Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder

Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder can be found within the types of anxiety disorders   in which a person has uncontrollable and recurring thoughts in which they feel forced to perform an act over and over and over again.

Subjects with obsessive-compulsive personality disorder present a general pattern of concern for orderliness, improvement, and mental and interpersonal control, at the expense of flexibility, spontaneity, and efficiency.

For people with obsessive compulsive disorder, thoughts are persistent and involuntary routines, and behaviors are rigid and inflexible, therefore not doing them can cause them anguish or even in severe cases depression.

People with this type of disorder can remain isolated for several hours a day, making sure that everyone around them is in perfect condition, they often feel ashamed of their symptoms and go to great lengths to hide them. This interferes with your family and social relationships. It can also have a negative effect on your education and the way you act at work.

This disorder can often be complicated by depression and other anxiety disorders, including social anxiety, panic disorder, and separation anxiety.

People with obsessive-compulsive disorder are often ashamed of their symptoms and go to great lengths to hide them.

Causes of obsessive-compulsive personality disorder

As with most personality disorders, the specific causes of this disorder are still unknown. It is estimated that there are various factors that may be the cause of it, among them we can find: biological, psychological and environmental or social factors.

Biological factors

Some studies have shown that people with direct line relatives (such as a parent, brother, or grandparent) who have obsessive-compulsive disorder are more likely to develop the disorder themselves. These estimates are not 100% accurate and the connections between genetics and obsessive-compulsive disorder are still being explored to achieve more accurate results and diagnoses.

Environmental or social factors

Usually people who have been abused in childhood or have experienced disturbing situations that generated some type of psychological trauma, have a greater risk of developing personality disorders such as obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Psychological factors

As we mentioned before, disturbing events and traumatic situations can cause changes in the mind of an individual, although this can be considered an environmental factor – since it is closely linked with the individual’s environment – it can also be taken as a psychological factor.

Research has shown that the structure and function of the brain of some people with obsessive-compulsive disorder is different from that of other people. Differences have been identified in the frontal cortex and subcortical structures of the brain of patients with this disorder. The investigations are still ongoing, since the causes that generate these brain failures have not been found, therefore, they still do not know exactly what is the appropriate treatment for them.

Symptoms of obsessive-compulsive personality disorder

• Concern for order
• Search and demand for perfection, for oneself and for others, which interferes with the performance and completion of tasks
• Affect control, rarely expressing affection, crying or anger
• Rigid, not very flexible
• Preoccupation with details, rules, lists, organization, schedules that sometimes make you lose the central objective of the activity
• Difficulty finishing things
• Excessive dedication to work and productivity to the exclusion of leisure activities and friendships
• Difficulty resting or taking a vacation
• Insomnia
• Overly stubborn and inflexible
• Scrupulous and moralistic (highlight morals, ethics and values)
• Collectors, they have a hard time throwing anything away
• Reluctant to delegate tasks or work with others, unless they follow exactly his way of doing things
• Misers, money is conserved for future catastrophes
• They are unaware that people get angry about their behavior
• Respectful of authority
• Great concentration on housework
• Recreational activities take them as serious and organized tasks
• Ruthless critics of their own mistakes
• They get irritated when others suggest other possible alternatives

Treatments for obsessive-compulsive personality disorder

According to research, we can say that as obsessive-compulsive disorder becomes more serious, ‘avoiding’ can become a growing problem. The person can avoid anything that could trigger their obsessive fears , which can make it difficult for these people to do some of the daily activities. Some people may even avoid going out of their homes so as not to deal with the “imperfection” of the outside world. That is why it is extremely necessary that those who suffer from this disorder be treated as soon as possible.

Cognitive behavioral therapy is one of the most effective types of psychotherapy for treating this disorder. The treatment of this therapy can take place in individual, group or family sessions. Some patients may experience excellent results and symptom reduction through cognitive behavioral therapy, particularly in a way called exposure and response prevention. In this way, the patient is exposed to face their fears, in this case their obsessions, and it is intended that they gradually get used to other thought patterns and new behaviors in the face of these obsessions.

Medication may be necessary to decrease anxiety symptoms and inhibit the reuptake of some neurotransmitters such as serotonin . Among the most prescribed drugs we can find: antidepressants, anxiolytics and antipsychotics.

Before identifying and treating the disease, families can become deeply involved in the victim’s rituals, which can cause distress and disruption to family members. For this reason, do not hesitate to go to a mental health professional if you suspect that someone close to you is suffering from this disorder.