Beautiful OCPD (Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder)

She took a few steps back, examined her work and a smile played at the corners of her mouth. She ran to her notepad stuck to the wall at the left hand corner of the bedroom entrance, and with eyes wide shut, she recited her list of chores to herself. She opened her eyes, read through the list and ticked the fourth item- “lay bed”. She peeped at the bed again to make sure the edges were hospital corners. With that done, she proceeded to the next item on her list which was –“fix cereal”, she tore out a sheet and started to write-

 -warm milk

 - pour cereal into bowl

 -add warm milk

 - add desired quantity of honey

Satisfied with her list, she smiled and put on her apron and cooking gloves and got to work.  Her next chore was folding laundered beddings; she got on this making sure matching pieces were placed together and she stuck days of the week on each piece, there was a color code too – there was no way her pink bed sheet was getting laid on a Friday cos Fridays were grey. When the labeling was done, she smiled once again, looked up and something caught her eyes; someone had placed her sweater on a green hanger! “Freaking hell!” she exclaimed and quickly switched it to a brown hanger. When this was done she proceeded to the couch for a quick nap. The nap lasted exactly 17 minutes.

As she aroused, she stretched, folded her duvet, and walked into her bedroom, she instantly got irritated. Her house was untidy, the bed was laid but the pillows were lying on the floor; there were folded beddings lying all over, labeled but not placed in the wardrobe. A bowl of cereal-turned-pudding was lying in the kitchen untouched. With these, she murmured, “I just can’t stand all these untidiness, I’m taking the day off chores!” and she went back to the couch to continue her nap.

People living with OCPD are effectively detailed and their drive for perfection never gets the job done. Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD)

A pervasive pattern, preoccupied with orderliness, perfectionism and a mental and interpersonal control at the expense of flexibility, openness and efficiency, beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of context

                                                (Wikipedia)

People living with OCPD are preoccupied with details, rules, lists, order, organization or schedules to the extent that the major point of the activity is lost, i.e. they show perfectionism that interferes with the completion of a task.  They are all around us. People living with OCPD should be appreciated and supported irrespective of their inability to complete tasks.

Jukpor Ifeoma.