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CLUSTER A PERSONALITY DISORDERS EXPLAINED: PARANOID, SCHIZOID, SCHIZOTYPAL | Dr. Peter Salerno | YouTubeToText
YouTube Transcript: CLUSTER A PERSONALITY DISORDERS EXPLAINED: PARANOID, SCHIZOID, SCHIZOTYPAL
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[Music]
Hi everybody. I'm Dr. Peter Serno. Thank
you for taking time to watch this video.
Throughout my clinical career as a psychotherapist,
psychotherapist,
I received specialized training in
personality disorders. I was trained by
some of the leading experts in this
field. So what I share here is based on
research, science, and clinical
practice, not personal opinion, and not
pop psychology. Before we get started, I
need to say this. Please be respectful
in the comments. Many people who watch
these videos have already experienced
mistreatment and abuse, and this channel
is a space for education and
collaboration. Insults and cyber mobbing
and rudeness stick out like a sore
thumb. So, I encourage people to have
conversation and dialogue and even
disagreement, but please don't be
disrespectful to anyone. So, today's
video is going to be about people who
seem a bit different, seem a bit
difficult, and seem a bit odd. Cluster A
personality disorders are often referred
to as the odd or eccentric group. And
today we are breaking down the three
cluster A personality disorders:
paranoid, skitsoid, and schizotiple.
Here's something else to consider that's
important as you're watching this video.
A lot of behaviors that people casually
refer to as narcissistic are actually
traits from lesserk known disorders.
Suspicion, coldness, and eccentricity
can often be mistaken for narcissism on
the surface, but the underlying patterns
are a bit different. What can complicate
things even further is that even if
someone doesn't meet the full criteria
for narcissistic personality disorder,
individuals with different personality
disorders can in fact behave in
pathologically narcissistic ways and
they can possess narcissistic traits.
Before we go into the cluster A
disorders, I'd actually like to set the
stage first with what defines a
personality disorder in general. In
psychology, a personality disorder isn't
just a quirk or an odd behavior or even
a difficult behavior. According to
diagnostic manuals, a personality
disorder is a long-term inflexible
pattern of thinking, feeling, and
behaving that shows up across time and
situations. It affects both the inner
world, so thoughts and feelings, and the
outer world, behavior, and
relationships. It stands out as very
different from cultural expectations. It
impacts at least two major areas of
functioning, thinking, emotions,
relationships or impulse control. And
these patterns cause real significant
problems in life, specifically in
friendships, family, work, marriage, and
often financial and legal issues. And
importantly, they cannot be better
explained by another disorder such as
substance use, a traumatic brain injury,
or another medical condition. Some
people have suggested that the
microbiome, epigenetic effects, or
toxins can be considered causes for
personality disorders. While these
factors can influence mood, stress
response, or personality like changes,
if they directly alter someone's
personality, it's classified as a
personality change due to another
medical condition, not a personality
disorder. Personality disorders are
defined as enduring patterns, not
personality shifts from infections,
toxins, or external biological triggers.
Within this framework, personality
disorders are grouped in clusters. So,
let's get into the cluster A disorders.
Let's start with the most suspicious of
the three. Paranoid personality disorder
is defined by chronic mistrust. People
with this disorder live with the
constant expectation that others are
trying to deceive, exploit, or harm
them. Unlike delusional paranoia, it has
nothing to do with psychosis. It is a
persistent, suspicious way of thinking.
They see themselves as mistreated,
others as dangerous, and the world as a
hostile place. Because of this, they are
secretive, defensive, and often come
across as bitter or hostile. Some common
features are interpreting harmless
remarks as insults, doubting the loyalty
of friends or partners, accusing
partners of infidelity without any
evidence, holding grudges and never
forgiving, and reacting intensely to
perceived criticism. This makes them
argumentative, sarcastic, and often
unpredictable. Just like with other
personality disorders, people around
them often act like they must walk on
eggshells. There is danger at the severe
end of the continuum when it comes to
paranoid personalities. A person with
severe paranoid personality disorder may
escalate a small slight into a full
vendetta, obsessively planning
retaliation against a neighbor,
co-orker, or even a stranger they
believe wronged them. Their anger can
fuel harassment, threats, or even
physical aggression. To outsiders, this
can look like the same arrogance and
entitlement that you see in narcissism.
But the root is a bit different.
Narcissists crave admiration. Paranoid
personalities crave self-p protection.
Paranoid personality disorder traps
individuals in a reality where trust is
impossible. Blame always belongs to
others and retaliation feels justified.
Suspicion isn't just a fleeting feeling,
it's a way of life. Next, we have
skitsoid personality disorder. According
to most prevalence estimates, skitsoid
is the least common of all 10
personality disorders. So, it's
technically the rarest. The hallmark
feature is detachment.
Unlike avoidant personality disorders,
which I'll discuss in another video,
avoidance want closeness but fear
rejection, schizoid individuals simply
do not want relationships at all. They
see themselves as self-sufficient,
others as irrelevant, and the world as
uninteresting. Common indicators are no
desire for close friendships or
relationships, no desire for romance,
preferring solitary hobbies and jobs,
little to no interest in intimacy,
minimal emotional expression, and
indifference to both praise and
criticism. Severe schizoid detachment
can result in severe neglect. A person
may ignore medical care, financial
obligations, or even caregiving duties
to dependent. This is because they don't
feel invested in relationships or
responsibility to them. This neglect can
place both themselves and others at
risk. To outsiders, their lack of warmth
can feel or seem to mimic coldness
related to narcissism. But the root is
different. Again, narcissists want
admiration from others. Schizoid
individuals want solitude. Schizoid
personality disorder creates a life of
emptiness, but not from depression. It's
actually out of preference. They live
blank, distant, and disconnected lives.
And for them, that feels very normal.
Finally, we have schizotiple personality
disorder. This is the most eccentric of
the group. Schizotiple is about
eccentricity. These individuals seem
tuned in to a different frequency,
seeing unusual patterns and hidden
meanings in everyday life. They often
view themselves as unique and gifted,
others as inferior and the world as
filled with magical connections. Common
features are believing that unrelated
events carry personal meaning, magical
or superstitious thinking outside
cultural norms, unusual perceptual
experiences, odd meandering speech,
peculiar dress or behavior, intense
social anxiety that doesn't seem to
improve even with familiarity and very
few close relationships. Severe
schizotiple traits can drive risky
behaviors. For example, someone might
believe that a neighbor is sending them
harmful energy or that they must act on
mystical powers. These odd beliefs can
fuel confrontations, reckless behavior,
or neglect of reality based needs. Their
belief in being special and others as
inferior can look like narcissism to
others, but the driver is different.
Narcissism is ego-driven. Schizotipal
eccentricity is perception driven.
Schizotypo personality disorder leaves
someone living on the margins of
reality. Technically not psychotic but
never grounded in the ordinary. Their
oddness can create isolation and at its
extreme it can put them at risk of
unsafe choices. So with cluster A we see
three distinct ways of being cut off
from others. Paranoid personalities
through suspicion, skitsoid
personalities through detachment and
schizotiple personalities through
eccentricity. Each of these can show
traits that appear to be just like
narcissism, but the roots are different.
And to complicate things, some of these
individuals do in fact have narcissistic
traits in addition to their cluster A
disorder. People can often mistake these
patterns as narcissism when they really
are distinct disorders. On the
continuum, mild traits can seem quirky
or just a little bit odd. On the severe
end of the continuum, these traits can
be very dangerous and these disorders
can cause a lot of harm to themselves
and others through retaliation, neglect,
or unsafe actions based on distorted
perceptions. Understanding them helps us
talk more accurately about human
behavior, avoid mislabeling, and
recognize the risks when these patterns
intensify. I hope you found this
introduction to cluster A personality
disorders helpful. I'd also invite you
to explore my books, The Nature and
Nurture of Narcissism and Traumatic
Cognitive Dissonance. They were written
for both general readers and
professionals who want to understand how
personality and intentional abuse
intersect. Thank you for watching. I'm
Dr. Peter Serno and hopefully I will see
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