Neglect's Toll on a Wife (ePub)

When a woman marries a man with Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD), it rules their lives. His preoccupation with order, control, rigidity, and minutiae leaves no room for emotional, conversational, or physical intimacy. Friendships, laughter, spontaneity, trust, and flexibility are eschewed for the sake of verbally managing myriad daily details and rules, such as avoiding buying slightly bruised bananas at the store, making sure the heater at home is never set above 64 degrees, and never touching the walls in the house lest they get dirty. When the wife reads that marriages with a spouse who has OCPD typically end in divorce, she is determined not to end up that way. This book chronicles her journey over the course of almost 20 years, describing her emotional hardship and loneliness as she copes with a husband who glacially transforms from a clinical robot to a caring yet still sometimes oblivious companion. This book is not meant to advise, but to come alongside other spouses, children, parents, siblings, family members, and friends of people whose OCPD rules their relationships. While there are therapists who specialize in helping people manage personality disorders, there are very few non-textbookish materials out there on the subject of OCPD.