Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD)

Personality disorders
People suffering from personality disorders are often confused with psychopaths or
people with neurotic or psychotic disorders. When people hear personality disorder, they
associate it with some severe disturbance in a person and think of that person as dangerous or
insane. Personality disorders are, however, more complex state and its background still
poses a great mystery. Personality disorders present enduring pattern of inner experience and
behaviour that deviates from the norm of the individuals culture. This pattern can be
recognized in two or more of the following areas: cognition (the way person thinks), affect
(the way person feels), interpersonal functioning (relationships with other people) or impulse
control (in what extent they are able to control their impulses). This pattern is almost
impossible to change; it sustains in a broad range of personal and social situations. The person
is not flexible and cannot adjust to the requirements of their environment if those
requirements are not consistent with the persons standards, feelings and perception of the
world. These people often feel misunderstood by their environment, but seldom blame
themselves; they rather try to impose their own rules and views on others and think that the
world be better if everyone would feel, think and act the way they do. Individuals suffering
from personality disorder have difficulty in incorporating new and changing information into
their lives; their ability to work with others is affected by their perception of the world as
black or white (their way of doing things and the wrong way).
Personality disorder tends to appear in late childhood or adolescence and continues to
be manifest into adulthood. Therefore, diagnosing personality disorder is not appropriate
before the age of 16 or 17 years.
There are three clusters of personality disorders:
I.
II.

Cluster A: paranoid, schizoid and schizotypal personality disorder.

Cluster B: histrionic, narcissistic, antisocial and borderline personality
disorder.
1

III.

Cluster C: avoidant, dependent and obsessive-compulsive personality disorder.

What is Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder?

Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder is also called anankastic personality
disorder. It is mental health condition in which a person is preoccupied with rules, the need
for order, and everything around them to be perfect and in their control. This disorder causes
major suffering and distress, especially in the area of personal relationships. It is characterized
with feelings of doubt, excessive consciousness, checking and preoccupation with details,
stubbornness, caution and rigidity. To diagnose someone obsessive-compulsive personality
disorder, the person has to exhibit at least three of the following:
1. Feelings of excessive doubt and caution;
2. Preoccupation with details, rules, lists, order, organization and schedule;
3. Perfectionism that interferes with task completion;
4. Excessive conscientiousness, scrupulousness and undue preoccupation with
productivity to the exclusion of pleasure and interpersonal relationships;
5. Excessive pedantry and adherence to social conventions;
6. Rigidity and stubbornness;
7. Unreasonable insistence by the patient that others submit to exactly his or her way
of doing things, or unreasonable reluctance to allow others to do things;
8. Intrusion of insistent and unwelcome thoughts and impulses.1

Do I have OCPD?
When it comes to a professional diagnosing a personality disorder, it can be difficult to
be quite certain that the diagnosis is right. However, when it comes to a non-professional
determining whether he or his friend or family member has a personality disorder, the
indicators can be quite confusing. How to recognize a person with obsessive-compulsive
personality disorder? When to draw a line between being a bit difficult and stubborn and
suffering from personality disorder?

Anankastic Personality Disorder (Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder) Diagnostic Criteria,

retrieved from http://counsellingresource.com/lib/distress/personality-disorder/anankastic/

The person with OCPD can be recognized in everyday situations by their specific
forms of behaviour. These people make lists trying to organize every single thing they do and
preparing for any unpredicted circumstances. They are preoccupied with rules, norms and
procedures they follow and expect others to do the same. They seek perfection in work,
relationships, life and get disappointed and frustrated if the perfection is not achieved.
Seeking perfection in work and excessive orientation to details may prevent them from
finishing their work on time and achieving deadlines. They cannot be at ease if the work they
did is not perfect; they are willing to stay day and night working on an assignment just to get
it right according to their strict rules and standards.
People with OCPD have very rigid views on what is right and what is wrong. The
need for order and control in personal and professional area often interferes with their
relationships both personal and professional considering that they get easily irritated if the
other person does not value order, perfectionism and exactness to the same extent they do.
When rules and established procedures do not dictate the correct answer, decision
making may become time-consuming and painful process. They can be uncertain which task
to take priority and what is the best way to do particular tasks and they may never get started
with the work. In situations in which they are unable to maintain control over their
environment, they get angry, although they might not express it directly. They might think
over and over about the situation and how to get back to somebody, e.g. they may take very
long time to decide how much to tip the waiter if they are unsatisfied with the service.
Individuals with OCPD usually feel discomfort when having to express their emotion
as well as in situation in which others express theirs. Their everyday relationships have more
formal character and they might be stiff in situations in which others would smile and be
happy. Even in these situations they worry about what to say and how to say it to be perfect.
They are often preoccupied with logic and intellect, while neglecting emotional part of their
personality.
People with OCPD find it hard to express their feelings. They have difficulty forming
and maintaining close or intimate relationships with others. They are hard working, but their

obsession with perfectionism can make them inefficient. They often feel righteous,
indignation, and anger. Their social isolation can lead to anxiety and depression.2

All of these characteristics of a person with OCPD have in common the need of and
individual to keep everything in their control: people around them, situations, even their own
feelings.

What is the difference between Obsessive-Compulsive Personality

Disorder and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder?
Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder presents a mental state in which a person is
preoccupied with rules, the need for order, perfectionism and control. It is a persons lifestyle,
without feelings of major distress or psychological disturbances. Their relationships with
others might be jeopardized by their need to control them and impose their values and strict
rules. Obsessive-compulsive disorder is an illness with symptoms that change in severity over
time.
People with obsessive-compulsive disorder feel tormented by their involuntary
thoughts and behaviours and are aware they need treatment in order to overcome the
psychological distress imposed by their illness. People both with OCD and OCPD might carry
out repetitive behaviours, but the underlying motive is quite different. A person with OCD
might repeatedly write lists or organize items in their home to prevent a catastrophe from
taking place, a person with OCPD would write these lists to increase their efficiency and
productivity. While the OCD symptoms jeopardize a persons work, the actions of a person
with OCPD are most likely to enhance their productivity at work. People with OCD will
usually seek help for the distress caused by their obsession or compulsions, individuals with
OCPD will usually seek treatment because of conflict between themselves and family and
friends related to their need to have others conform to their way of doing things.

Obsessive
Compulsive
Personality
Disorder
(OCPD),
http://www.healthline.com/health/obsessive-compulsive-personality-disorder

retrieved

from

OCD presents anxiety condition caused by obsessive thoughts the individual is having.
These thoughts are a way for a deeper, unconscious conflict to come to a persons
consciousness. Obsessive thoughts can be very intense and pervasive and prevent individual
in their everyday activities. These thoughts cause individual to take actions - compulsions to
reduce them. These actions reduce anxiety for a while, until the obsessive thoughts become
again too hard to bear, and then the procedure goes over and over again. For example, a
person with OCD makes lists in order to prevent the death of the loved one, which is not
present in OCPD.
Rituals, organizing, list making and similar present a way for a person with OCPD to
increase their performance and they consider them necessary and beneficial. People with
OCD feel distress for having to carry out the compulsive, involuntary tasks or rituals.

What are the causes of OCPD?

There are many theories about what causes obsessive-compulsive personality disorder.
Most researchers subscribe to biopsychosocial model of causation which states that the causes
are likely due to biological and genetic factors (e.g. one research team has identified a
malfunctioning gene that might be a factor in OCPD), social factors such as interactions with
family, and psychological factors such as individuals personality traits and temperament,
coping skills in stressful situations and others. According to this model, it is most likely that
no single factor is responsible for developing OCPD; it is rather causes by intertwined nature
of all three factors. Some researchers suggest that the factors that contribute to development
of obsessive-compulsive personality disorders include childhood trauma and other types of
abuse.
One study found proofs that even verbal abuse may have impact on development of
OCPD. In a study of 793 mothers and children, researchers asked mothers if they had
screamed at their children, told them they didnt love them or threatened to send them away.
Children who had experienced such verbal abuse were three times as likely as other children

to have borderline, narcissistic, obsessive-compulsive or paranoid personality disorders in

adulthood.3

How to treat OCPD?

As previously mentioned, individuals with OCPD or any other personality disorder are
not likely to seek professional help, considering that they do not experience any psychological
disturbances and think that their environment is the cause of potential conflicts. Individuals
with this personality disorder decide to seek treatment when the disorder starts to interfere
with a persons life. In most cases, this happens when a persons coping resources are
stretched too high to deal with stress or other life events. Personality disorders such
as obsessive-compulsive personality disorder are typically diagnosed by a trained mental
health professional, such as a psychologist or psychiatrist. There are no laboratory, blood or
genetic tests that are used to diagnose obsessive-compulsive personality disorder.
Treatment of obsessive-compulsive personality disorder typically involves long-term
psychotherapy with a therapist that has experience in treating this kind of personality disorder.
Medications may also be prescribed to help with specific troubling and debilitating
symptoms.4
However, the long-term work on personality change is in most cases beyond clients
budget levels. Also, obsessive-compulsive personality disorder is resistant to such changes
due to the nature of the disorder itself. Short-term therapy is found to be most beneficial with
in treating personality disorders because of the fact that it is focused on patients current
support system and coping skills. Coping skills can be reinforced with additional skill sets,
social relationships can be examined and feeling states properly identified and examined,

retrieved

from

retrieved

from

Obsessive-compulsive
personality
disorder
symptoms,
http://psychcentral.com/disorders/obsessive-compulsive-personality-disorder-symptoms/

Obsessive-compulsive
personality
disorder
symptoms,
http://psychcentral.com/disorders/obsessive-compulsive-personality-disorder-symptoms/

instead of intellectualizing and distancing from emotions. Individuals suffering from

obsessive-compulsive personality disorder often are not in touch with their emotional states as
much as their thoughts. Leading the client away from describing situations, events, and daily
happenings and to talking about how such situations, events and daily happenings made
them feel may be helpful. Therapists use variety of techniques for a client to develop those
skills such as feeling identification or keeping a journal of feelings which help the client to
identify their feelings and work on them.
Self-help methods for the treatment of this disorder pose a different way of facing with
personality disorder and finding help and support among people who are not professionals in
this area. Support groups can serve as a way of acquiring new coping skills and hearing other
peoples experiences and strategies to overcome the consequences of their disorder. They are
a way to ensure others that the client is doing well and to promote clients independence and
stability.
Whatever type of treatment the person suffering from this disorder chooses to engage
in, it is important to endure in it and try to establish new ways of functioning with their
environment. It is important to remember that facing with our problems is the best way to
work on them and achieve positive mental state and subjective well-being.

Literature
Psychcentral staff, Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder Symptoms, retrieved
from http://psychcentral.com/disorders/obsessive-compulsive-personality-disorder-symptoms/
Psychcentral staff, Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder Treatment, retrieved
from http://psychcentral.com/disorders/sx26t.htm
Owen, K. (2010). Telling the Difference between OCD and Obsessive-Compulsive
Personality Disorder, retrieved from
http://ocd.about.com/od/otheranxietydisorders/a/OCD_OCPD.htm

Owen, K. (2010). OCD and Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder: What's the

Difference?, retrieved from http://ocd.about.com/od/diagnosis/f/OCD_OCPDFAQ.htm
International OCD foundation, Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD),
retrieved from
http://www.ocfoundation.org/uploadedfiles/maincontent/find_help/ocpd%20fact%20sheet.pdf
Mayo Clinic Staff, Personality disorders, retrieved from
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/personality-disorders/basics/symptoms/con20030111
Counselling Resource Research Staff, ICD Notes Common to the Diagnostic Criteria
for Each Personality Disorder, retrieved from
http://counsellingresource.com/lib/distress/personality-disorder/icd-notes/
Donohue, M. (2012). Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD), retrieved
from http://www.healthline.com/health/obsessive-compulsive-personality-disorder
Cherry, K. Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder Symptoms and Treatments,
retrieved from http://psychology.about.com/od/personalitydisorders/a/obsessivecomp.htm