If you have watched Friends, you will remember that Monica Geller was the ‘perfectionist’ of the group. From dusting and vacuuming to labelling and colour-coding, Monica liked everything organised.
When can your need for control be linked to OCD?
To offer a more nuanced perspective, Dr Uma Maheswari Ganesh, lead clinical psychologist, specialised OCD programme at Amaha, helped distinguish perfectionistic traits from signs that may require professional help in an interview with HT Lifestyle. “In my nine years of experience as a clinical psychologist specialising in treating OCD, I find perfectionism and OCD tend to be two phenomena that are intertwined with one another. This shows that behaviour alone does not tell the complete story. An everyday preference and a symptom of a clinical condition may look similar on the surface. Understanding the distinction is important; otherwise, you may risk mistaking personal habits for a disorder. So, let’s examine the difference between perfectionism and OCD. The psychologist explained that perfectionism is associated with personality traits, essentially aspects of who you are. But OCD is a clinical disorder. To distinguish between them, you need to look at why someone behaves a certain way. Dr Ganesh outlined three differences in how these exist: At the heart of it, how do you distinguish a preference for keeping things clean from obsessive organisation? The psychologist illuminated the warning sign, which is when the urge to keep things in order becomes a ‘must’, instead of something you simply prefer. You can be a neat person; that is your preference, who you are. You keep your room organised and clean. But when it becomes a compulsion, and when things are not in order, you give up everything, and tidying becomes your sole focus. The urge becomes immediate, instead of something you can come back to later. Do not confuse perfectionistic traits with OCD.
Because both involve being ‘very particular about things,’ as individuals describe it,” she said, the difference comes down to a very fine line,.
Further differentiating between perfectionism and OCD is, she said, “A perfectionist may simply have very rigid and high standards regarding how things are kept, whereas for an individual suffering from OCD, their behaviour is driven by fear or intrusive thoughts that if things are not kept a certain way, it might have harmful consequences.
This is a fun pop culture reference, but in real life, how do you distinguish a preference for cleanliness and order from OCD? Some fans describe Monica as having OCD, and people also casually use the term to call someone a ‘clean freak. But the term OCD should not be used so loosely. Here’s the set of advice from Dr Ganesh on how to go forward if you think the behaviour of organisation is becoming obsessive:
Because you cannot stand a messy room (your or anyone else’s), perhaps you have been called the ‘Monica’ of your group. Because you relate to her, but do Monica’s habits suggest OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder), and should you assume you have it too simply.
Note to readers: This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your doctor with any questions about a medical condition.
