Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder
What is "obsessive-compulsive personality disorder"?
"Obsessive compulsive personality disorder" is characterized by a need for intense orderliness, perfectionism and control; this is achieved at the expense of flexibility, efficiency and openness. It is important that "Obsessive compulsive personality disorder" is differentiated very clearly from "obsessive-compulsive" disorder. "Obsessive compulsive personality disorder" is also known as the "anal" character. These are people who have to have everything very neat and tidy. On the other hand, "obsessive compulsive disorder" is one in which is characterized by all the quirks, such as counting things or ritualistic washing of the hands. They are not the same disorder at all, nor do they predispose each other.
What are the signs of obsessive-compulsive personality disorder?
People with obessisive-compulsive personality disorder are preoccupied with making lists, details, following the rules. They're overconscientious and judgemental. They're very rigid. They're not able, you know if things change suddenly, they're not able to switch horses quickly. Their preoccupation with detail can sometimes paralyze them to the point where they're unable to make decisions or get things moving along. They're not able to delegate work to other people because no one else is going to do it as perfectly and as wonderfully as they are. So they are very, you know in a nut-shell this is someone whose tight. They're kind of cold, stubborn, they hold onto stuff, they don't throw stuff away very easily, even if it doesn't have much meaning to them. These patients are very miserly, in other words they're not generous individuals. For example, if six of you go out to dinner, instead of just going, "Oh hey, lets just split the bill six ways", they'll actually calculate down to the penny what they owe and then give you exactly that and not one cent more.
What causes obsessive-compulsive personality disorder?
There isn't a clearly identified cause for "obsessive-compulsive personality disorder". One of the things that this has been linked to, at least in the psychoanalytic literature, is the "anal character". Since these people tend to be very controlling, or feel a great need to try to control things, there has been some suggestion that it is linked to cooperationg with the mother during potty training. This theory obviously relates back to the "anal character" found in pschoanalysis.
What are the dangers of obsessive-compulsive personality disorder?
One of the major areas that people with "obsessive-compulsive personality disorder" are going to struggle is interpersonal relationships. The disorder is linked to issues concerning lack of affection for orders, becoming overly concerned with rules and regulations and a general disorganization, which comes from a lack of communication with co-workers. Sufferers of "obsessive-compulsive personality disorder" can be very indecisive and develop a reliance on their own perfect standards. All of these issues can become major problems in the workplace.
Who is at risk for obsessive-compulsive personality disorder?
Men appear to be more affected by obsessive compulsive disorder than women. Again, there may be developmental factors, as I discussed previously, that put you at risk of developing obsessive compulsive disorder. When I've given this lecture before to medical students, they all ran home and asked their mothers about whether they were easy to potty train or not. We don't really know if that has anything to do with the development of obsessive compulsive disorder, though.
What are the treatments for obsessive-compulsive personality disorder?
People with OCPD tend to become depressed particularly when things get difficult. So if OCPD sufferers meet criteria for mood or anxiety disorders, they should definitely be treated in a standard fashion. Other than that, I think it's inside-orientated psychotherapy (a way of letting them see that it's actually their behaviour that's leading to some of the problems that they're having in their life) and trying to get the OCPD sufferer to open up a little more emotionally, perhaps be less rigid and inflexible.
