Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder and Self-Image

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Individuals with Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD) see themselves as responsible. They believe that they must depend on themselves and that they can be overwhelmed if they do not have systematic rules and regulations to follow (Beck & Freeman, 1990, pp. 46-47). These individuals are as harsh in their judgment of themselves as they are with others (Millon, 1981, p. 226). They value control over most other virtues. They emphasize discipline, order, reliability, loyalty, integrity, and perseverance (McWilliams, 1994, p. 298). Individuals with OCPD are inclined to feel self-doubt and guilt if they do not live up to their ideals but they do not recognize their own ambivalence about achieving aspirations and meeting expectations (Millon, 1981, p. 226).

View of Others

Individuals with OCPD (Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder) see others as too casual, irresponsible, self-indulgent, and incompetent (Beck & Freeman, 1990, p. 46). They are contemptuous of those who are frivolous and impulsive. They consider emotionally driven behavior immature and irresponsible. They do not usually recognize that they judge others in accord with rules that they themselves unconsciously detest (Millon, 1981, p. 226).

Unfortunately, OCPD insistence on doing things according to logical rules angers others. Some individuals with OCPD become aware of their impact on others but they do not understand it. Others with OCPD appear oblivious to the negative emotions they elicit. In fact, if confronted with this anger, individuals with OCPD are inclined to believe that these people have no right to be angry (Turkat, 1990, p. 85).

Lack of awareness of their controlling and annoying behavior results in individuals with OCPD feeling anything from confusion and bewilderment to being quite offended at the rejection or withdrawal they experience in social, work, or group situations.

OCPD Relationships

McWilliams (1994, pp. 284-287) suggests that control was a central issue in the Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder family of origin. Whether or not that is the case, control is a major factor in current OCPD relationships. Their behavior with significant others is likely to be disrespectful and domineering. They are not necessarily attempting to behave negatively, but appear to be orchestrating the entire family to a pattern of orderliness, discipline, and safety. While their organized behavior may be effective in various work settings, it sets the stage for individuals with OCPD to engage in ongoing and unpleasant power struggles with members of their family.

Socially, individuals with OCPD tend to be polite and formal. They relate to others in terms of rank or status, with an authoritarian rather than equalitarian style. Accordingly, they are deferential, ingratiating, and obsequious with individuals of greater rank, power, or position. People with OCPD will go out of their way to impress those they define as in a superior status. They are quite anxious if they are unsure of their position with these individuals. On the other hand, people with OCPD are autocratic and condemnatory with subordinates. They often behave in a pompous and self-righteous manner. They are haughty and deprecatory but cloak their actions behind regulations and legalities. They justify their aggressive approach by referring to rules or to authorities higher than themselves (Millon, 1981, p. 225).

Issues With Authority

Individuals with Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD) are extraordinarily careful to pay proper respect to those in authority. Their conduct is beyond reproach. By allying themselves with those in power, individuals with OCPD gain considerable strength and authority for themselves. They obtain the protection and prestige of those with greater status and power. They also absolve themselves from blame if they associate their actions with the views of external authorities. By submerging their individuality, they lose personal identity but evade the potential negative impact of taking a stand of their own (Millon, 1981, pp. 228-229). Once the dominant people or the authority figures in the environment of individuals with OCPD are identified, they will follow orders from these people -- often to absurd lengths (Richards, 1993, p. 255). Even if, as suggested by Pollak (Livesley, ed., 1995, p. 279), individuals with OCPD do resist authority through furtive, withholding behavior, their inclination to disown their own responsibility through attribution of decision-making authority to others and to follow people in power with obsequious conformity can make them dangerous to people in subordinate positions. With individuals who are lower in rank, people with OCPD are uncompromising and demanding. Power over others provides them with a sanctioned outlet to vent their hostility (Millon, 1981, p. 229).

continue: OCPD Behavior

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Reviewed: 04/2006