Your personality is your unique way of thinking, understanding, reacting, and relating to people.
A personality disorder is not just an unusual personality. It's when your personality traits cause significant problems in your life or keep you from relating normally to others.
What is schizotypal personality disorder?
People with schizotypal personality disorder:
Behave oddly, are uncomfortable around other people, and are somewhat out of touch with reality
People with schizotypal personality disorder often:
Avoid social situations and choose to be alone
Don't have close friends
Have trouble interpreting other people's emotions
Think in odd, magical ways, such as believing they can control someone with their mind
Are suspicious and mistrustful, such as mistakenly believing that someone wants to hurt them
Use words in unusual ways, so their speech is strange
Dress oddly, such as wearing dirty or wrongly-sized clothes
They may also have depression or drug or alcohol use disorder.
Schizotypal personality disorder is similar to but milder than schizophrenia, which causes more severe and bizarre thinking and behavior.
What causes schizotypal personality disorder?
It's probably caused by your genes. It's more common in people who have family members with schizophrenia.
How do doctors treat schizotypal disorder?
Doctors treat schizotypal disorder with:
Medicines (schizophrenia medicine and antidepressants)
Therapy
