Difficulty in Relationships
Anxious parents’ excessive control or overprotection and emotional neglect in childhood may contribute to an unhealthy obsession with power and control in individuals with OCPD. To make their parents happy, children might develop inflexible thought patterns and behavior that can follow them into adulthood. A highly controlled home life may also aid the development of OCPD, where children will have difficulty developing a capacity for vulnerability and expressiveness. Because of these factors, they have trouble maintaining or forming healthy relationships and friendships.
The impact of OCPD on romantic partnerships is felt in the form of heightened anxiety on both partners and consequent avoidance of physical proximity. Some people who suffer from OCPD spend too much time at work and eventually neglect their relationships. The non-OCPD spouse may perceive this as a red flag, which can be a recipe for heated arguments. However, this may not be intentional as they may have an obsession with labor, where there is a replete with activating the brain’s pleasure regions through a positive feedback loop. Compulsive partners may behave this way because they are afraid of failing professionally and, more crucially, in their relationships. This can lead to unhappiness and divorce in married individuals with OCPD.
