Obsessive compulsive disorder
Obsessive compulsive disorder is a highly disabling mental disorder characterized by frequent thoughts, mental images or involuntary and intrusive impulses with unwanted content (obsessions). As well as from repeated mental behaviors or actions (compulsions) that the person puts in place to relieve or eliminate the discomfort created by the obsessions (APA, 2013).
Obviously the symptoms, in order to satisfy a formal diagnosis, must present themselves with high frequency or duration. They must significantly impact on the subject’s life functioning and create a Relevant psychological suffering.
The DOC DA REPORT
The contents of the obsessions can be of varied type, as well as the forms that compulsive behaviors can take. So much so that to date we often talk about “obsessive-compulsive disorders”, given the variety of subtypes that the picture can take.
A specific and highly disabled type of DOC is the so -called relationship of relationship (or Rocd, compulsive disorder relationshipship).
This form of DOC, systematically described by Doron and collaborators (2012), is characterized by obsessive doubts about the partner and their sentimental relationship and the relative compulsive strategies of calm.
In particular, patients with Rocd can present two symptomatological forms of the disorder: with symptoms centered on the relationship and with symptoms focused on the partner. Let’s see the differences.
DOC DA REPORT: two subtypes
When the Rocd symptoms are centered on the reportthe person can have concerns about his feelings towards the partner (“But do I really love him? I like it enough?”). Or doubts about the “correctness” of one’s love story (“This relationship is right for me?”).
In the case of a symptoms focused on the partner The obsessions revolve around the characteristics of their partner in different areas, such as, for example, the physical appearance, the moral values, the profession, the economic status, or the social skills (“I don’t like it enough now that it is fattened”, “maybe I should find me a more sociable companion”, “and if I needed a more mature person at my side?”).
The two symptomatological manifestations are not mutually excluded in the same person. Indeed, the obsessive-compulsive symptoms centered on the relationship and those that focus on the partner they are often present together.
Compulsive strategies
Between the compulsions and the Discomfort management strategies There are more frequently found in the relationship of reports are:
- brood on one’s feelings
- constantly monitor your behavior to try to quell your doubts
- compare your relationship with that of others
- rumin on episodes passed in search of confirmation or disconnect signals of one’s fear
- ask for reassurance from others
In addition, people who suffer from doc from relationship often try Avoid situations that can act as a trigger to their doubts about the couple relationship or their feelings. This, together with the compulsions, feeds the vicious circle of the disorder. Also negatively impact on the quality of the relationship itself.
DOC from report focused on the partner and vulnerability of the self
Numerous studies have investigated the link between the presence of certain individual vulnerability And the debut of a relationship of relationship.
Even Doron and Kyrios (2005) have shown that the pre-existence of certain vulnerability of the self can predispose to the subsequent development of obsessive symptoms in specific personal domains, including the relationship and the partner.
In particular, the research data has been found that the Rocd with symptoms focused on the relationship is associated with a anxious attachment and aself -esteem regulated on the report (Doron and colleagues, 2013). The symptoms of DOC from report focused on the partner are associated with the presence of anself -esteem dependent on the perceived value of the partner (Doron and SzesSenwol, 2015).
In addition, the subjects who had high tendency to have obsessive thoughts on the partner, if exposed to stimuli that highlighted the partner’s imperfections in certain significant domains, presented a significant decrease in self -esteem (Doron and SzesSenwol, 2015).
Vulnerability of the self and narcissism
The narcissistic personality disorder is notoriously characterized by unstable self -esteem and attempts to regulate it through the search for attention and approval. Or, alternatively, through manifest or hidden grandeur.
This can decline in two prevalent clinical manifestations, even if scholars also recognize others (Cain and colleagues, 2008). In fact, according to many (eg, Gersten, 1991; Pincus and Lukowitsy, 2010) there is a sufficient agreement in the description of two main subtypes: grandiose and vulnerable.
In grandiose narcissism the feelings of self-exaltation prevail, the fantasies of glory or success, the lack of empathy and the feelings of superiority and contempt for others. Instead, in the subtype of vulnerable narcissism feelings of shame and humiliation prevail and a hypersensitivity to the judgment, with a marked tendency to advancement and escape instead of looking for admiration.
The grandeur and envy present in the grandiose narcissist are hidden in the vulnerable subtype which has compliant and falsely humble modalities that take the place of arrogance typical of the grandiose subtype. Even if the two events are not always so clearly distinct.
The adjustment of self -esteem
On the level of the self -esteem regulation, the grandiose narcissist tends to regulate his sense of personal value with the method of self -exaltation and superiority over the other. The vulnerable narcissist instead lives a sense of fragility of self -esteem that tends to compensate with a marked need for approval and external recognition.
Some authors (ie Zeigler-Hill and colleagues, 2008, Dickinson and Pincus, 2003) have in fact found as high Sections of vulnerable narcissism they were associated with high insecurity and use of external validation research strategies and dependence on approval of others.
On the wave of these data it could be assumed that the presence of the housing of the vulnerable narcissist, as well as his dependence on confirmations external to his own value, can constitute a factor of vulnerability for the development of obsessive doubts about the relationship and the partner. Precisely by virtue of the greater propensity to regulate one’s self -esteem on the basis of the image and the perceived value of the partner.
Vulnerable narcissism as a predictor of the DOC DA REPORT
Starting from these observations, a recent Italian study investigated the possible association between DOC from relationship and pathological narcissism, with particular attention to the role of vulnerable narcissism (Melli and colleagues, 2023).
The hypothesis of the authors was that which pathological traits of vulnerable narcissism could predict the greater presence of Rocd symptoms, precisely mediated by the self -esteem dependent on the context, and in particular by Valorial characteristics of the partner.
The sample, consisting of 310 subjects with diagnosis of Rocd recruited for this investigation, was subjected to the compilation of questionnaires for the evaluation of:
- vulnerable narcissism
- DOC symptomatology from Relationship
- degree of dependence of one’s self -esteem on the characteristics of the partner
- specific cognitive beliefs often present in subjects with doc from relationship
The results of the investigation gave support to the hypothesis of theAssociation between vulnerable narcissism and Rocd symptoms And between vulnerable narcissism and tendency to regulate one’s self -esteem on the characteristics of the partner.
The statistical analyzes carried out also confirmed the role of predictor of vulnerable narcissism on obsessive-compulsive symptoms from relationship, even when the other variables were controlled (self-esteem dependent on the partner and the presence of certain cognitive beliefs notoriously associated with the Rocd).
Conclusions
Therefore, according to the authors, the presence of traits of vulnerable narcissism in a subject could increase the dynamics of self -esteem regulation on the basis of the partner’s valiant characteristics. This, in turn, could raise the tendency to develop obsessive concerns focused precisely on the characteristics of one’s partner.
The explanation of this bond is easily understood on the basis of what is illustrated previously. Precisely because the pathological narcissist with traits of vulnerable narcissism has a high need for approval of others to maintain his self -esteem, it is presumable that this dependence on external validation makes them more sensitive to the perception of the value and image of his partner.
In conclusion, vulnerable narcissism seems to take on an important role as Vulnerability factor for the development of a Rocd symptoms focused on the partnernet of the impact of further significant variables considered.
The result is the importance, also on the clinical level, to consider the evaluation and treatment of vulnerable narcissism when we care about a subject with obsessive-compulsive symptoms of relationship.
Bibliography
- American Psychiatric Association (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.), Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Publishing.
- Cain, Nm, Pincus, Al, & Ansell, EB (2008). Narcisism at the CrossRoads: PhenototyPic Description of Pathological Narcism ACROSS Clinical Theory, Social/Personality Psychology and Psychiatric Diagnosis. Clinical Psychology Review, 28, 638-656.
- Dickinson, Ka, & Pincus, al (2003). Interpersonal Analysis of grandiose and vulnerable Narcissism. Journal of Personality Disorders, 17 (3), 188–207.
- Doron, G., Derby, D., SzesSenwol, O., & Talmor, D. (2012). TAININD LOVE: Exploring Relationship – Obsessive – Compulsive Sympetoms in Two Non -Clinical Cohorts. Journal of Obsessive -Compulsive and Related Disorders, 1, 16–24.
- Doron, G., & Kyrios, M. (2005). Compulsive Obsessive Disorder: A Review of Possible Specific Internal Representations Within A Broader Cognitive Theory. Clinical Psychology Review, 25 (4), 415–432.
- Doron, G., & SzesSenwol, O. (2015). Partner -Foc statement Obsessions and Self -Esteem: an expertimental Investigation. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 49, 173–179.
- Doron, G., SzesSenwol, O., Karp, E., & Gal, N. (2013). Obsessing About Intimate Relationships: Testing the Double Relationship Vulnerability Hypothesis. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 44, 433–440.
- Gersten, SP (1991). Narcisistic Personality Disorder Consists in Two District Subypes.PSYCiatric Time, 8, 527-532.
- Melli, G., Caccico, L., Micheli, E., Bulli, F., & Doron, G. (2023). Pathological Narcissism and relationship Obsexive -compulsive disorder (ROCD) Sympetoms: Exploreing the Role of Vulnerable Narcissism. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 1–14.
- Pincus, Al & Lukowitsy, Mr 2010 Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 6, 421-446.
- Zeigler -Hill, V., Clark, CB, & Pickard, JD (2008). Narcissistic Subypes and contingent Self -Sesteem: Do All Narcissists Base Their Self -Esteem on the Same Domains. Journal of Personality, 76 (4), 753–774.
