Ep 38: Unpacking Schizoid Subtypes | A Critical Look

In this episode of The Personality Couch, we (licensed clinical psychologists Doc Bok and Doc Fish) take a critical look at the subtypes of schizoid personality, critiquing existing definitions and theories, particularly the 6 subtypes of Dr. Theodore Millon. We explore his mild, moderate, and severe subtypes: the Reserved Apathetic, Introspectively Apathetic, Remotely Asocial, Languidly Asocial, Depersonalized Schizoid, and Affectless Schizoid. We propose our own 5 subtypes and invite our schizoid listeners and viewers to share which type they identify with the most!

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Chapters 00:00 Introduction & Schizoid Personality Recap 02:21 Historical Subtypes - Brief Review 03:09 Akhtar’s Covert & Overt Schizoid 05:08 Understanding Millon’s Personality Theory 07:51 Millon’s Mild Subtype: The Reserved Apathetic 10:32 Millon’s Mild Subtype: The Introspectively Apathetic 12:15 Millon’s Moderate Subtype: The Remotely Asocial   14:34 Millon’s Moderate Subtype: The Languidly Asocial 16:52 Millon’s Severe Subtype: The Depersonalized Schizoid 19:16 Millon’s Severe Subtype: The Affectless Schizoid 22:04 Doc Bok & Fish Subtype: The Master Masker 25:19 Doc Bok & Fish Subtype: The Quietly Antisocial 27:38 Doc Bok & Fish Subtype: The Depressive Schizoid 30:08 Doc Bok & Fish Subtype: The Slothy Schizoid 32:03 Doc Bok & Fish Subtype: The Scattered Professor 34:25 Conclusion and Listener Engagement

Episode Transcript

(01:00:00):
Welcome to the Personality Couch podcast,
where we discuss all thingspersonality and
clinical practice. I'm yourhost, Doc Bok,
and I'm here with my co-host,Doc Fish. We
are both licensed clinicalpsychologists in
private practice. And todaywe are continuing
our series on schizoid personality. Today

(01:00:22):
we'll journey quickly throughhistorical names,
take a critical look at Millon's subtypes, andthen we'll end by sharing five schizoid
subtypes that we came up withfor fun. Let's dive in.
Well diving in, the DSM sucks in its
definition, which is my own opinion,but the more I read 13 01:00:40,333 --> 01:00:43,875 about it, the more I agree. It also mirrors

(01:00:43):
Millon in its focus on deficitsin the schizoid
person, which is why weprefer McWilliams'
approach, highlighting thatwithdraw into fantasy
to avoid engulfment. Mm hmm.But in the DSM,
there has to be a patternof social detachment
and restricted emotional expression, plus
four or more criteria involvingnot wanting,

(01:01:06):
enjoying and or lacking closerelationships,
lack of interest in sexualexperiences with
someone else, choosing solitaryactivities
and not taking pleasurein activities, and
then appearing indifferent to praise and
criticism, showing emotional coldness,detachment, flattened
affectivity, etc. Also, remember, there's nopsychosis or autism. Right. So then in

(01:01:30):
regard to the normal variant of schizoid
personality, Millon referencesOldham and Morris' 1990
description of a solitarystyle. So,
"Self-contained individuals who require no
one else to guide them, to admire them, to
provide emotional sustenance,to entertain them, or

(01:01:52):
to share their experiences. Although they
may become involved with others,at the heart,
they find greatest comfort,reassurance and
freedom within themselves."I really like this
description. Yeah, they'reself-contained.
Schizoids don't pull likesome personalities
pull for a response or their energy takes

(01:02:13):
up a lot of space, but notthe schizoid. They
don't demand anything, andtheir energy is very
contained. Now historically,there's not too much
discussion about differentflavors of schizoid
personalities. I only reallyfound two theorists
from 1927 and 1930. They describesubtypes of

(01:02:34):
schizoids using words likejuvenile, precocious,
hard boiled, otherworldly,grouchy. Yeah, but
they lack the depth and theyreally didn't tell
me anything about the schizoid. So a hard boiledschizoid as opposed to a scrambled
schizoid, schizoid over easy,sunny side up? I

(01:02:57):
guess, I guess. Oh my, butI have to agree with
you. I did look at these descriptionsand was
like, vague, like they justweren't helpful. You
don't get these people. Yeah. But then we
have Akhtar who contributeda lot to the field of
personality psychology bydescribing overt and
covert presentations that existwithin the same

(01:03:20):
person and are not separatesubtypes. Right. Yep.
So we have the overt or externalpresentation of a
schizoid that involves processeslike the kind of
overly detached, self-sufficient,absent-minded,
uninteresting, asexual, idiosyncraticallymoral
type. So it's the turtle shellthat we keep talking

(01:03:44):
about. And it's also thepresentation that
the DSM focuses on. Yeah.And then the covert,
that internal presentation of a schizoid
involves being exquisitely sensitive,emotionally needy,
acutely vigilant, creative,often perverse and
vulnerable to corruption. Socontradictory pieces
of the self exists in allpersonalities, but

(01:04:06):
they are handled differently.Of course. Yeah. So my
understanding is that schizoidstend to detach
from these covert processes,but they can entertain
them when they're feelingsafe or when they're
alone. Right. Yep. Okay. Somoving on from Akhtar,
we've got to look at Millon, becausethis is going to
take up a little bit of spacehere. So generally

(01:04:28):
Millon has been our favorite personality theoristbecause he goes deep. However,
we are not a fan of his schizoid
conceptualization nor his subtypesas they again, focus on this
deficit based characterization,very similar to
the DSM, but we will discusshis kind of overall

(01:04:49):
theory and ideas here brieflybefore going into
the subtypes. And I do encourageour listeners and
viewers as you follow along,we would love
to hear from you about whichsubtype that you
identify with. So I'll go aheadand create some
polls on the YouTube channelpage. Okay. So briefly,
understanding Millon's theoryof personality, we

(01:05:10):
need some context. So everyonehas a personality,
and Millon described personalitiesfrom a range
of like normal or mild tosevere or disordered.
Because schizoid personalities are not
structurally defective, there'sno disintegration
into psychosis. Like theremight be in paranoid
borderline or schizotypal.So the severity level

(01:05:33):
is worsening pathology and worseningfunctioning,
but it never hits actual psychosis.Yes. Yep. So
this, the levels of mildto moderate slash
abnormal or severe or disorderedlike that continuum,
those three different things is unique to
Millon. The DSM focuses only onthat disorder level of

(01:05:56):
the spectrum versus psychodynamictalks about
the space in between thosedifferent levels,
the space in between those three differentlevels of organization. So specifically,
disorganization of the personality is
where psychodynamic sits. Sowhether or not the
personality is intact, rigidor falling apart.

(01:06:18):
Millon also emphasizes thatno personality is the
same. So no one's goingto have a textbook
personality. He describessubtypes of schizoid
personality for understanding how other
personality flavors can influencethat core schizoid dynamic.
So he says like any one ofthese subtypes that
we are going to be describingcan be found along

(01:06:40):
the spectrum, like anywherefrom mild to severe.
Right. Right. And I think it'sworth reiterating
here. We actually don't reallycare for his
subtypes either. Like for me personally,they don't make
sense. Honestly, when I wasreading through
them, I felt like I was readinghoroscopes,
not personality psychology,which is really,
really different from Millon.We still think

(01:07:03):
that Millon is one of the greatestpersonality
theorists of all time. Butagain, in my opinion,
I don't think that he got schizoids.He seemed to
kind of run over them likemost other theorists.
Surprise. Yeah, schizoids areoften misunderstood
and bulldozed. I also thinkhe was so adamant to
separate avoidant and schizoidthat his bias

(01:07:25):
was was quite high. Mm hmm.Which perhaps is a bit
narcissistic and if not definitelyyucky because
bulldozing schizoids on hisown path to greatness,
like that's come on, man.Like, no, no. But
anyway, get me off that train.Doc Fish, let's summarize
briefly his different blasé schizoid subtypes.I think there's six of them, right?

(01:07:51):
There are six. Okay. Two mildsubtypes, which he
calls apathetic. So the firstmild subtype is the
reserved apathetic who hasan external locus
of control and lacks an innerworld. So Millon
described these types as practical and
phlegmatic, preferring concretefields like mechanics or

(01:08:12):
analytics. They might becomedeeply absorbed
in interests, but they'reeasily overwhelmed.
And that leads to like ascattered focus and
short bursts of inconsistentactivity. And that
can make them seem uncommittedor unreliable,
like to other people. Mmhmm. Yeah. Reserved
apathetic schizoids oftenlack confidence,

(01:08:34):
devalue their own achievementsand feel self-conscious.
They find no real joy in lifeor relationships,
though they may show strongfeelings with trusted
individuals. But generally,they are socially
shy and withdrawn. They avoideffort and energy
with things like competitionand assertiveness,

(01:08:55):
which means they often fadeinto the background
and then other people mislabel them as
limited or disabled. Interestingly,though, they are
self-reliant and they rejectimposed routine
schedule and social norms.Yeah. Okay. So just
kind of briefly, my reactionto this is that in

(01:09:17):
this subtype, Millon is basicallysaying that you
can be a schizoid withoutan inner world. And
it's just a mild presentationof schizoid. This
does not make sense to me. Likecan a schizoid not
have an inner world? If theydon't, if that exists,
then I would think they would just be a

(01:09:39):
shell, which actually would bemore problematic and
potentially even disorderedlevel for this
personality. So I think thisinformation conflicts
in my opinion. Yeah. I mean, I think he'shighlighting that deficit view.
So it's decreased emotionsand a lack of inner
world. What if Millon just didn'treally know what

(01:10:01):
he was talking about withschizoids? Yeah.
Yep. That's kind of what I'mthinking. But I think
he's going on what he's observing,like the lack
of, but again, not what's actuallythere. But I'm
curious listeners and viewers,if you identify
with this subtype, let usknow in the comments
and honestly help me understandthe subtype

(01:10:24):
because it doesn't make senseto me. It is hard
for me to understand not havingan inner world
too. But yeah. However, thesecond mild subtype
is the introspectively apatheticwho does have an
internal locus of control anda rich inner world.
So unlike the reserved apatheticsubtypes,

(01:10:46):
they have that vivid inner worldand it's used to
cope with isolation and emptiness.So they're
aware of life's emptiness andthey might struggle
with identity and turn toconcrete fields like
science, tech, engineering,and computer science.
Yep. Yep. And then additionally,with a sense
of internal control, theywork hard and make

(01:11:06):
independent decisions. Theyare unconcerned
with pleasing others and thuscan be blunt and
insensitive, especially towardsinefficiency
and laziness in others. However,they hold strong
values, prefer routine,resist change, and
are often seen as self-absorbedand unshakable.

(01:11:28):
Okay. So this one seems more feasible and
relatable, but it still doesn'tfeel complete.
I agree. I think he's scratchingthe surface
here. So we've identified theinner world in this one
and the ability to be a hardworker, especially
using those routines and schedulesas scaffolding
to get things done. But histake on them as like

(01:11:50):
neglecting other relationships,being blunt and
unshakable, it's a bit judgy again. And I
still don't think he's seeingthe full picture, but
we're at least a little bit closer. Sure.
Okay. So then because apathydoesn't do well in our
social world, it can lead to increased in
passivity, isolation, and thus moredetachment and pathology.

(01:12:15):
So that would move those mildpersonalities to
a more moderate level. So whatare the moderate
subtypes? Yep. Okay. We have two of these
here. So there is a remotelyasocial subtype of
schizoid personality thatis at the moderate
level with avoidant featuresand sometimes even

(01:12:36):
schizotypal features. Likethe avoidant, they
are often shaped by early rejectionand hostility,
and they often feel unlovedand inadequate. So
to avoid emotional pain earlyon, they withdrew
so deeply that their emotional and social
capacities became stunted.They appear distant,

(01:12:58):
inaccessible, and cut offfrom pleasure and
growth. So severe cases mayshow some schizotypal
traits like odd behavior,depersonalization,
and withdrawal into fantasy.They function on the
peripheral, like often inlow status roles or
even just drifting through life,sometimes ending up
homeless or institutionalized. And then

(01:13:20):
because they don't tend to functionindependently,
others can view them as weak or
unintelligent. They're not, butthey are vulnerable to
manipulation by more charismatic,purpose driven
groups. So remotely asocialtypes are like social
drifters, kind of like a tumbleweedblowing from

(01:13:42):
here to there. And I can seehow this would lead
to manipulation by social groupsif they just kind
of drift aimlessly. And I thinkthis is also where
we see the schizoid and avoidantseparation
difficulties. Like should theyeven be separate?
Or are they different flavors of the same
thing? I do think they shouldbe separate,

(01:14:04):
but not in the way that Millonseemed to force.
Yeah, that's fair. That's fair.And I will plug,
we do have an avoidant versusschizoid episode
in the works. So make sureyou subscribe so you
don't miss that one. Yes. ButI think again, Millon
is only scratching the surfacewith this remotely
asocial subtype, and he's seeingthe observable

(01:14:26):
behaviors, but not what's insidethe turtle shell
leading to this level of dysfunction.Okay. The
second moderate subtype iswhere it gets clear
in Millon's deficit basedview of schizoid.
He describes the languidlyasocial subtype of
schizoid personality at themoderate level with

(01:14:47):
depressive features, combiningthe introversion
of the schizoid with the lethargy of the depressive.So their deficit is an energy
and motivation, making themseem lazy, weary, and
phlegmatic. Hmm. So then languidlyasocial schizoids
struggle with life responsibilities and

(01:15:10):
prefer a plain routine life.Their life is largely
uneventful with stretchesof passive seclusion
that are sprinkled with feelingempty. They lack
drive, spontaneity, or interestin pleasure. They
are cognitively detached andthey tend to be quiet,
dull, and somewhat dependent,coming off to

(01:15:33):
others as weak and unproductive.They do have emotions
and experience depressive angst,but they don't
express it strongly becausethey are so lethargic
and inactive. So this onedoes make the most
sense to me because it's kindof quite turtle-y.
I honestly think this is hisbest description

(01:15:54):
yet because it starts to describethe inside of the
turtle shell. I agree. AndI think I like it out
of most of his types. I wouldeven say I've had a
few cases that would fitinto this category
and I would actually find myselfwondering like,
what exactly do you do withall this time on your
hands? Oh my goodness. Well,time is an illusion.

(01:16:18):
I am convinced. But anyway,yes, moving on,
moving on. So schizoid personalitiesin the moderate
category can disintegrate intodeeper pathology
due to decreased engagementwith life that stems
from isolation and apathy.But there is still no

(01:16:39):
psychosis. Only through a schizotypalpersonality
do we get to potential psychosis or even
schizophrenia. That's not whatwe're talking about here.
Right. So there is a depersonalizedschizoid
subtype that's at the disorderlevel with schizotypal
traits. It's the dreamy, staring off into

(01:17:02):
space subtype that seems cognitivelydeficient and
oblivious. Like they have troubleunderstanding
interpersonal logic. This isan interesting quote
by Millon here. So he describedit as, "They are
much like sleepwalkers who havea physical presence,
but are totally unaware ofwhat they are doing

(01:17:23):
and what they are thinkingor feeling." I'm not
totally convinced that they'reunaware of what
they're thinking and feeling.But I imagine they
could come across like that.Maybe it could
actually feel like they'renot there. Maybe
they're observers or they'redetached from
everything. The big piece isthat I think these

(01:17:45):
types really seem dissociated from
themselves. They are reallyengaging in that deep,
depersonalization. Yeah.Yes. We're headed
towards schizotypal disintegrationand schizophrenia,
but schizotypal on its own, it's its own
thing. Like its own personality,apparently,
is actually argued by psychologists, and we'lldiscuss that in a different episode.

(01:18:10):
We like to argue about everything. Oh, we're a
contentious field, I suppose.Right. But we do have an
upcoming episode differentiatingschizoid,
schizotypal, and schizophreniabecause it does
get confusing, and it's controversial.But I
think Millon here is actuallystruggling to
differentiate schizoid and schizotypal

(01:18:31):
disintegration in a coherent way.I actually find it hard to
follow for him. And that said,with this more
severe type, this level ofdetachment, though
not psychotic, is notable and extremely problematic.And I believe that this type,
I've probably seen in outpatientcare as well.

(01:18:54):
Yeah. So they're schizoids wholive in their heads.
Surprise. But to be actually cognitively
deficient, I'm not convinced.So, so far we have Millon
propose the languid subtypeas physically
deficient in their energy, thenthe depersonalized
subtype as cognitively deficient.And then

(01:19:16):
next we have the affectlesssubtype with apparent
emotional deficits. Yes.And I have to agree
with you, Doc Fish. I am notso convinced either.
I think, again, I feel likea broken record.
I think we're just describingthe turtle shell
of the schizoid and we'repossibly conflating

(01:19:36):
the different lines of personalitydisintegration,
schizotypal, schizoid. Anyway, just my opinion.Tell me about this type, Doc Fish.
Sure. So the affectless schizoidsubtype is
at the disorder level withcompulsive features
involving emotional deficits.And that impacts
their ability to emotionallyconnect or relate

(01:19:58):
to others. So they're isolatedand detached
from all their emotions comingoff as like chilly,
spiritless, unresponsive, uncaring, and
unperturbed. Their indifferenceisn't antisocial or cruel,
but it's paired with compulsive traits likeemotional constriction and formality,
which is leading to like littleor no expression

(01:20:20):
at all. So they do tend toenjoy more structured
settings, and they might bebetter at adulting
than other schizoid flavors.Hmm. Yeah. Okay. So
here we have no emotionalexpression, but not
schizophrenia. And I'm curious,what do you think
it means when these types are better at
adulting? Sure. So because of theircompulsive flavor and

(01:20:43):
because they don't have that energy or
cognitive deficiencies, they canbetter maintain life
responsibilities and maybe likeactually get some
things done. Yeah. So theircompulsivity serves as
a kind of energy to get thestuff done, but
only in their world, like notthe external world,
unless those overlap. But basically these

(01:21:06):
subtypes are not great. I'm notimpressed with Millon's
conceptualization of schizoid. I'm not
impressed with his focus on thedeficits without looking
inside that shell. Yeah. I'veworked with enough
schizoids to be able to seemore of the nuances.
Not saying I have it all figuredout. Certainly
don't, but this, this just isn'tclicking for me.

(01:21:26):
I'm just like, this, thisdoesn't make sense.
I read his descriptions assomeone who is deep
and understands people, butdoes not understand
the schizoid. I really feellike he's missing the
mark. I agree. And so we made our own five
subtypes because it was fun! Yes.Yes. And this is where

(01:21:50):
let us know if you identifywith these types
in our poll and if not, whatsubtype or subtypes
would you propose? Let us know in the
comments. Okay. So the first oneis really interesting.
First one that we came upwith is the master
masker schizoid. So thesetypes might run a

(01:22:12):
business. Maybe they're theCEO. They can operate
as high functioning socially,right? So they seem
to have strong leadershipskills. They might
lead teams, presentations, meetings.Maybe they're a
pillar or a leader in the communityeven. Okay. So
they might have a more compulsiveand/or community

(01:22:34):
based flavor. And I thinkit's easier to maybe
explain this using Enneagramlanguage. So here is
where we might see like a ninewing one, a five
wing six, or maybe just havinglike a one or three
in their tri type. Yes. Yes. I love the
Enneagram for this reason. I thinkit can be very helpful
in kind of providing additionalscaffolding

(01:22:56):
with personality understanding,but these types,
regardless of how they areappearing externally
or to the community or intheir jobs, they are
still extremely introvertedand find people so,
so draining. And as a result,it's not uncommon for
them to fall into exhaustionafter work or activist

(01:23:19):
activities. However, they keepdoing what they do,
possibly because they feela strong sense of
social responsibility in thatarea or in their
area of expertise, area of concern,area of work,
etc. Exactly. So it's in thearea that they deem
worthy or the area thatmight be necessary

(01:23:40):
for survival. And that's wheremasking comes in
heavily. We previously talkedabout females being
more socialized to work outtheir like emotional
expression muscle, but otherfactors can lead
to increased masking like culture,race, region,
socioeconomic status. A viewer actually

(01:24:00):
reached out to us with a lotof really great points,
one of which was how race canplay a huge part in
masking as well to avoid beingstereotyped or to
further blend in with the "dominant"
in group. So I think that'sanother important
thing to think about. So we have race,
gender, being a sexual minority,a racial minority,

(01:24:23):
being from a different region,a different
socioeconomic status, likelots and lots of
layers as to how this maskingcan present and
why it presents in schizoids.And we love hearing
unique schizoid experiencesand stories. So to
those of you who've reachedout, we see you and

(01:24:45):
we appreciate you. Yes. Yes,we do. So last thing
on this subtype, I think hereis where you see the
strong moral backbone of the schizoid,
especially with mixed like compulsivepersonality flavors.
So schizoids often do caredeeply about people,

(01:25:08):
justice and kindness or fairness.And I think that
especially shows up in thistype. Yes. And then
let's move on to the next subtypethat we came up
with the quietly antisocialschizoid. Ooh,
intriguing. So the quietlyantisocial schizoid,
perhaps secretly wants to, youknow, like burn the

(01:25:30):
world, but never would. Or maybefantasizes about
like taking over the world.Yeah. So Enneagram
language real quick, the schizoid has more access
to the type eight's energy,I would say. And there
might be fantasies or actualaction of being like
off the grid. So this typecan even seem like

(01:25:52):
stubborn, impermeable, like don'ttell me what to do,
but always like passively,never actively and
usually from their little bunker,wherever that
might be. Here, I think it's important to
differentiate between thissubtype and Millon's
nomadic antisocial, whichis an antisocial

(01:26:12):
personality with flavors ofschizoid and avoidant.
So the nomadic antisocialis apt to remove
themselves from society andexpress anger when
provoked. They can be dangerous,but they're not
as impulsive as other antisocialtypes. We are also
not talking about a paranoidwho withdraws
because the world's out to getthem. Yes. Yep. Yep. And

(01:26:35):
then quietly antisocial schizoids aren't
dangerous, but they reject imposedsocial conventions and
norms. And then they live ontheir own internal
set of rules, perhaps with alittle bit of cynicism
in there as well. A littlebit of spice. Yeah.
Spicy. So they might still functionwell in a job

(01:26:55):
or with safe family or friends.They can be very
loyal within their bubble, butskeptical of those
outside of their bubble.And perhaps they're
more able to be motivatedby anger to protect
innocents. Oh yeah. Like children,animals, those
who can't defend themselves.Yeah. So using that

(01:27:16):
little bit of spice for good.Uh huh. So next we
split up Millon's languid asocial into two types.
So we posit that there's adepressive schizoid
and a slothy schizoid. Okay.So depressive schizoid.
We'll do that one first usingEnneagram language

(01:27:36):
here for just a minute again,but the depressive
schizoid is a double or tripledoing repressed
type. So doing repressed meansthat they just
have a hard time with mojo.They have a hard
time self-starting, so they mighthave strong access
to type four, type five, andtype nine energy
and may actually score thehighest among those

(01:27:59):
Enneagram types. Okay. Sothere's more of an
emphasis on that schizoid-ydetachment and the
more depressive masochisticemotions more so
than the slothy energy. Yeah.Because the depressive
vibe is more prominent inthe subtype, meaning
like the flatness or the emptinessof the schizoid

(01:28:20):
is often then filledwith depression.
Okay. So they might have anaspect of Millon's
introspective type, but alsocan have masochistic
elements at times too, as theirapathy and getting
stuck in their depression canlead to a negative
reinforcement cycle, right?So doing nothing leads
to doing more of nothingand they just might

(01:28:42):
be more ineffectual. Yeah.Yeah. That negative
reinforcement cycle that happens.So in this schizoid-y
subtype, I have seena type of dependency
that can keep them from functioningon their
own. It's almost like theykind of maybe even
subconsciously like don'twant to function

(01:29:04):
and the depression deepensthat not functioning.
And then as a result, theyoften have family
or others taking care of them,which then only
reinforces that they don'thave to function in
the social world. And they canget very stuck there.
They're not always fun tobe around if they're

(01:29:24):
more masochistic and stubbornto change. Yeah.
Yeah. I think it's importantto mention though,
they don't want to be rescuedlike any schizoid,
like they don't want to, andthey don't really
pull to be rescued either. Butbecause you as the
person in their circle areempathetic, you
likely desire to rescue them.And there is likely

(01:29:46):
something reinforcing aboutthat attention that
they receive, but they actuallydon't want. So
it's almost a little bit oflike a quiet under the
surface push-pull that occursin these individuals
around the schizoid as a reactionto them. And in
our opinion, this type is themost likely to show

(01:30:07):
up to treatment. Now, similarto the depressive
schizoid is like that slothyschizoid. So using
Enneagram language again, theyare also a double
or triple withdrawn tri-type,but with less of a
four focus and more of likea five and a nine
focus. So they might be lessemotional and more

(01:30:28):
physically slow. So theirdepression isn't as
like emotional and painful,but there's decreased
motivation and movement.So there's like no
inertia. Yeah. Like these typesare just living
life in slow mo. Nothing'shurried. There's,
there's no hurry function. Liketheir personality
model didn't come with thatfeature. And perhaps

(01:30:51):
they perhaps they have likemore of a dependent
flavor being more easily influencedby others
to like blend in to the socialherd, because then
others will spend energy forthem and then they
don't have to. So they'renot like this clingy
dependent. It's more of a likepassive dependent.

(01:31:13):
Right. Yeah. And they're usuallyreally lovable,
kind people. Just, just likesloths are as an
animal, right? I mean, whodoesn't love sloths,
but they move like a sloth.So they're great to
be around if you have all dayand lots of patience.
But in the workplace, I thinkthat these types

(01:31:35):
can function well. They're justslow and they may
like ride that deadline tothe last 30 seconds
before it's due. They mightneed reminders to get
things done. They might needa little fire under
their behind, but they canbe very loyal, good
workers, but their overalllife tempo is just

(01:31:56):
a little bit slower than therest of the herd.
Mm hmm. Now, in contrastto that slowness,
we created a scattered professorschizoid,
who might maybe come off abit intellectually
snobbish and have some moreaccess to Enneagram
seven energy. Yes. So thescattered professor

(01:32:18):
type is often brilliant, smart,well studied,
but they can't organize to savetheir life. Or if
they're not like super smart,they might be aimless
and full of useless information with no
direction. So maybe more absentminded and this perhaps
coincides with ADHD. Yeah,yeah. I like what you

(01:32:39):
said there filled with uselessinformation that
can be part of this type.Yeah. And along with
that, if their mind is a library,they've lost
the card catalog and havepapers strewn about
haphazardly. Exactly. And havingthat mind library
is like the core of theirschizoid-ness. But

(01:33:00):
there's a dissociated anxietyenergy, like the
chaotic mind shows up, butnot really the body
or the emotions. I can seethat. Yeah, it's like
their mind gets all the attention,but not the
body or the emotions. So theresult is kind of
like a dissociated chaos, butdifferent from other
types, their tornado-y,chaos doesn't touch

(01:33:23):
other people. Like it'snot destructive or
anxiety provoking. It's kindof amusing. It's like,
oh my, they're a mess. I'mnot feeling their
mess, but they are a mess. Right,right. Yeah. And I
think they've probably mademovies about these

(01:33:43):
types of characters becausethey are amusing and
a little bit comedic in theirown way. And they
don't even realize it. I picturedthe stereotypical
chemist or chemistry professorwith like a
beaker erupting over here or likepapers catching fire
over there. Their gogglesare askew as they're
like trying to contain theexplosion and then,

(01:34:05):
you know, class ends. Oh,there was supposed
to be a test, but the professorforgot. Like he
didn't even realize that theclass already left.
Yeah, I think they may be likeoddly childlike and
fun. I agree. Yeah, they can make reallygreat absent minded teachers.

(01:34:25):
Oh my. Well, that was fun!So we have covered
a few of the representationsof schizoid types
historically, as well as Millon'ssubtypes. And as
we've been saying, we feellike a broken record.
We don't really care for his work on schizoids. So we came up with our own instead.

(01:34:45):
And I'm curious what yourthoughts are about
Millon's subtypes. So if you, listenersand viewers,
identify with them or withours, even if you
disagree with ours, that's okay,too. We conjured
them up just for fun from our collective
experiences, but certainly not fromscientific study. But we

(01:35:06):
invite you to come in andexpand our thoughts
and ideas. Just be kind aboutit as always. And on
that note, that's a wrap. Thankyou for joining
us today on this episode ofthe personality couch.
Make sure to check out ourblogs that coincide
with these episodes at www.personalitycouch.com
And as always, don'tforget to give us a

(01:35:27):
thumbs up or rate and reviewus on your favorite
podcast app. And on YouTube,hit that bell so
you don't miss a single episodeof our schizoid
personality series. Be well, be kind, and
we'll see you next time on thepersonality couch.
This podcast is for informationalpurposes only
and does not constitute a professionalrelationship.

(01:35:50):
If you're in need of professional help,
please seek out appropriate resourcesin your area.
Information about clinicaltrends or diagnoses
are discussed in broad anduniversal terms and
do not refer to any specific person or case.
There's a spider crawlingon my ceiling
and I need to get it. Yes.Before I freak out.

(01:36:11):
I'm so I've been so still like trying so
hard. I'm gonna kill it. Yeah,kill it. Get it.
This is real life folks. Okay.

(01:36:32):
He's dead. Okay. Was it a bigscary one? It was
like a medium scary one. Okay.It was it was bigger
than acceptable. Oh, yeah.It's like that big.
Oh, that's too big. That's toobig. It's too big.
It's too big. Okay. Okay.All right. Okay.