Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder

Almost everyone has a somewhat compulsive nature. There seems to be some kind of thing that each individual must do compulsively. For example, some people may obsessively care about hairstyles, while others tend to collect shoes or keep their own style stubborn. Or, some people are nervous about organizing newspapers and books, or some people need to iron the underwear to fit the lines to loosen their directness. Each person has some obsessive characteristics, and in fact, if this does not do much harm to others, it will not be so much of a problem.

Personality is the most important factor in defining who an individual is and who he or she is. Personality includes a combination of unique characteristics, including a person’s attitude, thoughts, actions, and emotions, as well as the way they are expressed when they come into contact with the outside world. Some of the human personalities are hereditary, and some are shaped by life events and experiences. Personality disorders can be issued if these personalities become too hard and inflexible in an individual's life. In other words, people with personality disorders deviate from the normal patterns of thinking and behavior recognized by his society, and due to this personality’s non -flexibility, they can complain of pain in all areas of life, including social functions, and have difficulty forming healthy relationships. In particular, they don’t think to change their personalities and to be treated because they don’t recognize their problems, unlike people suffering from OCD who recognize that they have problems with obsessive compulsive disorder.

Personality disorders often occur with other mental disorders such as drug abuse, depression, bipolar disorder, or anxiety disorders, and about 10 to 13 percent of the world's population suffers from the disorder. In general, personality disorders begin in the 10s when the personality becomes more developed and mature, so all personality disorders are diagnosed over the age of 18. Borderline personality disorder or histrionic personality disorder is common in women, while antisocial personality disorder or obsessive-compulsive personality disorder is more common in men.

Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder, which will be covered here, belongs to cluster C personality disorder represented by anxiety and fearful thoughts or behaviors, and in addition to obsessive-compulsive, avoidant and dependent personality disorder.

Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder is:
Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder is a personality disorder characterized by extreme perfectionism, order, and cleanliness, and has a tendency to impose its own standards on the external environment.

General characteristics of people with obsessive-compulsive personality disorder:

• It is difficult to express emotions.
• It is difficult to form and maintain close relationships with others.
• Working inefficiently and hard with an obsession with perfection.
• Often angry with a sense of justice.
• Often social isolation.
• Anxiety with depression.
• It is confused with obsessive-compulsive disorder, but it is not the same: people with obsessive-compulsive personality disorder have no idea that there is a problem with their way of thinking and acting, so they believe that only their way of thinking and acting is correct, and that everyone else's is wrong.

Causes of obsessive-compulsive personality disorder:
The exact cause of obsessive-compulsive personality disorder is unknown, but it is generally said that genetics and experience of child life have a significant impact on the disorder. If someone in the family has this disorder or has grown under a controlled or protective parent, they are at a higher risk of developing it. Studies have shown that adults who feel they should have been perfect and obedient children as children have the need to follow rules or order, which can lead to obsessive-compulsive personality disorder.
About twice as many men suffer from this personality disorder than women, and 2-7% of all people have it. Naturally, people with obsessive-compulsive disorder are more likely to be diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive personality disorder.

Symptoms of obsessive-compulsive personality disorder: Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder is diagnosed under impaired interrelationship with others and disability of work.

• Hard and unconventional mannerisms
• Be punctual.
• Abandon family or relationships and devote oneself excessively to work
• Fear that things will not be handled properly prevents people from sharing or delegating them to others.
• Strictly comply with the rules and regulations.
• Strictly observe to moral and ethical norms.
• Thoroughly exhaust order.
• To be obsessed with the little things.
• Stack old or useless items.
• Be attentive
• Extremely saving money.

Diagnostic criteria for obsessive-compulsive personality disorder under DSM-5:
The individual develops a pervasive pattern of preoccupation with orderliness, perfectionism, and control, at the price of flexibility and efficiency, which sets in by early adulthood and is present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by at least four of the following:

1. He or she obsesses over details, rules, lists, schedules, and organization in general, to the extent that the overall point of the activity is lost.
2. The individual’s preoccupation with perfectionism interferes with his or her ability to get things done (e.g., the individual is unable to finish a project because he or she has set overly strict standards).
3. He or she is overly devoted to work and productivity, which results in the exclusion of leisure activities as well as close relationships.
4. The individual is too conscientious and inflexible when it comes to their morals or ethics (not including those related to culture or religion).
5. He or she is unable to get rid of old or worthless objects even when they are of no sentimental value to the individual.
6. The individual is unwilling or hesitant to work with others unless they agree to follow his or her exact way of doing things.
7. He or she is rather stingy with money; the individual saves an excessive amount for future catastrophes.
8. He or she is overly rigid and/or stubborn.

Treatment of obsessive-compulsive personality disorder:
Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder is treated through relaxation exercises that help reduce stress and urgency, cognitive behavior therapy that corrects distorted thinking and behavior, such as that everything should be perfect and should never make mistakes, and a prescription for serotonin to reduce anxiety surrounding the compulsive cycle.

One of the common characteristics of almost all people with obsessive-compulsive personality disorder I have encountered is indecision. It's not easy to make decisions before they start doing something because they have to do it perfectly. This is because once a decision is made, it must be all-in until it is made. And if they do not complete the decision, they often see themselves in a sense of shame that results in a huge wound and falling into a dark hole, so they can’t decide anything easily. In the end, this can only cause high anxiety index. No matter what they are trying to do, they can always be anxious about what they do because the fear of imperfections. In some cases, even trying something for this reason becomes burdensome, and there are people who leave everything and do nothing. It is the extremes of perfectionism and the peak of compulsion.

If you have this indecisive nature or personality, you may need to think about yourself for fear of failure, along with the self-expectation of perfection lurking in it. In addition, it may be important to think about the openness to bring your natural self out. You need to take a step further and reflect on whether you are pursuing perfection and compulsion to protect your self-pride. It is worth reflecting on whether you are making a mistake of using obsession as a means of protecting your self-pride, not as a self-esteem, by disguising it as perfection. Because self-esteem exists in freedom.