Surely, at some point it has happened to you that you couldn’t stop thinking or talking about something. That something could be a series, a person, an activity… and they may have told you that you were obsessed.
On the other hand, there are people with obsessive-compulsive disorder and people with obsessive-compulsive personality disorder, but it is sometimes not very clear what the difference is and where the limit would be. Both obsessive-compulsive personality disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder can cause problems in relationships, in the work, social and family spheres. Both have been differentiated by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 5 (DSM-5, 2018). What are the traits of obsessive personality and how to treat a person with this type of personality? ¿To what extent is it normal and when does it start to be a disorder?
Keep reading this Psychology-Online article if you want to see what characteristics and differences there are between obsessive compulsive disorder and obsessive personality disorder.
Obsessive compulsive disorder
First, we must clarify what the concepts of obsession and compulsion mean:
- The obsessions They are persistent and constant thoughts that cause great discomfort. The person tries to ignore or suppress them.
- The compulsions They are behaviors (washing hands) or thoughts (mental counting) that are performed with the intention of eliminating the obsession. They are used as a way to reduce the discomfort caused by the session.
In , the person has obsessions and/or compulsions for most of the day or these obsessions and compulsions significantly interfere with the person’s life.
Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder
What is obsessive compulsive personality? The traits and characteristics of the obsessive-compulsive personality are the following:
- The person has a overconcern for order and control.
- His personality tends to perfectionism.
- Focuses too much on details and plan in excess of each activity to be carried out.
- As a consequence, the person never finishes any project because never considers it good enough made.
- Besides, They don’t usually ask for help due to that need to control the situation.
They also project this demand onto others. In addition, it is quite common for them to find it very difficult to get rid of objects.
In many cases, a person may present certain features of this disorder without a diagnosis being possible. That is, it could be said that they suffer from the disorder but in a much smaller and milder way. In any case, continue causing great discomfort for the person who suffers from these traits as well as the people around him.
Difference between OCD and OCPD
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is included in the . For its part, as its name indicates, obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD) is part of the . This differentiation is due to the fact that different brain circuits are involved in each disorder.
OCD has a genetic and biological basis, but it is not known if the same occurs in OCPD. Furthermore, the former responds very well to psychotropic drugs. Both, in any case, with appropriate therapy and treatment, can help the person who suffers from them to have a completely normal life.
On the other hand, in OCD, intrusive thoughts do not match the person’s way of thinking, and that is why these thoughts are tried to be eliminated and produce anxiety. However, In TPOC the person lives according to what they think, so these levels of anxiety do not occur. For this same reason, in the TPOC it is more complicated to be aware of the problem.
Obsessive personality disorder in relationships
What should we know about obsessive personality and relationship? People with OCPD are people with a very practical way of thinking and leave aside the most emotional part. They are people with stricter rules so they usually are faithful, responsible and attentiveHowever, they do it in a practical way, omitting romanticism.
They tend to combine well with very emotional people since they make them feel more alive and they bring tranquility and stability to the other person.
How to treat an obsessive personality? People with OCPD need their disorder to be understood and respected, with some limits, but accepting your way of being. The changes you make towards a connection with your most emotional part should be slight and subtle. Furthermore, it must be taken into account that the fact that he does not express what he feels does not mean that he does not feel it.
How to overcome obsessive personality
For this type of problem it is necessary to put yourself in the hands of A professional. With this, the erroneous beliefs that cause the disorder and that make the person so perfectionist and rigid will be modified.
Likewise, there will be exposures with response prevention, that is, the person will be exposed to what they are obsessed with (for example, a dirty environment) and they will not be allowed to clean. This exposure will continue until anxiety levels are reduced.
In order to reduce the anxiety levels that may occur from such exposures, the person will be taught relaxation techniques. In this article we explain several. Likewise, it will be important work on self-esteem of the person since in many cases the value they give to themselves depends on the perfection with which they have carried out an activity. Here you will find information about.
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
If you want to read more articles similar to Obsessive personality: traits and how to treat itwe recommend that you enter our category.
References
- American Psychiatric Association (APA) (2018). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders DSM-V. 5th ed. Panamericana Medical Editorial: Madrid.
Bibliography
- Feist, J. (2007). Personality theories. Madrid: Mc Graw – Hill
- Millon, T. (2006). Personality disorders in the modern life. Barcelona: Masson.
- Schultz, D. (2002). Personality theories. Madrid: Paraninfo.