What you are about to read may seem disturbing to some of you, others will think of me while they are reading it!
"The primary symptoms of OCPD are a preoccupation with details, rules, lists, order, organization, and schedules; being very rigid and inflexible in their beliefs; showing perfectionism that interferes with completing a task; excessive focus on being productive with their time; being very conscientious; having inflexible morality, ethics, or values; hoarding items that may no longer have value; and a reluctance to trust a work assignment or task to someone else for fear that their standards will not be met.
Some people with OCPD, but not all of them, show an obsessive need for cleanliness. Those that do not show this tendency are sometimes good at setting up systems to maintain cleanliness, but may not follow through with the need to clean because of other "more important" priorities. For example, the need to get a good grade or finish a project at work might cause the OCPD person to have a quite messy and unorganized home. But if that same person was suddenly unemployed or finished with other activities, he or she could very well start becoming obsessed with cleanliness as other activities take up less time.
Completion of a task or problem by an OCPD individual can be affected when excessive time is used in getting such to be considered right. Personal and social relationships are often under serious strain because the OCPD individual insists on being in charge and the only one who knows what is right. Uncleanliness is seen by some OCPD individuals as a form of lack of perfection, as is untidiness. They may routinely spend considerable time using a precise manner, as for instance putting everything in precisely the right place in precisely the right manner. OCPD sufferers can be anxious about the potential for things to go wrong in their lives and respond by hoarding money. Pathological money hoarding, looking like miserliness or stinginess to other people, may occur to minimize that spent on daily living.
There are few moral grey areas for a person with fully developed OCPD. Actions and beliefs are either completely right or absolutely wrong, with the OCPD individual always in the right. As might be expected, interpersonal relationships are difficult because of the excessive demands placed on friends, romantic partners and children. Sometimes frustration with other people not doing what the OCPD individual wants spills over into anger and even violence. This is known as disinhibition. Persons with OCPD often have a negative outlook on life with a low underlying form of depression. This can at times become so serious that suicide is a real risk. Indeed, one study suggests that personality disorders are a significant substrate to psychiatric morbidity. They may cause more problems in functioning than a major depressive episode. People with OCPD, when anxious or excited, may tic, grimace, or make noises, as in Tourette syndrome, or do impulsive and unpredictable things, including risk taking. They may keep their homes perfectly organized, or be anxious about delegating tasks for fear that they won't be completed correctly. They may even insist on taking over a task someone else is doing so that it will be done properly. About one in four OCPD individuals may display rigid and stubborn characteristics, a defining criterion."
Now, some of those things describe me to a pinpoint...others are as far from my persona as anything. What I'm trying to get at is that I've been known to exude some of the OCPD qualities in my everyday life. For instance, I brush my teeth the exact same way everyday. The toilet paper roll has to be a certain way when it is replaced. My clothes are hung in my closet a certain direction with like colors and styles all grouped together. I very rarely delegate tasks to anyone else because only I can do them properly. I am not a neat freak, nor do I exhibit clean habits, but everything has it's place. (I leave the cleaning to my GF!) Let's not even get onto the subject of lists and schedules! I LOVE LISTS!!
But let's be honest, everyone has some OCPD tendencies in them...I bet you hate it when someone comes over and borrows something and doesn't put it back where it belongs (someone old enough to know it goes back in its proper place). I bet even some of you hate when someone eats over at your house and when they go to put the dishes in the dishwasher (which is always nice of them), they put it on the wrong level, like bowls on top and glasses on the bottom. Well, take a minute to think about your everyday activities to see what it is that YOU do that may fall in the OCPD category. And when you find a few crazy things you do, remember them and stop giving me crap about mine!
~Chix
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