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Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder

Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD) OCPD is a personality disorder that unconsciously affects individuals' behaviors, emotions, and responses

Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD) is a personality disorder defined by a strict adherence to orderliness, the control over one's environment, and the openness to new experiences. OCPD is characterized by uncontrollable altered mental capacities, perfectionism, and mental and interpersonal control at the expense of flexibility and efficiency. Individuals diagnosed with OCPD experience many struggles such as, regulating and controlling emotions, and maintaining close relationships with others.

OCPD is often confused with the anxiety disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). It is important to differentiate between OCPD and OCD, as they share similar characteristics, but also differentiate between certain aspects as well. OCPD is a personality disorder that unconsciously alters people's behaviors. OCD is an anxiety disorder that has characteristics involving the presence of an obsession (an irrational thought or idea that continually repeats in a person's mind), or a compulsion (an irrational behavior performed repeatedly). Individuals diagnosed with OCPD believe that their actions and responses have an aim and purpose, and will usually avoid seeking help because they are unable to recognize that their behavior is being portrayed as abnormal or irrational. OCD symptoms tend to fluctuate in association with underlying anxiety, and often attempt to seek professional help to overcome the irrational nature of their behavior and the persistent state of anxiety they experience.

Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder Characteristics

OCPD is a personality disorder that has a combinations of characteristics that effect many diagnosed individuals. Personality disorders are characterized by dramatic, overly emotional or unpredictable thinking or behavior. Individuals diagnosed with OCPD experience an excessive need for perfection and a relentless control over not only one's environment but the nature of interpersonal relationships as well. This type of personality disorder causes individuals to also experience a preoccupation with details, rules, lists, and order. OCPD creates individuals to be inflexible regarding morals, ethics, values, and rules, as well as causing the inability to control excessive devotion to not only close relationships, but also with hoarding valuable or invaluable items. Individuals diagnosed with OCPD have difficulty forming and maintaining close relationships with others, and therefore find it hard to express their feeling and emotions in a general context or environment, and often face social isoltion. Many individuals throughout society believe that individuals diagnosed with OCPD have the advantage of being hardworking and motivated, but what they fail to recognize is the uncontrollable actions individual with OCPD experience in order to maintain what is considered as "hard work." Due to the inability to control most actions and behaviors, individuals diagnosed with OCPD often feel righteous, indignant, and angry. It is important to note that due to the uncontrollable characteristic that comes with the diagnosis of OCPD, many individuals experience symptoms similar to what is referred to as an anxiety disorder.

Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder Causes

Obsessions

An obsession is an anxiety disorder characterized by intrusive thoughts, fixation, and a persistent attachment to an object or idea. Many individuals diagnosed with OCPD have the inability to control what they obsess over. Although many non-diagnosed individuals also experience uncontrollable obsessions, individuals who are diagnosed with OCPD find it exceptionally difficult, as it alters their mental and motor capacities, and creates many obstacles that interfere with their everyday lives. The differences between non-diagnosed and diagnosed individuals are that most individuals without the diagnosis of OCPD have the ability to dismiss and be less bothered about the obsessive thoughts, whereas individuals diagnosed with OCPD have an altered mental capacity that creates alternative and excessive meaning or interpretation to the thoughts without control. Many individuals diagnosed with OCPD tend to view their unwanted thoughts as meaningful, important and sometimes dangerous.

• If one is diagnosed with OCPD, one might think: “It’s possible for me to contract a serious illness from touching this doorknob, then give this disease to my loved ones and cause them to be very sick. What kind of person would I be if I didn’t wash my hands?” These thoughts would create the individual exposed to feel anxious and engage in a compulsion.

Compulsions

A compulsion is the action or state of forcing or being forced to do something without constraint. Many individuals diagnosed with OCPD experience an irresistible urge to behave a certain way, especially against one's conscious needs. There are many different types of compulsions such as: shopping, hoarding, eating, gambling, sex, and even exercise. Although these compulsions are portrayed as positive by resulting in rewards or pleasure, when individuals diagnosed with OCPD engages in these repetitive patterns and senseless thinking, these behaviors are exceptionally difficult to overcome, and can result in an anxiety disorder.

Anxiety Disorder

An Anxiety Disorder causes many unexpected or unhelpful fears that seriously impacts many individuals' lives, including how they think, feel, and act. There are many different types of anxiety disorder such as: generalized anxiety disorder (the highest diagnosed anxiety disorder), panic disorder, agoraphobia, and social anxiety disorder. An anxiety disorder can leave many individuals effected with panic when they feel triggered by a specific event or stressful life experience. Many individuals diagnosed with OCPD share similar signs and symptoms as an anxiety disorder. Because OCPD is made up of many unwanted thoughts, images, or urges that causes anxiety (obsessions) or repeated actions meant to reduce that anxiety (compulsions), they are left with the disadvantage of experiencing large quantities of distress. Individuals diagnosed with OCPD experience signs and symptoms of anxiety when they have the inability to control any excessive obsessions, compulsions, or phobias.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder

A generalized anxiety disorder causes excessive amounts of worry around numerous everyday activities. This type of anxiety is the highest diagnosed anxiety disorder, and often results in individuals uncontrollably perceiving a minor problem as a major problem. Many individuals diagnosed with OCPD are often also diagnosed with a generalized anxiety disorder, as they share many major signs and symptoms.

Social Anxiety Disorder

A social anxiety disorder involves intense fear of being embarrassed or evaluated negatively by others. Many individuals diagnosed with this type of anxiety disorder tend to identify as introverts, and as a result prefer to avoid social situations. Individuals diagnosed with OCPD can also be diagnosed with a social anxiety disorder, as it shares similar characteristics such as being embarrassed of uncontrollable thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. This type of anxiety disorder can result in poor relationship statues', and a decrease in school or work performances. Individuals who attempt to defeat situations that creates the anxiety to occur, often experience the negative consequence of panic.

Panic Disorder

A panic disorder involves repeated and unexpected amounts of panic attacks (an internal, sudden and intense fear from internal or external stimuli). This type of disorder causes individuals to experience an uncomfortable physical feeling in their body such as: increased heart rate, shortness of breath, nausea, and fainting. Panic attacks are normal responses reactions to stressful situations, and have the ability to occur at anytime for no conscious reason. Individuals diagnosed with both a panic disorder and OCPD are especially feared, as their physical panic is often a result from uncontrollable acts regarding obsessions and compulsions.

Agoraphobia

Agoraphobia involves experiencing fear in a situation where an individual feels incapable of escaping or finding help when being exposed to a stimuli that triggers their internal feeling of anxiety, which often results in a panic attack (panic disorder). An individual diagnosed with agoraphobia shares similar characteristics to not just a social anxiety disorder, but especially OCPD.

Individuals diagnosed with this type of disorder share similar characteristics to a social anxiety disorder, as the fear that is exposed causes many individuals to attempt to avoid any large and public envirnments that could result in a dangerous and internal isolated state of panic. Similarly to individuals diagnosed with a social anxiety disorder, individuals diagnosed with agoraphobia also share the characteristic of tending to identify as introverts. Many individuals prefer to identify as an introvert when uncontrollably exposed to these altered mental capacities so others will recognize, accept, and support their unexpected and internal fear and anxiety to external stimuli.

Individuals diagnosed with agoraphobia also share important and similar characteristics to individuals diagnosed with OCPD. These characteristics between agoraphobia and OCPD are considered similar, as individuals diagnosed with OCPD also avoid many large and public spaces. Individuals diagnosed with OCPD may occasionally find it difficult to maintain a calm internal state when exposed to large and public environments. The difficulty for individuals to maintain control over their internal state of panic comes from their altered mental capacity to regulate emotions, responses, and behaviors when being exposed to an external stimuli. When an individual who is diagnosed with OCPD is exposed to a large and public environment where they feel hopeless, helpless, and isolated, they often experience the negative result of panic.

• If one is diagnosed with OCPD and experiencing signs or symptoms of agoraphobia, one might think: "this public transport is filthy, small, and overwhelming. What if I catch an illness from touching the seats and poles? What is if I miss my stop? What if I am incapable to getting of the transport? Is anyone watching me? What if I stop breathing?" This thought would eventually result in a panic attack, as the individuals diagnosed is being exposed to excessive intrusive thoughts about obsessions and compulsions, as well as being feared of not being able to escape or be safe in the external environment.

Phobias

A phobia is an intense fear around a specific item, object, animal, or situation. Individuals who are exposed to phobias experience a deep sense of internal panic when they encounter a stimuli in which they are feared. Phobias differentiate from other anxiety disorders in the sense that the trigger that activates the internal panicked response is one or more specific stimuli. Due to an individual being aware of the stimuli (phobia) that triggers their panicked response, they have the advantage to avoid that specific stimuli and as a result have the ability to attempt to control their internal panicked response. Similar to many other disorders, the consequences from experiencing a phobia can range from annoying to severely disabling, and interferes with many personal relationships, work, and education. Although individuals exposed to phobias often have the ability realize that their fear is irrational, they are still incapable of controlling their internal response when being exposed to the stimuli. Individuals who are diagnosed with OCPD have a higher than average risk of being exposed to a phobia due to their incapability of controlling their internal panicked response when being exposed to a stimuli. Although individuals diagnosed with OCPD are at a higher than average risk of experiencing fear towards specific stimuli, they also have a higher than average risk of being exposed to numerous amounts of phobic stimuli simultaneously due to their abundant amounts of obsessions and compulsions towards multiple stimuli.

Biological and Genetic Factors

Many biological and genetic factors contribute to an individuals development when diagnosed with a personality disorder. Many researchers engage in the biological and genetic factors when investigating the distinguishable differences between personality disorders, as they recognize that similar to other mental or physical illnesses or disorders, genes that are passed down through family generations also have a significant contribution not only towards an individuals mental development, but their general and overall development as well . Additionally to the biological and genetic factors that impact an individuals development, family dynamics and parenting styles also contribute frequent signs and symptoms to an individuals mental and personality development.

• A historical theory for the cause of OCPD and other personality disorders: Children who were consistently exposed to negative punished for negative behavior, failure and rule-breaking, while receiving no praise for success and compliance would eventually develop signs and symptoms of a personality disorder. Children exposed to this type of negativity during their development, develop occasional signs and symptoms of a personality disorder as an internal and uncontrollable coping mechanism for their personal disciplinary structures and experiences. Individuals exposed to these characteristics are not only incapable of associating independent thinking with happiness or satisfaction, but they modify their behavior solely to avoid negative consequences as well.

Environmental Factors

The expression of genes in an individual can be influenced by the environment in which the individual is located or develops. Many researchers engaging in the causes of OCPD continually yield possibilities that biological factors and environmental factors both contribute to an individuals altered cognitive processes. Although research on the relationship between environmental factors and OCPD is still in process, it has been confirmed that stressful life events, traumatic experiences, and uncontrollable encounters are all major environmental factors that contribute to an individual's signs and symptoms regarding the diagnoses of OCPD. Research has also uncovered a strong correlation between socioeconomic conditions and OCPD. Individuals with a lower socioeconomic status and experience large changes in their living and personal conditions have a higher than average risk of developing the disorder.