You might not have heard the term 'anankastic personality disorder' before — it's another name for what's often called OCPD, or Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder. It's about rigid rules, sky-high standards, and a strong need for things to be 'just right', even when it gets in the way of life.
A recent study looked at 74 university students who all struggled with high levels of perfectionism. Interestingly, almost half of them also met the criteria for OCPD. Compared to the perfectionists without OCPD, this group had even higher personal standards, more social anxiety, and higher rates of current anxiety disorders.
Why does this matter? Because it shows perfectionism isn't always just a personality trait — for some people, it's tangled up with something more complex that also affects their anxiety and social wellbeing. The good news from this study is that an exposure-based treatment for perfectionism helped both groups equally, whether or not they had OCPD.
So if intense perfectionism is making life harder, and especially if it comes with anxiety around others, know that effective psychological treatment exists and can help — regardless of whether OCPD is part of the picture. Reaching out to a psychologist is a great first step.