OCPD

Mansize_tissue · 16 Apr 2008 at 22:34

I hope this won't get deleted on account of being medical-related.

So I was reading the symptoms of obsessive compulsive personality disorder and pretty much all of them fit me exactly. This isn't to be confused with OCD, however; though I can attribute a lot of its symptoms to myself, too.

Anyway, I was wondering if any of you guys have been diagnosed with either of these disorders or think you may have them.

Mansize_tissue · 16 Apr 2008 at 22:50

I'm not labelling myself, at least not trying to anyway. I just found it interesting that there's a disorder which seems to explain my perhaps-unusual traits.

Mansize_tissue · 16 Apr 2008 at 23:37

gord said:
What unusual traits do you have?

Yes. I'd prefer not to go into specifics, but I exhibit all of the diagnostic criteria which appear in the wiki article:

* Preoccupation with details, rules, lists, order, organization, or schedules to the extent that the major point of the activity is lost
* Showing perfectionism that interferes with task completion (e.g., is unable to complete a project because his or her own overly strict standards are not met)
* Excessive devotion to work and productivity to the exclusion of leisure activities and friendships (not accounted for by obvious economic necessity)
* Being overconscientious, scrupulous, and inflexible about matters of morality, ethics, or values (not accounted for by cultural or religious identification)
* Inability to discard worn-out or worthless objects even when they have no sentimental value
* Reluctance to delegate tasks or to work with others unless they submit to exactly his or her way of doing things
* Adopting a miserly spending style toward both self and others; money is viewed as something to be hoarded for future catastrophes
* Shows rigidity and stubbornness

Okay, so it's probably normal to exhibit a few of these, but that list describes me pretty damn well!

Mansize_tissue · 17 Apr 2008 at 00:07

I must admit that these disorder diagnoses seem to be handed out a lot more than they used to. Possibly to excuse peoples' stupidity, as you've said, but OC(P)D can really get in the way of your life. Just a little example: when given a task to do I spend way too much time perfecting superfluous parts of it and end up losing focus of the real task at hand. This means that I become terribly unproductive, given the amount of time I may put into something.

Mansize_tissue · 17 Apr 2008 at 00:22

rghjones said:
I fit all those OCPD traits. I just call it perfectionism.

That's what I used to call it. Does it make you less productive?