Welcome to the Obsessive-
Compulsive Personality Disorder
(OCPD) Support Group 

   This group is for the mutual support of those with and those intimately affected by those with a personality type first hinted at by Freud in 1908 when he described the "anal character" and noted its three traits of orderliness, parsimoniousness, and obstinacy. It has more recently been called the "obsessive personality", the "compulsive personality", the "conscientious personality", the "dutiful" or "conforming" personality, and the "perfectionistic personality", while in Europe it's called the "anankastic personality". Today in the U.S. it is best known as "obsessive-compulsive personality disorder" or OCPD. We use the term OCPD because it's currently the most highly identified with this personality type, even though some members may consider themselves as having a compulsive personality or a strong compulsive orientation but not necessarily a "disorder". OCPD is NOT a form of the psychiatric disorder OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder) but rather is a personality style characterized by a harsh conscience and rigid personality structure.

The compulsive personality (OCPD) will act based on some external standard or on what he "should" do rather than on what he really, actually wants to do. He likely doesn't even know what he wants or what he enjoys doing, but he knows what is correct. Though usually lacking in initiative, he is a conscientious person. There is a great pressure on him to be right. It is often a joyless existence. To learn more about OCPD read the online articles by Phillipson and Ekleberry. If you suspect you have OCPD try out some of our online OCPD self-tests.

The entire panoply of symptoms of OCPD can be understood as stemming from one single, simple underlying psychodynamic: The person with OCPD is unable to tolerate or properly process the feeling of guilt. Simply stated, he can't stand to feel guilty. We can say alternatively that he is guilt-phobic, guilt-avoidant, or hypersensitive to guilt. Therefor, his personality will be organized and his life will be conducted in such a way as to severely limit his opportunities for feeling guilt.

A landmark U.S. survey by the NIH concluded "In 2001- 2002, fully 16.4 million individuals (7.9 percent of all adults) had obsessive-compulsive personality disorder". Most current estimates put the number closer to 1%, with men being twice as likely to have OCPD as women.

"I am fighting Bladder Cancer and OCPD. If that famous-person-with-the-magic-wand appeared and asked me which of the two I would like to have disappear forever, I would without hesitation say the OCPD."  OCPD forum member, 2/27/05

Is there hope for improvement for those with OCPD? Yes, if you fully accept the fact of your OCPD and are humbled by the depth and breadth of the effect it has on you and those around you, then there is hope. If you don't, then the answer is no.

 Membership in the forum is restricted  to those who have or strongly suspect they have OCPD and/or their spouses, ex-spouses, or other loved ones. Blank or irrelevant applications will be denied. For more on the purpose of the forum see Purpose and Rules.  

"They tend to place a great deal of pressure on themselves and on others to not make mistakes. Within OCPD the driving force is to avoid being wrong."
"Exerting effort to contain 'out-bursts' of emotion is an everyday phenomenon. It seems however that there is one emotion which exists in abundance. The expression of anger tends to come out naturally and in excess. Emotional constraint is exerted to prevent the possibility that one may act in a regrettable way. "
"Although rarely observed by others, the experience of inner turmoil within this syndrome is immense. As much as others are often victimized by OCPD's oppressive and demanding style, the high standards often apply two fold within the OCPD sufferers' expectations directed toward themselves"
"For many who have close contact with an OCPD sufferer there can be a pervasive experience of being ill at ease, while in the company of someone with OCPD. Often, being with persons who evidence this diagnosis, feels like walking in a field of land mines"
Dr Stephen Phillipson (clinical director at the Center for Cognitive Behavioral Psychotherapy) in the article "The Right Stuff" on OCPD.

"Honestly there is not much research on treating OCPD because most of these people don't come to us for treatment - their symptoms may bother their family members, but usually not the person him/herself." Dr Lee Baer, author of "The Imp of the Mind" on OCD.

Member with OCPD 6/19/03: "... it's more than a little rough when you make such a big fuss about mundane things which most people do w/o thinking and put it off until it becomes a crisis. It is hard to begin new projects when you just know you'll inevitably have to put in three times the effort anybody else would."

A wife of OCPDer 2/26/03: "Loving someone with ocpd, is like loving a mirage....you see what you want in your life together in the distance,  but you get there, and there's nothing."

Member with OCPD 5/18/03: "Bottom line: You lost your loved one, your kids can't stand you, you have no job, you have no friends, and you are clinically depressed. Then will you start believing you have a problem?"

"I believe that my readers' most important tool will be understanding -- coming to a clearer and deeper awareness of obsessive traits and of how they may be causing problems in everyday life, coupled with some idea of how things could be better if certain changes were made." "Unfortunately, obsessives, perhaps more than any other group of patients, have a need to believe that there is a specific and clear answer to every question; an unambiguous, conflict-free solution to every problem" -- Allan Mallinger, M.D., in his book about OCPD, Too Perfect: When Being In Control Gets Out Of Control.

"OCPD is usually treated with individual psychotherapy or counseling that focuses on helping persons with this personality disorder accept themselves, change inflexible thinking, and get more in touch with their feelings." -- helpguide.org

"The first step in moving away from a perfectionist orientation is to identify it and to examine the ways in which it manifests in an individual's life." -- Encyclopedia of Childhood and Adolescence.

Dutch member with OCPD 10/02/03: "... I always develop my own way of working and dealing with situations and thinking."

Melinda Duckett with OCPD who took her own life on 09/08/2006 from her suicide note: "My heart has always been in the right place, honest to God. My reasoning is what is off at times."

Spouse of someone with OCPD 10/05/03: " We've had and have some very serious marital problems but he doesn't seem too concerned about that, but when he wants to purchase anything he researches it to the hilt! Not once did he ever look into how to fix a marriage."

Australian member with OCPD 10/09/03: "I have found the postings on this site incredibly useful in explaining what has been going on in my life over the last two years."

Member with OCPD 11/12/03: "I had to lose everything in life to realize how flawed my 'philosophy' was; please, please, PLEASE don't let yourself have to go down the road I did.  BELIEVE ME, no matter HOW bad you may think things are or have been, you have NO idea how much worse they can be."

Member with OCPD 11/14/03: "OCPD helped me lose everything, my health, job, wife, kids and home! If I had known about OCPD before my crash, I might have been helped.  If 1% of the population has ocpd, which is a lot of people, why don’t you hear about it?"

Member with OCPD 02/19/04:  "Belief that I have [OCPD] is something I have in my heart and not just my head, but getting to that point took therapy, time, study, reflection, and reasoning, and included many reverses, traverses, and blind alleys."

 OCPD Hospital

"How small, of all that human hearts endure
 That part which laws or kings can cause or cure!" -- Samuel Johnson

If you haven't joined yet you can still browse the links on the left and read the message board, though some of the site's content will be unavailable to you. If you become a member then you will have access to the entire site and may also post messages. For more information see  READ ME FIRST

You may contact the group manager at  paulwhois46@hotmail.com

Please don't email me for advice on your personal OCPD situation. I will only answer general inquiries for information about OCPD or other OCPD forum-related issues.