I really
want to "adapt" to a non-schizoid lifestyle, or whether this is, at
least to a large extent, part of my nature and I would enjoy my life
more if I did accept my inclinations to want to live alone, avoid
irrevocable commitments, etc. That's still a work in progress.
Thanks for the article!

May 24, 2010 at 1:25 AM

tyler said...
after three+ years of confusion, i have come to the conclusion that i
have been suffering from the misidentification with my ego that is
symptomatic of a schizoid character defense. now, my case might
be unique in that it was brought about by extreme and unwise drug
use. privileged with living off college-funds set up by my family (i.e.
unburdened with having to perform in a job/the real world) i got in
the habit of taking psychedelic drugs regularly for a few years. I
was blissed-out, TO SAY THE LEAST. but i was also responsible
about my use of these sacraments to the extent that I used them to
work on myself- to the point where i was capable of facilitating
healings for members of my community. unfortunately, my family
was not as eager to receive these healings as others and our
previously positive relationships deteriorated. i went through an
existential crisis and dropped out of school to save the world
(thereby forfeiting outside funding). with a crappy job and no longer
capable of maintaining my high-vibration state by taking drugs
every weekend, i became extremely ungrounded. eventually i just
stopped communicating with people and turned from my once
extroverted state into a completely lonely and introverted recluse. i
stopped trusting my own true self and lost the self-confidence that
is necessary to be a positive member of the community. i developed
energetic blockages, became depressed, and pretty much just
smoked pot, drifted into the stratosphere, and went back to sleep
all day. this went on for a couple of years. lately, after much self
work (namely getting in touch with my body) i realized i am doing
what Barbara Brennan, in her book Light Emerging, called "first
splitting, then twisting the energy-consciousness" in my body. the
result would be to make it unsafe to be here. i would then leave the
physical plane and sort of exist in a timeless place where nothing
really at all was going on. this happens unconsciously and results in
my creating unsafe situations wherever i go. of course, no one else
knows what i am going through, so when they realize something is
wrong they treat me as a regular confused person, but this doesn't
work. the twisting of my energy is so extreme that it would take
either someone experienced in healing someone with this condition
or someone else with a very high capacity for healing. i have a
left-right split, it has felt like my head is separated from my body

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and also a top-bottom split at my heart. my continual splitting and

vacating have made my body, especially my lower body (legs and
torso) extremely weak, which only makes it more difficult to heal.
anyway, i am coming to realize that my purpose on this earth (as is
everyones') is to heal and be healed. now, however, rather than try
to psychically force those around me to heal me (or the alternative-
escape social life altogether and go live in the the forest), i am
going to try to commit to a strategy of strict self-healing. your post
on ho'oponopono was extremely helpful in this regard- all the
suffering in my life really does originate with me. i have to become
balanced again and get my feet on the ground (i literally felt like
they weren't touching the ground) in order to make my body safe
enough to reinhabit. once i complete my self-healing, i can regain
the confidence that has allowed me to facilitate healings in the past.
with all these problems i am useless to myself and others and
things will continue to be dissonant. i must accept my role as a
wounded healer (and let go of the past). thanks for the post and
thanks, everybody, for the comments. if you are going through this
frightening, frustrating process: have faith: everything will work out
in the end.

November 4, 2010 at 10:51 PM

not safe in your body? said...
for those of you who "split and twist" their energy and then leave
out the top: focus on the top of your head and then work your way
down your body. if you are like me, then too much of your energy is
up near your head and you are extremely weak in the lower part of
your body. the energy of awareness is healing in itself and by
simply focusing on those parts of your body that feel wrong you
begin processes of healing them. it may be frightening and
frustrating (it is for me) but over time you can heal. also, i am
pretty off-balance (i actually stumble around) and have noticed that
a centering meditation is helpful in regaining a sense of balance.
take care of yourself, eat healthy food, try to break your addictions,
and do something good for yourself once a day for a week. and
know that you are loved and you love people and that is all there is.
everything else is just a distraction. i love you and i am not alone.
good luck.

November 4, 2010 at 10:58 PM

anonymous said...
a problem i have, being someone who suffers from the symptoms of
schizoidal tendencies, is integrating higher spiritual truths- those
that exist where all time and space exists and everything IS perfect
(the place to which i force myself to go by contorting my body into
unsafe positions) with physical reality (which is also perfect). I have
so severely twisted my body that I can't even look people in the
eyes, i always feel like i am floating above the ground and that
people are making it impossible for me to talk around in a safe or
comfortable manner. i have managed to deny that i am TOTALLY
free and live life as if other people's thoughts and feelings (which i
am very sensitive to and pick up automatically (as we all are and
do)) control me and my thoughts and feelings. life is good so i get
confused when people approach me and talk to me as if everything
is ok when i have been walking around like a confused zombie for
so long. these intellectualized thoughts about the nature of reality
are false- with this realized a problem that remains for me now is
allowing my body's built-in balancing system to do its work. i have
done permanent damage to my legs, probably my back, and have
such severe tension in my neck and shoulders i can barely feel my
face. despite this, i AM safe in my body, even if people don't think i
should feel that way and whether or not they do.

holding on doesn't work, i must surrender.

thanks for the post, its right on (at least for me).

January 7, 2011 at 9:27 PM

anonymous said...
It seems to be a process in which a "c" follows "b" follows "a" recipe

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prevails and if the work at hand doesn't fall into a particular slot its
dynamics are poorly understood.
It's as if this character structure is saying: "If you can't define the
job for me don't expect me to fill it." The person who described the
job is left wondering: "What did I not say?" There's a constant
sense of non-resolution.

January 15, 2011 at 8:41 PM

anonymous said...
I think this is absolute genius and I so appreciate the attention you
give to the importance of body work. As someone who's been trying
to have a healthy relationship with someone who our couple's
therapist recently identified as schizoid...I can tell you that this
person is not in his body at all. He lives in his head, in abstraction.
He has been in therapy for four years and the energy has never
moved. He grew up in a very emotionally cold environment. His
parents are like robots. He has terrible bouts of anxiety,
nervousness, panic. He can barely deal with the most basic day to
day interactions required in work and relationships. He just gets
paralyzed with fear. He goes back and forth between flooding, full
disclosure of his feelings with me to total contraction and
withdrawal. It's very sad and frustrating. :(

March 7, 2013 at 4:02 PM

anonymous said...
http://www.clarity-of-being.org/character-structures.htm

April 8, 2013 at 8:11 AM

john kelleher said...
You don't seem to discern "schizoid character" from the "schizoid
state of mind"? You don't seem to be using the term "schizoid
character" as it is used in Object Relation Theory by Guntrip,
Fairbairn and others? Ah I see you are referring to a defense
mechanism and just using the term "schizoid character" for
consistency. Vary confusing especially when you then go on to
throw "psychopathic character" into the mix. Differentiating the
schizoid character from the schizoid state of mind is fundamental to
avoiding the potential sociopath/psychopath in therapy-- one of
which is not treatable.

Interesting work, thanks.

May 9, 2013 at 12:48 AM

anonymous said...
Hi,
Enjoyed the article. I strongly relate to this state of being. My
problem is wanting to change - I don't like it's effects but the nature
of the condition blocks change. Leaving the world looks like a great
option, rather than trying to ground into it. How can I want to
change if the nature of the condition makes engaging the world
appear so pathetic, pitiful and ignorant? I often think of humanity
as quite pathetic. Of those who engage the world as ignorant, and
the process of engaging the world as completely undesirable. I'd
change if I could, but I'm quite powerless over this world view as
it's been with me since the first months of birth - as you have
suggested - and I believe, began before with a resistance to the act
of incarnation itself.

And yes, I am a therapist and teacher who helps many connect with
their spiritual side - but dealing with anything outside of this is
painful and overwhelming.

September 7, 2013 at 12:24 AM

thekelpie said...
Superb insights here, thank you very much. I can see myself in all
of this. I guess I'm resigned to my fate, although not as happily so
as I'd like. What I'm mulling over in particular: what is the essential
wisdom to be gleaned from having a life with this character
structure? I'd say the greatest sadness I am aware of is having so
much ability and no way of being able to utilise it purposefully, for
my own benefit or anyone else's. It's a prison this one, and I

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wouldn't want another life like it. My first memory, at 2 years old,
was an overwhelming feeling that I would always be alone in life
and I wouldn't cope. All this defensive infrastructure to try to attain
the coping part of that memory! The ultimate Pyrrhic victory over
fear. Anyway, haven't found a way out but would appreciate leaving
this life with some wisdom built into my being as a result of having
this character structure and thereby not really living. Thanks again,
a fine insight you have.

November 15, 2013 at 10:09 PM

client1588 said...
Hello
In your article you said Body is often narrow and contracted in an
effort to hold together against the fear of falling apart (body may be
fuller and more athletic if there are paranoid elements present due
to sexualizing by parents" and I wondered how the body becomes
fuller, or more athletic if there was sexualisation by the parent.

My core, my main way of relating to others and "self is very schizoid

(schizotypal), which includes huge amounts of body pain, body
symptoms that cannot be explained. Especially of the nervous
system, the skin being one of the organs that hurt the most.
I have researched this state of being/mind for some years now but I
am unable to find an explanation why the body grows more athletic
if there was sexualisation by parents. Any advice/insight very
welcome and appreciated.

January 5, 2014 at 2:27 PM

lion goodman said...
I want to offer individuals who are suffering from this syndrome an
alternative method of healing. I was identified as having a schizoid
structure by my former partner, who trained with Lowen and used
bioenergetics as a healing methodology. That worked well for me to
come back into my body, yet I realized I needed a mental-emotional
path of healing at the same time. Based on studies of other
methodologies, I found that changing my core beliefs, including the
ones mentioned above in the article, had a direct and immediate
impact on my ability to live an embodied, balanced life. I developed
my own methodology which I now use to treat psychological
wounds. I have also taught this method to hundreds of therapists
and coaches around the world. Check it out at
www.ClearYourBeliefs.com. For therapists interested in this work,
visit www.ClearBeliefs.com.

November 22, 2015 at 3:14 PM

anonymous said...
I'd like to see adoption added to this list: "or due to traumatic birth
circumstances (Caesarian, premature or breech delivery, incubator,
etc.)" It would be good for adoption to be recognized as the trauma
that it is... not because it's bad or unnecessary, but just so we can
get more truthful about its impact.

January 18, 2016 at 1:17 PM

c3934a52-d8fb-11e5-a026-3fadf2d19ee9 said...
That's pretty crazy. I was told by psychologists that I have schizoid
traits but not the full personality. The traits grow more noticeable
under high stress situations. Perfectionist parents do want the best
for their children in their own way. But when a child with more
imperfections than the parents could handle the path set for
schizoid development is put into place. A sheltered childhood
teaches you something crucial that the world is a very dangerous
place and the only thing that decreases that anxiety is
self-sufficiency. People always wonder why I don't talk to or connect
with my family, except my parents of course, and that is because I
don't want to or feel a need to.

February 21, 2016 at 7:32 PM

c3934a52-d8fb-11e5-a026-3fadf2d19ee9 said...
That's also the reason I don't care or desire to form close
relationships with too many others. Some others get so offended by
this because they think it is a form of rejection but it is not. I do

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have the capability to become close to only a select few people I

want to but I'm generally introverted and a loner. The reason I have
never been fully diagnosed as having the full schizoid personality
disorder is because I do have anxiety and depression. I also can
have a short temperament to outburst which is not usually seen in
schizoids. But the funny thing is the outburst only happens during
times of dependency... Psychiatry is a tough field to diagnose stuff
because a lot of disorders share similar features...

February 21, 2016 at 7:40 PM

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