Schizotypal Personality Disorder vs. Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia and schizotypal personality disorder have a lot in common but are two distinct disorders with many differences.

While most people may think of schizophrenia when they hear the word schizotypal, there are many differences betweenschizophreniaandschizotypal personality disorder.

Most people are at least somewhat familiar with schizophrenia and its symptoms of hallucinations and delusions. Far fewer are familiar with schizotypal personality disorder. Schizotypal personality disorder is characterized by disorganized thinking, severe anxiety, unfounded paranoia, odd beliefs, feelings of derealization and, in some cases, psychosis.

By reviewingschizotypal personality disorder vs. schizophrenia,it becomes easier to see how the two disorders are very different. Both disorders are related to distorted thinking patterns, but beyond this fact (and the similarities of their names), many differences distinguishschizotypal vs. schizophrenia.

Schizotypal Personality Disorder Symptoms

Aprimary featureofschizotypal personality disorderis a social skill deficit. However, this deficit and the presence of distorted thinking alone do not fully encompasswhat schizotypal personality disorder is.

Otherschizotypal personality disorder symptomsinclude:

• Inability to form personal relationships
• Social isolation
• Improper interpretation of events
• Unusual thoughts, beliefs or mannerisms
• Dressing in strange ways
• Unusual patterns of speech
• Paranoid thinking
• Distorted perceptions
• Superstitious beliefs
• Flat affect

Many people with schizotypal personality disorder also struggle withdepressionand memory.Schizotypal personality disorder causesare not known, but theconsensusis that the disorder results from a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Some evidence of a relationship between schizotypal personality disorder and schizophrenia exists. Individuals who have a close relative diagnosed with schizophrenia may be more likely to develop schizotypal personality disorder.

Schizophrenia Symptoms and Characteristics

Theprimarycharacteristicsof schizophreniaare hallucinations and delusions. Hallucinations refer to distortions of perception, including:

• Auditory hallucinations:such as hearing voices that are not there
• Visual hallucinations:such as seeing things that are not real

Delusions refer to false beliefs. For example, someone who believes they have been possessed or that the government has implanted a monitoring device in their brain is exhibiting delusions.

Othersigns and symptoms of schizophreniainclude:

• Disorganized speech
• Odd or atypical behavior
• Flat affect
• Lack of motivation
• Difficulties processing information

Like schizotypal personality disorder,schizophrenia causesare often not concretely known. It appears that there is a genetic component to schizophrenia as it often runs in families. However, there are othercauses of schizophreniawhich may exist independent of a genetic predisposition or in addition to a genetic origin.

Other causesof schizophrenia include:

• Growing up in a stressful environment, including growing up in poverty
• Disruptions to brain function and chemistry before or after birth
• Exposure to viruses or nutritional deficits before birth

Differentiating Schizophrenia and Schizotypal Personality Disorder

While potentially related, these disorders should not be confused. There areseveral key differencesto keep in mind when differentiating between these disorders, including:

• The primary difference between schizotypal personality disorder and schizophrenia revolves around the primary symptoms of schizophrenia–hallucinations and delusions.Bothschizotypal personality disorder and schizophreniamay include odd social behaviors and strange beliefs, but a person with schizotypal personality disorder does not experience hallucinations and delusions.
• Distorted thinking is a central feature of schizotypal personality disorder, which is far different from the fullpsychoticbreak from reality that occurs with schizophrenia.Though in some rare cases, a person with schizotypal may experience lower intensity psychosis.
• Schizotypal personality disorder and schizophrenia differential diagnosis also looks at the presence of co-occurring disorders.A secondarymood disorderoften accompanies schizotypal personality disorder, whereas schizophrenia rarely co-occurs with mood disorders.

Personality Disorders vs. Psychotic Disorders

Schizotypal personality disorder and schizophrenia at their essence are also two very differenttypes of disorders. Understanding the differences and similarities ofpersonality disorder vs. psychotic disordermay benefit deeper understanding.

Unlike other mental health conditions,personality disordersare believed to be:

• Pervasive:affecting all areas of a person’s life
• Stable:despite fluctuations of intensity symptoms are rarely, if ever fully absenttabl
• Resulting from poor adaptation:impaired personal identity, or inability to develop interpersonal skills

Similarities in Treatment

Schizotypal personality disorder treatmentandschizophrenia treatmentare similar in many situations as some treatments work for both disorders.

For example, antipsychotic medication is theprimary schizophrenia medicationused. These medications are also one of the mainschizotypal medications, along withmood stabilizers. The differences between the treatment of these disorders lie primarily in the psychotherapy component of treatment.

A person withschizophreniais mostlikely to benefit frominsight-oriented therapies and skill-building sessions that will help improve their ability to cope with symptoms and live independently.

While some of the general therapeutic approaches may overlap, individuals withschizotypal personality disorderwill likely need tofocus on social skills training.

Key Points: Schizotypal Personality Disorder vs. Schizophrenia

While it can be difficult at first to distinguish betweenschizotypal personality disorder and schizophrenia, there are several key ways to tell these disorders apart.

The primarydifferences between schizotypal personality disorder and schizophreniainclude:

• Schizophrenia includes hallucinations and delusions. Schizotypal personality disorder does not.
• Schizotypal personality disorder often co-occurs with mood disorders. Schizophrenia rarely co-occurs with mood disorders.
• Treatment for schizotypal personality disorder may include the use of mood stabilizers in addition to antipsychotic medications.
• Therapy for schizotypal personality disorder usually focuses on social skills training.

Both schizotypal personality disorder and schizophrenia frequently co-occur with substance use disorders. If you or a loved one has a substance use disorder and a co-occurring disorder such as schizotypal personality disorder or schizophrenia, The Recovery Village can help.Ask how we can helpyou begin recovery today.