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Obsessive personality: 8 habits that lead to obsession

Obsessive personality: 8 habits that lead to obsession

March 18, 2024

Throughout life there are numerous situations that are able to trap our mind in a loop that seems eternal.

Recurrent thoughts, unjustified anxiety due to phenomena that constantly attract attention ... They are characteristics of the obsessive personality , which, although by itself is not pathological, is statistically associated with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and certain anxiety problems.

What is obsession?

Psychologically, the concept of obsession refers to the presence of an idea, belief or mental image that interferes recurrently in the state of consciousness of the person and makes their thinking go "on rails". That is to say, that obsessions limit the spontaneity with which one acts, since they go hand in hand with a thought loop that feeds back on its own effects.


Rumination, which is precisely this vicious circle of mental processes, is a phenomenon that goes hand in hand with obsession. In addition, the consequences of this are usually an increase in punctual stress and anxiety, as well as premonitory beliefs about the future new appearance of those obsessive thoughts.

  • Maybe you're interested: "11 obsessions and typical compulsions in OCD"

The 10 habits of the obsessive personality

But ... what are the signs that betray the existence of an obsessive personality? For this you have to look in the habits that arise in the day to day . The main ones are the following.


1. It is constantly planned

Obsessive people tend to spend much more time calculating or estimating what may happen in the future to, well, keep alive the idea that they have everything under control .

2. Escapist habits

The obsessive personality needs to rely on moments of escapism so as not to constantly have to endure anxiety of having to always be in charge of what happens. Weekend getaways, long games of video games or simply periods of isolation are usually statistically more common than normal in these people.

3. Use of dichotomous thinking

The obsessive personality is based on a style of thinking that is very categorical and that radically distinguishes what is right from what is wrong. That is why there is a lot of concern in doing things right, because in case of failure there are no nuances that allow to cushion the unpleasantness of that experience.


4. Constant emphasis on responsibility

These people always have in mind the idea that, if you do not act proactively, things tend to go wrong, and the odd thing is that they go well without even trying. That is why they always put a lot of pressure on human actions , either from others or, in many cases, only in their own.

5. Avoidance of the option to delegate

The obsessive personality is controlling and, therefore, usually goes hand in hand with a characteristic habit: it is not delegated, and there is a clear preference to do the important things oneself. Leaving things in the hands of others would imply run a risk that for some is too high , and for that reason it is preferred to have a conscious control over what is happening, even if that option is more tired.

6. Search for acceptance

Those who have obsessive personality tend to seek acceptance of others to a degree somewhat higher than the rest of the population. Unlike what happens with narcissists, this has nothing to do with the need to maintain a very idealized and inflated self-image, but with the need to believe in one's own abilities so as not to feel weak before the problems of the day to day.

To have a bad public image supposes to have before us a mirror in which our capacities are questioned, and this causes that the worries about what can happen to us can assault us with greater facility.

7. Defense of the value of justice and order

This class of people prefers order to the unpredictable and spontaneous, since the second option generates more uncertainty, worries and, consequently, obsessive thoughts that wear us out psychologically. This is also reflected in his way of expressing his ideals although that does not mean that they should be conservative; they simply defend the idea of ​​basing relationships on well-established pacts and whose violation entails compensatory consequences.

8. Tics and stereotypical behavior

Some people with this personality class show stereotyped actions in their day to day, without becoming so serious or invasive that they are considered a symptom of OCD. Are a way to give structure to what is being experienced , making each moment experience as something connected with others and there is a feeling that everything that is lived is integrated into a unit. Of course, most of these actions are involuntary and almost automatic.


LIVING WITH OCD (OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDER) PL/ENG (March 2024).


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