The anankastic personality disorder, also known as obsessive-compulsive personality disorder, can affect the person with it socially and occupationally. That is why in Psychology-Online we want to explain what it consists of and what is the recommended treatment.
The diagnostic criteria for him anankastic personality disorder (ICD) or Obesive-compulsive personality disorder (DSM) they are different but generally define the same disorder. Next we are going to see the criteria as they appear in the DSM:
- Concern for details, the rules, the lists, the order, the organization or the schedules, to the point of losing sight of the main purpose of the activity.
- Perfectionism that interferes with the completion of tasks (p. (e.g., he is unable to finish a project because he does not meet his own demands, which are too strict). Discover the causes of perfectionism in psychology.
- Excessive dedication to work and productivity excluding leisure activities and friends (not attributable to obvious financial need).
- Excessive stubbornness, scrupulousness and inflexibility on issues of morals, ethics or values (not attributable to identification with culture or religion).
- Inability to throw away spent or useless objectseven when they have no sentimental value
- Is reluctant to delegate tasks or work in others, unless they submit exactly to their way of doing things
- Adopt a stingy style on spending for himself and for others; money is seen as something to be accumulated in view of future catastrophes.
- Show stiffness and stubbornness.
The anankastic personality is characterized by the following traits:
- Perfectionists
- Self-demanding
- Responsible and organized
- Controllers
- Rigid
- Fair in terms of values, ethics and standards
- Nonconformists
- Negative
- Low tolerance for frustration and failure
- Extremist
- It is difficult for them to enjoy life
When there are no established rules or protocols on any task, decision making gets complicated. Even figuring out which tasks are most important and what is the best order to do them can mean they never get started.
They get angry when they are not in control of the situation but they do not express anger openly but with indignation and rumination.
They control the expression of affection and may feel uncomfortable around people who express it with intensity.
Situations that require tolerance or flexibility can be complicated for them, so the work area is affected.
Anankastic personality disorder usually peaks between the ages of 40 and 50 and occurs more often in men than in women. If it does not significantly alter the life of the sufferer, no treatment is necessary.
However, if some areas of your life are affected, the treatment that has been shown to be most effective is the combination of psychotropic drugs with the cognitive behavioral therapy.
The treatment of this disorder usually takes a long time since it is not a problem punctual but a way of being or behaving, so the change and maintenance are made more difficult.
This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
If you want to read more articles similar to Anankastic personality: traits, characteristics and treatment, we recommend that you enter our category of Personality.
