Mitchell
Mitchell
Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder
Emelia Mitchell
Terra State Community College
Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder
Obsessive compulsive personality disorder (OCPD) is a mental disorder that involves obsessions with perfection, organization, and rules that can lead to behaviors that impair their daily life. Categorized as a “Cluster C” personality disorder, patients experience high levels of anxiety with these obsessions while feeling that their way of thinking is beneficial and necessary (“Personality Disorders,” 2016). They are often happy with how they are and deny that they need treatment while their behaviors cause them to be easily stressed and inflexible. While some people may debate if mental illness is all in your head, all disorders, including OCPD, are true medical illnesses because the symptoms are identifiable, the effects are widespread and seen throughout all types of people, and they can be treated effectively.
The behaviors and symptoms categorized by OCPD can start out like personality traits of a well-rounded person or a “perfectionist”, but can quickly be recognized as a disorder when the person has difficulty finishing tasks and can’t seem to focus on anything else. It can interfere with the person’s ability to function in a normal day to day environment because they feel overwhelmed by the various events they encounter on an everyday basis and cannot properly deal with these emotions (Fitzgerald, 2010). They try to do everything perfectly which causes them to procrastinate things, and when they attempt something they can’t complete it because it doesn’t meet their standards. They feel the need to be in control and generally have a hard time letting others complete tasks unless they are done exactly as asked. The constant obsession with productivity and organization prevents them from relaxing and taking time for themselves often leaving them feeling overwhelmed. This also causes them to neglect family and social activities that are not deemed as important as tasks on their to do list (Noppen, 2010). While patients experience these thoughts they are often happy with how they are and deny that they need treatment while their behaviors cause them to be easily stressed and inflexible. In some cases, patients may not even realize that they have a personality disorder because these unhealthy thoughts and behaviors seem natural to them (“Personality Disorders,” 2016).
OCPD is the most common personality disorder. On average about two to seven percent of the population is diagnosed with OCPD and many people have OCPD traits without having the fully diagnosed personality disorder. Of those who are diagnosed, twice as many are men as opposed to women (“Obsessive-Compulsive Personality,” n.d.). It is diagnosed based on a psychological evaluation and their healthcare provider will take into consideration how long and how severe the person's symptoms are (Berger, 2016). It develops from personality trai...
