Ask HN: Colleague has schizotypal personality disorder - should I advise therapy?

[Allocator2008]

I recently learned a colleague of mine has schizotypal personality disorder (i.e. he scored over a 50 on a 0 - 74 test for the thing, STP-A I think it was). Apparently it is a schizophrenia-like disorder but more mild, without hallucinations all of the time. (http://www.psychologytoday.com/conditions/schizotypal.html) Should I tell him to seek therapy - he seems more or less OK, if a little "off" at times. Unfortunately I don't know enough about this myself to have a gut feeling on the matter. Does anyone have any ideas on this one? (My colleague is a programmer.)

[cperciva]

Next up on Ask HN:

* My colleague broke his leg - what sort of cast should I recommend?

* My colleague is coughing a lot - should I tell him to take antibiotics for pneumonia?

* My colleague is having chest pains - should I recommend open heart surgery?

Dammit, we're miracle workers, not doctors! (Apologies to the real McCoy.)

More seriously -- if you're concerned about someone's health (mental or otherwise), feel free to politely ask if they have consulted a doctor; but please leave the diagnosis and any treatment decisions in the hands of medical professionals.

[knightinblue → cperciva]

Completely agree. I'm a 4th year med student and even I follow the same line - if it's not my field, I let the professionals in that field handle it.

[david927]

First, no one is a diagnosis. But if your friend does have this, he or she will seem fine until they "break". For example, they may suddenly leave town.

This isn't something for Hacker News and it's certainly not something up for public opinion. If you notice behavior that puts you or someone at risk, contact the police immediately. Otherwise, it's your colleague's personal matter. If you're confused or need someone to talk to more about it, my email is in my profile.

[noodle]

so he actually took a test himself in order to be diagnosed with it, and made the choice to not receive treatment/therapy?

[tjic]

My understanding is that there are

(a) minor personality issues like neuroses, for which therapy is sometimes useful and sometimes useless

and

(b) major organic mental illnesses like schizophrenia, for which therapy is almost entirely useless.

In that light, asking "he's got schizotypal personality... should I advise therapy?" is much like asking "he's got schizotypal personality... should I advise a trip to Montana?"

[olefoo]

Definitely put him in charge of product development.

Seriously though, judge people on their actions not their diagnoses. And if you're working at a startup questionable mental health may in fact be a prerequisite to success. Obsession, creativity, drive, focus are all cognitive assets in some cases and liabilities in others.

[dkarl → olefoo]

"Obsession, creativity, drive, focus" have nothing to do with the symptoms of schizotypal personality disorder. I admit that "discomfort in social situations" can contribute to programming expertise and productivity, but it doesn't always work out that way. Plus, I don't think he's worried about productivity. He's either worried about the guy's well-being, or he's worried about the guy's disorder negatively affecting his coworkers.

[olefoo → dkarl]

He just said that he had learned that his coworker scored high on the test, nothing about his behaviour being out of bounds in any way.

You should read your Foucault, the definition of sanity is a very slippery and very political act that all too often results in a massive waste of human talent.