Psychotherapist & Jungian analyst Gary Trosclair explores the perils & potentials
of the driven personality for compulsives and their loved ones–removing the disorder from Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD)
The Healthy Compulsive Project:
Healing OCPD & Taking the Wheel of the Driven Personality
Recent Blog Posts
Some habits that bring you into therapy could slow your progress down, but some of your traits, used consciously, could speed you up. This is the nature of therapy, and working these through is what makes it brighter on the other side. Any effort you put into making therapy work will also make your life work.
Read MoreMy approach to psychotherapy includes the removal and reduction of symptoms, and, at least as importantly, seeking out and integrating skills and personality parts that have been missing from the lives of my clients. I’ve noticed that there is a particular subset of overlapping skills that often goes missing together: The capacity to tolerate not knowing and not controlling The…
Read MoreBuilding a solid foundation of basic respect, and furnishing it with self-compassion will diminish imposter syndrome. Rather than splitting yourself between how you look and how you feel, image yourself as whole, congruent and harmonious, all parts embraced by consciousness. Then you're ready to face those challenges that are only partly in your control.
Read MoreImagine a couple going through fertility treatment. They’re expected to make love at certain times to increase their likelihood of a productive outcome. One or both partners may find themselves suddenly short on libido and long on headaches, unconsciously resisting the doctor’s prescriptive intrusion into a very private space, even though this means not having kids or the ultimate sensual…
Read MoreWe’re all familiar with the results of typical hoarding behavior: newspapers piled in towers reaching for the celling, old mechanical parts bursting the seams of the garage, or a thousand rolls of toilet paper crouching in the basement just waiting to be used. This kind of hoarding can be ruinous for individuals and their families. But there is another type…
Read MoreIn my last post I argued that it’s important for us to know that we are enough; that accepting ourselves as we are right now is an essential step in achieving mental health. In this post I’ll explore the other side of the coin—wanting to change, to grow and be more than enough. That previous post was about acceptance. This…
Read MoreThe Varieties of Insecure Experience Throughout my book, blog and podcast I suggest that insecurity leads to unhealthy, compulsive behavior, behavior that’s intended to compensate for that insecurity. The three sources of insecurity that I’ve witnessed most often are about being loveable enough, morally good enough, or competent enough. These could all be present in the same person, but one…
Read MoreI got involved in the world of the obsessive-compulsive personality after working with two similar yet vastly different types of patients with compulsive drive: one managed it well, and another was run over by it. These were, respectively, healthy compulsives and unhealthy compulsives. What made the difference? Some were driving and others were being driven. Some recognized compulsive tendencies as…
Read MorePsychiatrist Carl Jung liked to ask people, and I am paraphrasing lightly, “But then what is your myth? What is the story that inspires and motivates you?” He wasn’t presuming that they were soft-headed nincompoops. He was just trying to understand the foundations by which we all live. Many of us may borrow from multiple myths to create our own…
Read MoreThe sources of obsessive-compulsive personality are found in genes, family, culture and coping strategies. The resulting disposition is relatively stable, but can shift gradually with time. Think of this as the climate. You will always have tendencies to perfect, order and control, but whether these are adaptive or maladaptive can change over time. Another factor in how obsessive-compulsive tendencies are…
Read MoreFeatured Blog Posts
Your colleague Mitch works very late hours, insists on perfection in team documents, and can get pretty bent out of shape at meetings, letting people know exactly how they should be doing things. He needs to have things a certain…
As with many other subjects, Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung had a refreshingly creative take on compulsive behavior. Here are his two basic ideas: We have a deep, healthy, and compulsive urge to individuate, to develop our psychological potential. 2. If…
Compulsive. It’s not the kind of trait that will get you a wink on a dating app. But let’s re-frame this: people who have a compulsive personality have a lot to feel good about–if they manage their energies well. Let’s…
Why A Compulsive Personality Blog? It’s so hard to stop. Hard to stop working, thinking, perfecting, controlling, planning and doing. This drive can be tormenting. But it can also be fulfilling–both the doing and the finishing. What determines whether it’s…
A partner with OCPD (obsessive compulsive personality disorder), can be really difficult to live with. They usually aren’t aware how extreme their rigidity has become and are often convinced that they’re right all the time. Their perfectionistic, controlling and workaholic…
Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD) As many as one in 12 people have the medical disorder known as Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD) without knowing it. In fact, while it’s prevalent and well established as a diagnostic category, it is one of…
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Recent Posts
- How to Not Waste Your Time in Therapy July 9, 2024
- 4 Lessons Perfectionists Learn When They Befriend the Archetype of the Fool June 18, 2024
- How to Build a Foundation That Prevents Imposter Syndrome May 28, 2024
- Demand Resistance: What It Is, What Drives It, and How It Serves or Cheats Us May 7, 2024
- How to Keep Psychological Hoarding from Crowding Your Mind and Blocking Your Fulfillment April 16, 2024
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