Obsessive–Compulsive Personality Disorder

Obsessive–Compulsive Personality Disorder

Obsessive–compulsive personality disorder (OCPD) is a personality disorder characterized by a pervasive pattern of preoccupation with orderliness, perfectionism, and mental and interpersonal control at the expense of flexibility, openness, and efficiency.

OCPD is a chronic non-adaptive pattern of extreme perfectionism, preoccupation with neatness and detail, and a requirement or need for control or power over one's environment that results in major suffering and stress, especially in areas of personal relationships. Persons with OCPD are usually known to be inflexible and extremely controlling. They may find it hard to relax, and feel the need to plan out their activities down to the minute. OCPD occurs in about 1 percent of the general population. It is seen in 3–10 percent of psychiatric outpatients. It is twice as common in males as females.

Symptoms

The primary symptoms of OCPD can include preoccupation with remembering and paying attention to minute details and facts, following rules and regulations, compulsion to make lists and schedules, as well as rigidity/inflexibility of beliefs and/or exhibition of perfectionism that interferes with task-completion. Symptoms may cause extreme distress and interfere with a person's occupational and social functioning.According to the National Institute for Mental Health: Most patients spend their early life avoiding symptoms and developing techniques to avoid dealing with these strenuous issues.
OCPD has some of the same symptoms as obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). However, people with OCD have unwanted thoughts, while people with OCPD believe that their thoughts are correct.
Significantly higher rates of OCPD have been found in subjects with OCD, with estimates ranging from 23% to 32%. For example perfectionism, hoarding, and preoccupation in details (3 characteristics of OCPD) were found in patients of OCD and not in patients without OCD, showing a particular relationship with OCD.