Schizoid
Schizoid type
Between withdrawal and genius
01Where does this type come from?
- The schizoid imprint often develops very early – sometimes even before birth.
- If the mother is hostile, rejects the child or even tries to abort it, the child experiences an existential threat.
- There is a lack of security, joy and feeling safe.
- Even in childhood, withdrawal, daydreams, nightmares and anxiety appear – sometimes even autistic traits.
- The dominant feelings are panic and blind rage.
02Energetic state
- The energy is dammed up and frozen inside.
- The outer parts of the body – face, hands, feet, genitals – hold back contact with the world.
- Chronic tension at the base of the skull, in the shoulders, pelvis and hips blocks the flow of energy.
- Impulses arise only weakly – but when they break through, they can be explosive.
- There is an energetic split between the upper and lower halves of the body.
03Physical characteristics
- The body looks narrow, cramped and contracted.
- Tension sits in the joints and small muscles – especially around the organs of speech.
- The joints are either extremely stiff or hypermobile.
- The body line is often broken – with shifts between left and right, top and bottom.
- Head and posture are crooked, movements seem mechanical and uncoordinated.
- Hands and feet are often cold and tense.
- The face is mask-like, the eyes look empty and absent.
- The skin looks waxy and translucent.
04Psychological patterns
- The greatest fear is the loss of identity – the fear of dissolving in contact with others.
- The sense of self is weak, contact with one’s own body and feelings is reduced.
- The personality is often split – between opposite poles such as arrogance and inferiority. These inner contradictions are hard to integrate.
- The weak boundary of the self creates extreme sensitivity – often with defense patterns.
- Intimate relationships are difficult or avoided: “If I allow closeness, my existence is threatened.”
- Actions mostly come from the head: “My head is my being.”
- Reality is often replaced by fantasy – with little contact with the surroundings.
- Isolation is a protective mechanism: “I can exist as long as I don’t need closeness.”
- Compensations: extraordinary achievements – as an artist or genius – in search of identity; extreme experiences such as mountaineering, car racing or drugs in order to feel oneself.
- Identity: changing quickly like a chameleon – clear today, lost tomorrow.
- Sleeping and waking: transitions between states feel threatening, falling asleep and getting up are difficult.
- Sexuality: little energy in the genitals, but a great capacity for ecstasy. Hardly any genital orgasm, often fantasies (“mindfuck”). It is more about charging and dissolving than about discharge.
- Strengths once the patterns are resolved: versatility, a touch of madness, imagination, depth, sensitivity, flexibility, a love of role play and access to other realities.
- Typical complaints: joint problems, migraines, drug abuse, kidney and bladder problems, visual disorders, circulatory disorders.
05Therapy goals
- Most important: developing a feeling for oneself – through physical contact and trust.
- The client should be given space to experience their extreme inner parts without having to integrate them right away.
- The aim is to reach the core – the fear of annihilation – and to live and accept it. A positive emptiness can grow from this.
- Anything that brings you into the here and now helps: massage, bodywork, movement, tai chi, active meditation. Body exercises need patience – small steps matter.
- The schizoid type has to be “melted” – direct confrontation hardly works. A skillful, empathetic approach is better, almost like a seduction.
- The precondition for any therapy: trust, safety and the feeling of being truly accepted.
The other types