rarely maintain close relationships and often exclusively choose to participate in solitary activities. people with schizoid personality disorder typically have no close friends or confidants, except for a close relative on occasions. they usually prefer hobbies and activities that do not require interaction with others. people with szpd may be averse to social situations due to difficulties deriving pleasure from physical or emotional sensations, rather than social anhedonia. one potential motivation for avoiding social situations is that they feel that it intrudes on their freedom. relationships can feel suffocating for people with szpd, and they may think of them as opportunities for entrapment. patients with this disorder are often independent and turn to themselves as sources of validation. they tend to be the happiest when in relationships in which their partner places few emotional or intimate demands on them and does not expect phatic or social niceties. it is not necessarily people they want to avoid, but negative or positive emotional expectations, emotional intimacy, and self-disclosure. patients with szpd can feel as if close emotional bonds are dangerous to themselves and others. they may have feelings of inadequacy or shame. some people with szpd may experience a deep desire to connect with others, yet will be terrified by the dangers inherent in doing so. avoidance of social situations may be a method of avoiding being hurt or rejected. individuals with szpd can form relationships with others based on intellectual, physical, familial, occupational, or recreational activities, as long as there is no need for emotional intimacy. donald winnicott explains this is because schizoid individuals "prefer to make relationships on their own terms and not in terms of the impulses of other people." failing to attain that, they prefer isolation. in general, friendship among schizoids is usually limited to one person, often also schizoid, forming what has been called a union of two eccentrics; "within it – the ecstatic cult of personality, outside it – everything is sharply rejected and despised". their unique lifestyle can lead to social rejection and people with szpd are at a higher risk of facing bullying or homelessness. this social rejection can reinforce their asocial behavior. sexuality people with this disorder usually have little interest in sexual or romantic acts. they rarely date or marry. sex often causes individuals with szpd to feel that their personal space is being violated, and they commonly feel that masturbation or sexual abstinence is preferable to the emotional closeness they must tolerate when having sex. significantly broadening this picture are notable exceptions of szpd individuals who engage in occasional or even frequent sexual activities with others. individuals with szpd have long been noted to have an increased rate of unconventional sexual tendencies, though if present, these are rarely acted upon. the schizoid is often labeled asexual or presents with "a lack of sexual identity". kernberg states that this apparent lack of sexuality does not represent a lack of sexual definition but rather a combination of several strong fixations to cope with the same conflicts. people with szpd are often able to pursue any fantasies with content on the internet while remaining completely unengaged with the outside world. emotions