Obsessive Personality

Having high standards, as well as being organized, hard worker and good at budgeting may be seen as good qualities to have until our tendency to be perfect becomes problematic. We’re so overly concerned about rules and order that our anxiety easily increases over the smallest, unexpected event and words like “workaholic” “control-freak” and “perfectionist” are thrown at us more often that we’d like.

Shouldn’t those traits be something to be proud of instead of ashamed of? To a certain degree, yes. The moment our personality traits affect our internal self-regulation system, and we feel we live in a constant state of stress, or our loved ones have had it with us, and we experience more and more friction and conflict, it may be time to look at how we can adjust those traits to a world around us that is not designed the same way.

Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD) differs from the diagnosis of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, although they share similarities involving order, perfectionism and organization. Some people may have both. A good thorough assessment will be able to distinguish between the two, accurately help us with the right diagnosis, and guide us to develop a treatment plan that is effective and customized to the client, since the therapeutic strategy will depend on the accuracy of the initial diagnosis. Psychotropic medication, for instance, may be effective for OCD but not for OCPD. In any case, if you believe you may have an obsessive personality that is affecting your life in a negative way, you can learn to re-wire your brain enough to remain who you are but in a better, upgraded version that will make everyone happier, including yourself.