The present inquiry concerns the challenges confronting persons with anankastic personalities and explores the reasons why these challenges represent a significant weight for both the affected individuals and their close relations. 

The Anankastic personality, alternatively identified as the obsessive-compulsive personality, is discerned by inclinations towards perfectionism, regulation, methodicalness, and fixated ideation. Individuals exhibiting this personality trait commonly encounter internal insecurity, anxiety, and a proclivity for indecisiveness. 

Individuals who exhibit an anankastic personality may encounter a primary challenge relating to their ability to successfully cultivate and sustain intimate connections with others. These individuals tend to maintain a certain degree of interpersonal distance, as they may encounter challenges in fully accepting others for who they are. Moreover, the inclination of individuals to regulate and strategize every aspect may give rise to interpersonal disputes with those who perceive a sense of restriction or manipulation. 

Anankastic personality traits are commonly linked to challenges in the act of pardoning and disregarding past transgressions and afflictions. There exists a proclivity amongst certain individuals to engage in repetitive behaviours, as they harbour apprehensions regarding the possibility of committing an error or losing command of the respective situation. 

Moreover, individuals who exhibit the anankastic personality trait tend to undergo stress and anxiety as a result of their persistent concentration on minutiae and striving for effective management of the circumstances. Undertaking insufficient measures for addressing this condition can potentially result in physical fatigue and psychological distress, including depression. 

Individuals characterized by an anankastic personality trait encounter a significant concern regarding achieving equilibrium between exerting control and exercising flexibility. Moreover, it is essential for them to acquire the ability to acknowledge their own self as well as other individuals without subjecting them to undue scrutiny and judgment. Individuals can attain these outcomes by availing themselves of cognitive-behavioural or psychodynamic interventions, which have been demonstrated empirically to facilitate the effective regulation of emotions, self-perception, and performance standards.

What are the problems faced by individuals with anankastic personality and why is it so burdensome for them and their loved ones?


Scientific publications:

  1. Rachman, S. (2006). Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder. Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice, 79(2), 129-142.
  2. Kalska-Szostko, B., & Zajenkowska, A. (2013). Anankastic personality: characteristics, diagnosis, therapy. Psychiatria Polska, 47(4), 629-644.
  3. American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.

Keywords: 

  • anankastic personality, 
  • perfectionism, 
  • control, 
  • therapy, 
  • anxiety.