What is Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder?

Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD) is a condition that involves being preoccupied with order and perfectionism. While it’s not uncommon to hold yourself to high standards and value cleanliness, people who suffer from OCPD take it to the extreme and display inflexible thinking patterns.

The Symptoms of Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder

People who have obsessive-compulsive personality disorder come across as hard-working because they might spend a lot of time perfecting a task. However, this makes them insufficient at the same time and they might never feel satisfied with their performance, which results in frequent feelings of anger and indignance.

They also tend to focus on preparing lists and schedules and pay extreme attention to detail which delays completing a task and might cause problems at work. Because they value perfectionism above anything else and have the need to be in control, they often experience difficulty trusting other people and maintaining relationships as a result. They’re unaware of how their behaviour might affect others and believe that their way of doing things is the right way; they rarely accept help and prefer working by themselves unless a person agrees to do exactly as they’re told, even if it means they’ll miss a deadline. Since they’re so devoted to their work, they might have little time for other aspects of their lives unless spending time with friends or leisure can be combined with being productive. Additionally, people who suffer from OCPD exhibit stubbornness and lack of flexibility in terms of moral and ethical issues.

The Difference Between Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

OCD is a disorder characterised by unwanted thoughts and repetitive behaviours driven by compulsions, which increase when they feel anxious and affect the sufferer’s ability to work and interact with others. On the other hand, someone with OCPD displays personality traits that don’t change depending on their mood and behaviours that are often seen as unreasonable and problematic by other people which might lead to conflicts. A key difference is also that a person with OCD struggles to control intrusive thoughts, while someone who suffers from OCPD doesn’t have the same problem and sees their thoughts as rational.

What Causes Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder?

There isn’t one specific cause of obsessive-compulsive personality disorder but factors that might play a role in developing this condition are a family history of mental health issues, childhood trauma and strict parenting. A previous study also found that children who experienced verbal abuse from their mothers were three times more likely to have OCPD. [1]


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[1] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11154711/