The Healthy Compulsive

Gary Trosclair explores the power of the driven personality and the positive outcomes those with obsessive compulsive personality disorder can achieve through a mindful program of harnessing the skills that can work, and altering those that serve no one. If you were born with a compulsive personality you may become rigid, controlling, and self-righteous. But you also may become productive, energetic, and conscientious. Same disposition, but very different ways of expressing it. What determines the difference? Some of the most successful and happy people in the world are compelled by powerful inner urges that are almost impossible to resist. They’re compulsive. They’re driven. But some people with a driven personality feel compelled by shame or insecurity to use their compulsive energy to prove their worth, and they lose control of the wheel of their own life. They become inflexible and critical perfectionists who need to wield control, and they lose the point of everything they do in the process. A healthy compulsive is one whose energy and talents for achievement are used consciously in the service of passion, love and purpose. An unhealthy compulsive is one whose energy and talents for achievement have been hijacked by fear and its henchman, anger. Both are driven: one by meaning, the other by dread. The Healthy Compulsive: Healing Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder and Taking the Wheel of the Driven Personality, will serve as the ultimate user’s guide for those with a driven personality, including those who have slid into obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD). Unlike OCD, which results in specific symptoms such as repetitive hand-washing and intrusive thoughts, OCPD permeates the entire personality and dramatically affects relationships. It also requires a different approach to healing. Both scientifically informed and practical, The Healthy Compulsive describes how compulsives get off track and outlines a four-step program to help them consciously cultivate the talents and passions that are the truly compelling sources of the driven personality. Drawing from his 25 years of clinical experience as a psychotherapist and Jungian psychoanalyst, and his own personal experience as someone with a driven personality, Trosclair offers understanding, inspiring stories of change, and hope to compulsives and their partners about how to move to the healthy end of the compulsive spectrum.

People with Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder have a need for control, yet they are also capable, conscientious, and driven. The Healthy Compulsive offers understanding of personality style, inspiring stories of change, and clear steps to cultivate the talents and pass...

In Healthy Compulsive, Dr. Trosclair will help those with a driven personality to claim their birthright, and consciously use their skills to get where they really want to go. He will distill this experience into a clear, direct, and personal approach, showing readers how they've come to live as they do, and the tools they need to achieve change. Scientific research and vivid, inspiring stories of personal transformation illustrate these tools, balancing theory and story, grounding ideas practically, and applying them to everyday life.

For many of us, perfectionism can bring life's most desired rewards. But when the obsessive need for perfection and control gets in the way of our professional and emotional lives, the cost becomes too high. Although many of us appear cool and confident on the outside, inside we are in emotional turmoil, trying to satisfy everyone, attempting to direct the future, and feeling that we are failing. In TOO PERFECT, Dr. Allan Mallinger draws on twenty years of research and observations from his private practice to show how perfectionism can sap energy, complicate even the simplest decisions, and take the enjoyment out of life. For workaholics or neat freaks, for anyone who fears change or making mistakes, needs rigid rules, is excessively frugal or obstinate, TOO PERFECT offers revealing self-tests, fascinating case histories, and practical strategies to help us overcome obsessiveness and reclaim our right to happiness.

"Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD) is characterized by a pervasive and maladaptive pattern of excessive perfectionism, preoccupation with orderliness and details, and need for control over one's environment. It is the most common personality disorder and is associated with significant morbidity and increased health costs. Unfortunately, clinicians often do not diagnose OCPD or may incorrectly diagnose it as obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Although progress has been made in understanding OCPD, many treatment providers do not know how best to address it clinically. This book examines treatment options along with developmental, psychological, and behavioral etiologies and the deeper neurobiological underpinnings of the disorder"--

This unprecedented work is an invaluable resource for therapists treating patients with obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD), for individuals suffering from OCPD, and for friends, family, and coworkers of those with OCPD. Although a significant number of individuals suffer from obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD), most of these people see themselves as being perfectly normal. In actuality, they are missing out in life due to their being compulsively prompt, counterproductively perfectionistic, and excessively penurious. This book explains what OCPD is, making it clear how it differs significantly from OCD; explains the thought processes and desires that give rise to the counterproductive defense mechanisms of OCPD; and identifies the approaches and methods that can allow such afflicted individuals to break through their character armoring and become rehumanized. In this book, Martin Kantor, MD, presents information to defuse the many manifested symptoms of OCPD: anxiety, indecision, unreasonable perfectionism, and difficulty in compromising. His explanations and methods will give the hopeless succor, move the stalled forward, and foster interpersonal cooperation and flexibility in the stubborn, while simultaneously enhancing the OCPD individual's social performance thus increasing his or her chances for interpersonal, relational, and occupational success. Kantor also identifies the social manifestations of OCPD and describes how to move idiosyncratic, rigid bureaucracies toward accomplishing what should be their most important mission: helping those who are in need and seeking comfort.

Newly Revised and Updated! Are you tormented by extremely distressing thoughts or persistent worries? Compelled to wash your hands repeatedly? Driven to repeat or check certain numbers, words, or actions? If you or someone you love suffers from these symptoms, you may be one of the millions of Americans who suffer from some form of obsessive-compulsive disorder, or OCD. Once considered almost untreatable, OCD is now known to be a highly treatable disorder using behavior therapy. In this newly revised edition of Stop Obsessing! Drs. Foa and Wilson, internationally renowned authorities on the treatment of anxiety disorders, share their scientifically based and clinically proven self-help program that has already allowed thousands of men and women with OCD to enjoy a life free from excessive worries and rituals. You will discover: • Step-by-step programs for both mild and severe cases of OCD • The most effective ways to help you let go of your obsessions and gain control over your compulsions • New charts and fill-in guides to track progress and make exercises easier • Questionnaires for self-evaluation and in-depth understanding of your symptoms • Expert guidance for finding the best professional help • The latest information about medications prescribed for OCD

Learn to get the most out of therapy to unlock your best self. Learn to get the most out of therapy to unlock your best self. Millions of Americans will go to therapy this year, but veteran psychotherapist Gary Trosclair believes the vast majority of them will start the process with little to no sense of how to best use their sessions to achieve their goals. Recent research has identified effective client participation as one of the most crucial factors in successful therapy. What can one do to get the most out of their sessions to create lasting positive changes in their lives? What does it look like to “work on it” in therapy? Trosclair covers these points and more, combining cutting-edge scientific research with years of fascinating anecdotal evidence to create a guide that is as compelling as it is indispensable. It teaches readers how to take off their masks and be real with their therapists, how to deal with emotions that arise in session, how to continue their psychological work outside of sessions, how to know when it’s time to say goodbye to their therapists, and much more. Whether you’re already in therapy and looking to make more out of each appointment, or you’re thinking of starting the process and want to go in with a game plan, I’m Working on It in Therapy will show you how you can make every session count towards becoming your best possible self.