The Healthy Compulsive Project Ep. 12: How Do I Know if I Have OCPD? And So What If I Do?
Sep 19, 2023
A clear look at how perfectionism and control can become a personality pattern and hide in plain sight. Practical questions to assess whether rigid habits harm wellbeing or relationships. A tour of four OCPD subtypes and how each can tip into unhealthy extremes. Actionable steps to acknowledge patterns, face avoided feelings, and redirect energy toward healthier routines.
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OCPD Diagnostic Core
- OCPD is a pervasive pattern of preoccupation with order, perfection, and control that sacrifices flexibility and efficiency.
- The APA lists eight criteria and meeting four or more indicates diagnosis, including rigidity, perfectionism, overdevotion to work, and reluctance to delegate.
Test If Traits Cause Harm
- Ask whether your rules, perfectionism, and control cause suffering to you or others to test whether traits are harmful.
- Check specific impacts: impatience, lost relationships, inability to relax, and increasing depression as concrete signals.
Four Distinct OCPD Subtypes
- OCPD appears in different flavors; four subtypes help clarify presentations and treatment focus.
- Gary lists Teacher-Leader, Worker-Doer, Friend-Server, and Thinker-Planner as distinct unhealthy endpoints.
