1/8 Obsessive-compulsive personality is externally defined by high conscientiousness, meticulousness, and being highly regimented and cerebral with low emotional awareness.
@jonathanshedler #psychtwitter #OCPD #psych #psychodynamic
@jonathanshedler #psychtwitter #OCPD #psych #psychodynamic
2/8 When asked how they feel about something, someone with OCP will instead tell you what they think. The overuse and overvaluation of thinking, reasoning and logic is a defense against emotional life.
3/8
When we squelch “undesirable” emotions, all feelings get squelched. Squelching anger also squelches spontaneity and joy.
In OCP, the predominant unconscious theme is around being in control versus being controlled.
When we squelch “undesirable” emotions, all feelings get squelched. Squelching anger also squelches spontaneity and joy.
In OCP, the predominant unconscious theme is around being in control versus being controlled.
They are caught in an internal conflict around submitting to others’ expectations and demands versus defying them. On one side of the conflict is submission to someone else's control, following the rules, deferring to authority.
5/8 This leads to feelings of humiliation and rage. On the other side of the conflict is defiance, experienced unconsciously as destructive aggression. This leads to fear of retaliation and punishment and accompanying anxiety and guilt. Both sets of feelings are unacceptable.
6/8
As a result, their personalities are organized around constricting and avoiding emotion, which is when the observable features come into play. Their emphasis on logic and reason is less a conscious choice than a psychological defense against something that feels intolerable.
As a result, their personalities are organized around constricting and avoiding emotion, which is when the observable features come into play. Their emphasis on logic and reason is less a conscious choice than a psychological defense against something that feels intolerable.
7/8
This is why when you ask how they feel, they will instead tell you what they think—often with a detailed logical analysis. This is why one theorist referred to people with obsessive-compulsive personalities as “living machines.”
This is why when you ask how they feel, they will instead tell you what they think—often with a detailed logical analysis. This is why one theorist referred to people with obsessive-compulsive personalities as “living machines.”
8/8
watch the full hour podcast with Dr. Shedler here.
watch the full hour podcast with Dr. Shedler here.
Read our article written on this here: psychiatrypodcast.com/psychiatry-psy…
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