OCPS is characterized by excessive perfectionism. Some people want to deliver their work as perfectly as possible and prefer to spend a little more time to achieve this. If someone consistently does not complete his work because the intended perfection is not achieved, this person is also overly dutiful and has difficulty showing and expressing his or her emotions, he or she may have an obsessive-compulsive personality disorder. .
Characteristics
According to the DSM, someone has obsessive-compulsive personality disorder when they meet four or more of the following criteria.
- Becomes completely preoccupied with rules, lists and organization that the ultimate goal is ignored
- Exaggerated perfectionism which means that the goal is not achieved and the task is not accomplished
- Exaggerated sense of duty, leaving no room for hobbies or friendships
- Excessive adherence to norms and values (without an explainable cultural or religious background), extremely conscientious
- Inability to throw away worn or worthless objects, even if they have no emotional value
- Difficulty collaborating and/or delegating unless others fully adapt in their working and views
- Overly frugal and stingy for self and others, money is secured for future disasters
- Strikingly stubborn, inflexible and rigid
- When problems arise, the blame always lies with someone else
General
It is not known how many people have this disorder, but OCPS is found more often in men than in women. These people often had a very strict upbringing.
OCPS should not be confused with OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder) in which people suffer from compulsive actions that have to be repeated over and over in the hope of alleviating certain fears (e.g. checking the door ten times or walking the same walk). Someone with OCPS does have obsessive thoughts (obsessions) and compulsive actions (compulsions), but these come from an extreme sense of duty and the fear of not meeting the self-imposed requirements.
Because they are so rigid and inflexible, they often impose a lot of limitations on themselves; they don’t finish anything or have no time for fun things. Because they can also suffer from this, they sometimes seek out a counselor themselves. The therapy is experienced as pleasant as long as they can tell what is going on inside them, but as soon as the care provider starts giving orders and/or advice, problems can arise.
Relationships with other people
Although people with OCPD can often seem very confident (after all, they know how to do things), they are actually very sensitive to rejection, afraid of being laughed at or abandoned. However, this does not prevent them from making very high demands on their environment, but they also make these demands on themselves, they are hard workers. Friendships are generally only formed when it can be of use to them. Their calculated, rigid and serious attitude often makes them appear authoritarian and haughty. Their lack of spontaneity, flexibility and improvisation makes them difficult to adapt and unwilling to compromise.
Relationship with a partner
As long as the partner goes along with the rules, laws and views, things can go well in a relationship for a very long time. In some cases they learn some social aspects from the other, which makes them more flexible over the years. However, the risk of depression later in life is very high. The feeling between wanting to but not being able to is often strong.
ASPD compared to other personality disorders
Avoidant Personality Disorder (OPS)
- OCPS: often finds others superficial or has no time for social contacts
- OPS: avoids people and new situations, withdraws from conflict
- Similarity: often lonely, few contacts
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
- OCPS: Overly perfectionist, afraid of getting things wrong
- OCD: Trying to avoid something through obsessive actions
- Similarity: obsessive behavior, acting
Dependent Personality Disorder (APD)
- OCPS: Exaggerated perfectionism, setting too high standards for oneself
- APS: negative self-esteem
- Similarity: difficulty making decisions independently