Help for obsessive-compulsive personality disorder

Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder describes a pervasive preoccupation with orderliness, perfectionism, and control that affects many areas of life.

OCPD is a pervasive pattern of preoccupation with:

• Orderliness
• Perfectionism
• Mental control and
• Relationship control
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At the expense of:

• Flexibility
• Openness and
• Efficiency
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Beginning in early adulthood (or earlier) and showing up across a variety of situations, people with OCPD may experience:

• Preoccupation with details, rules, lists, order, organisation, or schedules to the extent that the major point of the activity is lost
• Perfectionism that gets in the way of finishing tasks (for example, finding it very hard to finish a project because their own very high standards are not met)
• A very strong devotion to work and productivity to the exclusion of leisure activities and friendships (in the absence of financial necessity)
• Being overconscientious, scrupulous, and inflexible about matters of morality, ethics, or values (outside of their cultural or religious norms)
• Finding it very hard to throw things out, even without sentimental value
• Reluctance to delegate tasks or to work with others unless things are done exactly their way
• Being very careful with money, often saving for future emergencies
• Finding it hard to be flexible
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Examples of how OCPD can show up include:

• High levels of perfectionism
• Studying a lot
• Overworking
• A lot of tidying or organising
• Emphasis on lists and routines
• Difficulty with change
• Restricting or dieting behaviour
• Compulsive exercise
• A lot of doubt
• Being very cautious
• Very high conscientiousness
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While people with OCPD often feel positive about striving towards their goals, many also find it exhausting and are left feeling they're never good enough. The constant focus on productivity can leave them:

• Feeling empty
• Feeling that their life lacks meaning
• Socially isolated
• Experiencing feelings of imposter syndrome

Support for OCPD

There are a number of therapies that can help with OCPD, including Compassion Focused Therapy, Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, Dialectical Behaviour Therapy, Radically Open Dialectical Behaviour Therapy, Schema Therapy, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy.

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