R. D. Laing's book The Divided Self (1990) looks at the schizoid and schizophrenic patient from an existential and phenomenological perspective. The person in distress is studied not as a pathological entity but as a feeling individual who attempts to express his or her fragmented and wounded personality through the use of what may seem bizarre or “pathological” language and behaviour at first.
But in reality these expressions entail a key component towards understanding and baring and revealing underlying symptoms and suffering. What matters most according to Laing is to “see” and treat the client as an existential human being and not simply as an estranged and deranged person who happens to fit certain accepted models and who exhibits pathological symptoms.
Schizoid Individuals Treated as Living and Feeling Organisms versus the Medical and Biological Model
As such, psychiatry should be not only about reading and analyzing the individual but be able to “enter” into their mind to understand the causes and reasons for such a behavior. In Laing's view, psychiatrists tend to interact with their clients as “mere objects” and not as “living organisms”. What would seem gibberish, abnormal or delusional to most people would need to be understood as the desperate expressions of the existential crisis of an anguished soul. It would be the duty of psychiatrists to be attentive to language, dreams, and personal fantasies of their clients in an unprejudiced and unbiased manner. In other words, psychiatrists should “enter” the mind of the client yet at the same time keep their own feet firmly grounded in reality and sanity.
Psychiatrists should therefore not impose their own views or knowledge onto the subject. This existential and phenomenological view proposed by Laing distances itself from the biological and medical model of psychiatry where the focus would be to look for certain types of behavior and to decode pathological acts and behavior that fit a certain predetermined schema. Laing felt that his own existential and phenomenological approach was often ignored or not followed, while the clients would strongly benefit from being treated as unique individuals with deep and personally meaningful existential crises.
Laing did not subscribe to the biological perspective as the root and cause of the schizoid personality. He strongly believed that pathological behaviors are caused and fostered by one`s social environment and surrounding, which can lead to a fragmentation of the self. As in any psychoanalytic perspective, the main focus remains on one's parents and family that may inadvertently trigger and develop pathological aspects in the afflicted individual. For example, the parents' neglect or severeness may have a negative impact on individuals, who may then lead a life full of anxiety or may have an obsession of always obeying and pleasing others. All these thoughts and behaviors would add to the vulnerable person's ontological insecurity, an insecurity that affects the whole being of the person.
Escape from the Outside World by the Creation of False Selves and Identities
One of the mechanisms in such cases would be the creation of a "false self." Here, individuals who have been reprimanded for their own personality decide to hide (and protect) their true and inner self from outside and instead may project a false self or various false selves onto their surroundings. Yet Laing observes that such a procedure is psychologically harmful because the persons will lose touch with their real self as there is no real interaction between them and the outside world. As a result, the real self becomes impoverished and may even feel “dead” and “empty” leading to a common complaint among schizoids of not being “real”, being someone else or feeling dead inside.
In any case, it would be difficult for schizoids to have any real or fulfilling relationships as they will never fully interact with or open up to others in constant fear that they may be exposed or that the other might do them harm. Laing says that the individual will try to desperately protect or rather hold onto their core identity by remaining aloof yet this act would often lead to the same result of withering away inside as there is a lack of spontaneous or “real” expression of one`s self.
How Ontological Insecurity May Lead to Schizoid Tendencies
One of the triggers and causes of schizoid personality and behavior stems then from ontological insecurity. The individuals feel threatened or misunderstood by their environment and build a defense of various different selves that are developed from the person's fantasies. In fact, it would be like an actor who never stops acting and becomes confused over time who the real self is. This confusion would lead to a constant state of fear and anxiety and the schizoid often attempts different desperate measures to uncover and rediscover the real self again. However, if the process continues and worsens and if left untreated, the individual`s thoughts and behaviors may develop into a full-fledged psychosis and become a case of its pathological counterpart or logical continuation, schizophrenia.
Overall, many psychiatrists have reacted coolly to Laing's theories since his ideas were seen as contradicting the standard and traditional psychiatric assessments and procedures. It is also for this reason that he has been dubbed, among others who went against the established current, as being part of a movement called anti-psychiatry, a term criticized and denounced by Laing himself. Yet his theories pose an interesting alternative to the traditional approach and practices and offer valuable insight into the minds of individuals afflicted with schizoid personalities.
Sources:
- Laing, R. D. The Divided Self: An Existential Study in Sanity and Madness. New York: Penguin Books, 1990.
- The Antipsychiatry Coalition; antipsychiatry.org
Arash Farzaneh - Arash Farzaneh is a writer and a language professor. He has a Master's degree in French literature with a minor in Psychology. Since his ...
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