I was reading some books the other day at chapters that really spoke to me. They were explaining how people who show signs of Obsessive Compulsive Personality early in life are more likely to develop an eating disorder eventually. It was really interesting.
I read up on this personality and it sounded like they were describing me perfectly. I dont know all the details but the main characteristics were perfectionism, inflexibility, need for rules and discipline, extreme cautiousness and avoidance of situations with doubt involved, and a drive for order and symmetry. It was also saying that people with controlling parents (as I did) are likely to develop this personality as a coping mechanism and as they get older it is like they almost don't know how to make decisions because their goal in the past was to please the rule maker. Then when they are sent off into a world of doubt, they create their own rules and guidelines that can sometimes be very strict. This can manifest itself into an eating disorder and it gives them a sense of purpose or stability to follow the rules of their disorder in a world of chaos. I am only explaining it the way I understand. It really hit home for me and I am going to look into it more but that would help me to understand at least why I have been battling disorders for almost 10 years now. And also just at least understand that there are other people who struggle with life like I do. I remember my dad used to say to me "turn the titanic around" when plans were changing and I would immediately get nervous and uncomfortable. I couldnt handle change as a child and still struggle now although I have made some big changes recently. This personality is different from OCD though and I just want to mention that.
Here is just an excerpt from the study:
Children who display obsessive-compulsive personality traits are at higher risk of developing eating disorders later in life, according to the results of a study led by Dr Marija Brecelj Anderluh at the Institute of Psychiatry. Examples of traits that reflect obsessive-compulsive personality in childhood are perfectionism, excessive cautiousness and a desire for order and symmetry.
The researchers carried out interviews and self-assessments with 72 women undergoing treatment for anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa at the Maudsley Hospital in London. In the interviews, participants were asked to recall whether they had experienced obsessive-compulsive personality traits as a child. A group of healthy women also took part in the study for comparison purposes, bringing the total number of participants to 100.
The results of the study showed that women with eating disorders are more likely to have displayed obsessive-compulsive personality traits in childhood in comparison to healthy women. The likelihood of developing an eating disorder was found to increase by almost seven times with each trait experienced as a child.
These findings suggest that medical professionals could use the presence of childhood obsessive-compulsive personality traits as a way of identifying people at high risk of developing an eating disorder later in life.
Anyway, I just wanted to share this with you and see if anyone has thoughts, experiences, or anything to say!
I dont know if i agree really. WIth eating disorder, they are talking anorexia, not obesity...right? Since they mentioned pefectionist, etc. I have a low level degree of OCD and I am the opposite of anorexia. I have a friend that has a high degree of OCD, she has to be on meds for it, and she is about 30 pounds over weight. I have seen a lot of people with OCD and most seem of average weight.
Now i think there is a fine line between OCD and Type A personality. Type A...definatley your typical anorexic or bulemic. OCD...not so much. Just my two cents.
Interesting! Can you cite your source and/or provide a link?
I'd imagine that they mean any eating disorder, not just anorexia. Even if they don't mean that I am sure I could find a study that links them. If it's a control issue that manifests in this way, it could indicate issues with exercise bulimia, anorexia, bulimia, binge eating or any other disordered eating.
i think that OCD tendencies can manifest themselves in many ways, and i personally believe that binge/compulsive overeating can be linked to OCD patterns. i am most certainly a perfectionist (not OCD though), and am also a binge eater. after several years of examining my own behavior, i have discovered that for me, my binges tend to occur when i feel inadequate, like i have not been "perfect"...and i use the food to "punish" myself for not living up to my own unreasonable expectations. while it seems counterintuitive, i do believe that binge eating can be an act used to feel in control of a situation. for me, i feel out of control when i cannot be perfect (though my expectations for myself are becoming more reasonable!). this perfectionism carries over into my expectations for what my body should look like, or what i should eat in a day. what inevitably happens is i realize that i do not look or act perfectly, which can begin the cycle of binge eating because 1) i feel like i will never be perfect, so why bother, and 2) i want to punish myself for not being perfect. you brought up an interesting topic, and those are just my thoughts. i am looking forward to reading more responses!
It's really interesting to hear everyone's thoughts. I think that anorexia and binge eating are two sides of the same coin. I've done both and I'm the same person so to me, its all about control or lack of control. Using food for something other than just fuel. Since I came out of anorexia .. I started overexercising and watching what I ate quite a bit anyway. then i didnt have time to exercise and also was very ill so I couldnt exercise. eventually I couldnt handle the weight I gained and got frustrated. And am currently in a cycle of bingeing, then dieting and bingeing. Anyway, to me it is all the same. I can't remember where I found that article but if you google obsessive compulsive personality and anorexia or eating disorder I think you could find it. there are a few sites that talk about it.
It's good to hear everyones thoughts and I hope there are more to come
I dont know if i agree really. WIth eating disorder, they are talking anorexia, not obesity...right? Since they mentioned pefectionist, etc. I have a low level degree of OCD and I am the opposite of anorexia. I have a friend that has a high degree of OCD, she has to be on meds for it, and she is about 30 pounds over weight. I have seen a lot of people with OCD and most seem of average weight.
Now i think there is a fine line between OCD and Type A personality. Type A...definatley your typical anorexic or bulemic. OCD...not so much. Just my two cents.
For me....I was anorexic...bulimic...overweight...addicted to phentermine...YOU name it....waht ever made me feel goooood
Gymgurl, when you say you did whatever made you feel good. Do you have OCD? Becuase from what i know and what i have seen, OCD is not about feeling good. It is more about something having to be "done just right". My OCD manifests in different ways, but none of them make me feel "good"...it just makes me feel like i am out of control and the OCD is in control. I have never associated ocd with feeling good. Maybe i am just misunderstanding you though. I think people get Type A personality and OCD confused...they are two very different things. OCD for example, a person may have to brush their hair 100 strokes and get those 100 strokes just right. A type A personality, doesnt have to brush their hair 100 times, but their hair has to look perfect. You could relate this same example to eating. It all depends on how your OCD manifests itself. To me anyway.
I do.....Im a prefection nut....That is what lead to my eating disorder was the need to controll my body and diet and it had to be prefect with no cheating....so when I did cheat I would throw it up which then led to a bigger problem. I have been on Luvox before for OCD
i am an ocd personality, and i binge eat. I do it frequently when dieting to prove that i can control the weight loss whatever the factors. Obviously this makes no sense, and believe it or not i am a reasonably intelligent person. The ocd often sets rules that are contrary to what i wish to accomplish if that makes any sense. I want to lose weight, but i have to be able to do it without diet or exercise. i am currently working on trying to set rules which will allow me to lose the weight in a healthy manner. This is not easy because i tend to overdo things either way. I can binge and not exercise, or i can starve myself and exercise until i drop. It is very difficult to find a happy medium.
I am big time ocd but can't take any meds they have tried. They just seem to tear up my tummy. I seem to have all the traits of a ocp from what your statement said. I have to be very much in control of all that goes around me. Things have to be a certain way at all times. Rules while not set in stone are set in glue lol. Where I come from this is called being orderly lol. I am very organized because if not I am very disorganized.
I gained most of this weight from being sick and taking lots and lots of meds. I don't have an eating disorder. Before all the illnesses I stayed the same weight 115-120 for years and years. So this doesn't really apply to me. My ocd is about having to do things reasonable or not in a certain way. Having to check a room I have just cleaned over and over. Having to have chores done in a certain order by everyone in the house. If I am not this way, things don't get done. I have found little ways that help. I make a to do list for everyone and I check things off as they are done. I put post it notes on a door frame of a room that has been cleaned and checked. That way I now can now go past a room and not have to go into the room to check it over and over. OCD is not fun, it is not about feeling good. It is a way of controlling our environment. For me it is a way to make sure things are done in an orderly manner and done right. That is the only way I can relax.
Last edited by Shy Moment; 12-05-2007 at 01:11 AM.
Ya this book was saying that there is a difference between OCD and Obsessive compulsive personality. It was not able to link OCD to eating disorders but the personality was proven to create a situation in which an eating disorder were more likely to occur later in life. It really helped me to understand some things about myself. I dont have the behaviours of OCD but I do identify with what was described as the personality.
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bikini dreader...nice to meet someone else on here who is a former anorexic but has also overeaten. I was a really fat kid, and hospitalised with anorexia at the age of thirteen. I also starve and stuff, though I'm trying to get a handle and tend to overfill myself with liquids and low-cal things for that stuffed feeling.
I've had OCD my entire life, but it really got the better after my after my father's sudden death (I was nine). I absolutely, totally believe in the OCD-eating disorder link. The only thing that controls my OCD is the drug Seroxat, whose maker I thank every day .
Best wishes
Obsessive Compulsive Personality
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