What defines a “personality disorder”?
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The key difference between a personality disorder and most other kinds of mental health problems is that generally the person with a personality disorder doesn’t know that anything is wrong. What they believe is so deeply ingrained that they think their warped perspective on the world is correct. A person with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) usually knows that their rituals and fears aren’t rational, but a person with obsessive compulsive personality disorder (OCPD) genuinely believes that their strive for perfection is justified and correct, and *other people* are wrong for not recognizing how right they are. It’s why personality disorders are so difficult to correct—the person suffering them isn’t self-aware enough to recognize that there’s a problem, so they’re disinclined to seek help, and unlikely to accept it if it’s pushed on them.
I’ve spent most of the last decade in therapy for depression, anxiety, and OCD; found out recently that I actually was diagnosed with OC*PD* all those years ago, but I no longer fit the criteria because I’m too self-aware. 😛 Like the person with EUPD who also posted, you wouldn’t have necessarily known something was psychologically wrong with me if you’d met me, but I had trouble keeping friends as a child and a reputation at work as a “bossy know-it-all”. Things are much better now, but I still have work to do (I still really struggle with letting other people do things their way instead of mine) , and I’ll always have to double-check whether I’m trying to enforce a truly rational standard or an arbitrary one.
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