How to Differentiate Between OCD and OCPD

This is an article which will help you identify the difference between OCD and OCPD. They are really quite different as you will see. The first stands for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder where the latter is Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• scrutiny
• knowledge of both conditions

1. Steps 2 - 5 describe someone who could be suffering from OCD. Almost everyone has some traits of OCD. Everyone has their little quirks and preferences. The OCD pendulum can swing from one extreme to the other - either too much or too little. The question you need to ask yourself is how much time is consumed within a day obsessing and compulsing. If you are spending several hours each day and this problem is keeping you from your work, you might want to seek help. Someone suffering with OCD knows that their thinking is incorrect but often are unable to control it.

2. Someone who continually checks on things could be suffering from OCD. Checking is a symptom of OCD. Examples of this would be (1) checking repeatedly to make sure appliances are unplugged or turned off before leaving the house, (2) calling family members repeatedly to check to make sure they are ok, (3) driving around the block repeatedly to check to make sure you didn't run over someone. In extreme cases a person may be unable to hold down a job because of having to repeatedly return to a place to "check". For a person with OCD, checking on things relieves the obsession.

3. Someone who hoards things could be suffering from OCD. Extreme collecting is another symptom of OCD. I am not talking about collecting as a hobby. What I'm referring to here is maybe someone you know who's house is overrun with junk - things that have no value to anyone else. This person cannot turn loose of the items. To do so would cause extreme distress. Hoarding money, items and food are some examples.

4. Someone who continually washes their hands or takes many showers during the day could be someone suffering from OCD. This type of OCD is obsessed with germs. The washing compulsion relieves the stress of worrying about germs. Some people will actually wash so much their skin becomes raw.

5. Other symptoms of OCD include having to repeat steps over and over until the brain perceives it as being "perfect", thoughts or fear of harming someone like a child even though the person would never actually do it, other repeated obsessive thoughts that are religious or sexual in nature or any other thoughts that get continually "stuck" that you cannot free yourself of.

6. These next steps describe someone who could have symptoms of OCPD or obsessive compulsive personality disorder. This condition often goes untreated because people suffering from this do not understand what they are thinking is wrong and are less likely to seek help for it.
   A person who has OCPD is your typical anal-retentive personality but to an extreme.

7. If you know someone who is preoccupied with doing things their way and they believe that no one else's way can be just as good or better, they may have OCPD. They are rigid in their thought process and cannot bend or understand why others cannot just do it their way. There is no compromise or flexibility.

8. Someone with OCPD gets caught up with lists or a particular order of doing things so badly that nothing ever gets accomplished. They get caught up in details and thinking like "What if this or What if that." Eventually the original point or objective of a project gets lost. Things get left undone. A person fitting this description will typically start a project or projects with good intentions and will almost never finish anything.

9. Extreme perfectionism is a symptom of OCPD. Of course, most people realize there is no such thing as perfect. Someone with OCPD can't see this fact. They think everything they do must be done to perfection even though it's obvious to others that what they're doing is not perfect.

10. Do you know someone who stays at work, is dedicated solely to work and has no time for off-time with their family? For this person, work seems to be the most important thing. Again, they could be suffering from OCPD. Here the inflexibility and rigidity come back into play. The family of someone suffering from this disorder suffers greatly as they miss out on fun activities and are expected to uphold to the same level of perfectionism as the person suffering.

11. Someone with OCPD can also suffer from hoarding and repeating the same as someone with OCD. Often times, someone can suffer from both of these conditions concurrently.

12. Let me sum it up for you. Ask yourself this question - Who is suffering more, me or others around me? If the answer is you, you are dealing with OCD. If the answer is others, you are dealing with OCPD. If your family feels like they are constantly walking on eggshells, OCPD would be the culprit. People with OCPD do not see their disorder as a problem, people with OCD know they have a problem.

13. Either one of these conditions is extremely hard to live with. If you think you or someone you know suffers from either of these mental disorders, please get some help.

Tips & Warnings

• Someone with OCPD is a control freak. They are very concerned about people who break "rules". By rules here I mean the rules set by the person with OCPD.
• I am not a doctor, but have suffered from OCD and anxiety on and off my whole life.

[GreenGardenChic]

on 9/20/2008 This is me to a degree. Thanks for the insight.

[purrfect1969]

on 9/19/2008 Great info.

[klnygaard]

on 9/18/2008 excellent article on ocd and ocpd--fantastic differentiation of the 2.

[LilacGirl]

on 9/18/2008 Very detailed and informative article. Thank you.

[Inkling]

on 9/18/2008 Thanks for sharing. Monk makes it look kind of quirky and cute. Jack on the other hand made it look painful (for everyone and himself) and exhausting.