Posted by Dinah on July 16, 2008, at 21:59:27
In reply to Re: So now he doesn't think I'm schizotypal. :) » Dinah, posted by Phillipa on July 16, 2008, at 20:13:31
Schizotypal? Well, he walked me through the criteria often enough.
1. Ideas of reference (excluding delusions of reference)
No for this one.
2. Odd beliefs or magical thinking that influences behavior and is inconsistent with subcultural norms (e.g., superstitiousness, belief in clairvoyance, telepathy, or "sixth sense"; in children and adolescents, bizarre fantasies or preoccupations)
This is the one I thought he invalidated a yes answer to by agreeing that I was right. But he also included some of my OCD stuff about feeling like I needed to worry about someone to keep them safe. But I really think that's OCD stuff. And I knew it wasn't true, even if I was sure it was.
3. Unusual perceptual experiences, including bodily illusionsWell, I do have some unusual ways of seeing things. Like thinking of things in terms of colors and other nonverbal imagery. I'm not sure those are "perceptual" or if they're expressive. Dissociation also causes some weird perceptual experiences sometimes.
4. Odd thinking and speech (e.g., vague, circumstantial, metaphorical, overelaborate, or stereotyped)
Well, I have always had a rather idiosyncratic way of expressing myself that some people find difficult to understand. Especially on some topics. He found a lot of what I said difficult to understand.
5. Suspiciousness or paranoid ideation
I can see where my behavior with him would lead him to believe I was suspicious. (grin)
6. Inappropriate or constricted affect
Ah, now this one gets me every time. I think it's widely agreed that this one is true. Although my therapist has told me that emotional me doesn't show constricted affect, just rational me. I think...
7. Behavior or appearance that is odd, eccentric, or peculiarHe finds my long skirts and tennies, not to mention my braids, a bit eccentric and peculiar. In fact, he is rather revolted by my lack of grooming in general. (Mind you, I'm always bathed and my hair is washed when I see him. But I don't do the makeup or anything.)
8. Lack of close friends or confidants other than first-degree relatives
Somewhat true. I usually have a few close friends, but I think they were mostly geographically separated from me at the time.
9. Social anxiety that tends to be associated with paranoid fears rather than negative judgments about self
Not sure about this one. I've been wary socially since my horrible experiences in middle school. And I always consider myself a social liability and that people don't like me very much. Yet I don't in general judge myself negatively. However, I do think I very narrowly judge myself negatively in the context of social desirability. So I'd say no to this one really. Or if yes, then not paranoid fears, but ones based on experience.
But the thing is that my therapist and the pdoc from h*ll never considered *degree*. What my then pdoc (Dr. Just the Facts Ma'am) said was that it was a question of degree, and that the degree I exhibited any of these things did not come close to the intentions behind the design of the criteria.
And of course context. My therapist now has a heck of a lot more context than he did then, and likely sees that a lot of the things he considered schizotypal were actually offshoots of the OCD and the dissociative disorder.
Still, even though I remember the history and can extrapolate some of his reasoning, it was still nice to see his blank lack of recognition to the schizotypal diagnosis. :)
poster:Dinah
thread:839927
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20080709/msgs/840057.html