Monk Is Leading The Way

The television show Monk displays a detective with severe obsessive compulsive personality disorder. He seeks therapy from a psychiatrist and takes prescribed medication but still his compulsion overtakes him. This is true for real patients who suffer from this disorder.

What exactly is obsessive compulsive personality disorder? Obsessive compulsive personality disorder is a mental disorder that compels the person plagued with the disorder to behave in a compulsive way and to repeat actions over and over again. Examples of these actions would be washing your hands, rearranging books or combing your hair over and over again. Obsessive compulsive personality disorders consume the thoughts of the person suffering with the disorder to where they are unable to concentrate on anything else.

Therapy and medication may be of some help, but obsessive compulsive personality disorder are difficult to overcome since the compulsion is great and the brain has been in the repetition mode usually for years before the patient seeks help. Breakthroughs are being made every day with personality disorders but still the psychiatric community has a long way to go. Obsessive compulsive personality disorder is a disorder that is hard to overcome and patients are plagued with the disorder for years if not for a lifetime. Some of these compulsive behaviors have been attached to famous people, such as Emily Dickinson who actually suffered from a schizoid personality disorder.

Obsessive compulsive personality disorders have doctors baffled as to what is causing them. There is always the belief that environment and trauma probably play a big part, but genetic factors may also have to be considered. In a way the television show Monk is leading the way into a better understanding to the disorder and is opening the eyes of communities to better understand the disorder and perhaps accept or receive these persons in relationships, jobs and social environments.

Though the television show brings humor to the disorder, the fact remains that persons with obsessive compulsive personality disorders suffer tremendously with all types of relationships and are uncomfortable with social situations and are embarrassed by their disorder and feel humiliation because of it. Humor is perhaps a way to cover up the true pain of the disorder or a way to handle the trauma that caused it in the first place.

Obsessive compulsive personality disorder is more common than thought and along with bipolar personality disorder is one the most reported disorders among the psychiatric realm. These two mental disorders plague around 2 or 3% of the population mostly women. By the way the character Monk was traumatized by the murder of his beloved wife which is what triggered his unstable condition. Thank you Monk for heading the way and perhaps an answer to treatment for these mental disorders.