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OCD in Intimate Relationships

As if relationships were not hard enough, put anxiety disorders such as obsessive compulsive disorder in the mix and relationships can become a serious battleground. When two people who do things differently live under the same roof, there is bound to be some arguments. However, to a partner with obsessive compulsive disorder, there is little room for negotiation. There are several types of OCD behaviors, and he or she may have one or several of them. They include obsessive thinking, hoarding, checking, and obsession with cleanliness and orderliness. This article will aim to show you where the problems tend to occur and what can be done about it to maintain a positive, loving relationship.

If your partner suffers from an obsession with cleanliness and orderliness, you probably will have more problems than any other form of the disorder. This is because consciously or even subconsciously the person that suffers from the OCD can expect you to cater to the OCD and keep things perfect for them at all times. People with this variation of the disorder can become irate very easily when things are in disarray or if something they expect to be in a specific place is not there. This can be a very hard relationship to maintain because the person not suffering from OCD can easily feel resentment and feel like nothing they do is good enough. In order for a relationship to work in this situation, the person suffering from OCD must learn to compromise. They must also learn to understand that their partner does not necessarily put the same importance on the things that they do.

A partner that suffers from the checking variation of the disorder finds the need to check and recheck everything they do and in some cases, everything their partner does as well. This can bring up feelings of resentment and distrust if it is handled. They ultimately have a fear that they will forget something that will have disastrous consequences, and they will be to blame. The partner that is not affected by the OCD will have to learn not to take checking behaviors personally in order for the relationship to work.

Obsessive thought patterns can also pose a threat to a relationship. People that suffer from racing or obsessive thoughts can be very hard to get a long with, or even more importantly to please. Most partners stay in a relationship because they find joy in making the other person happy. However, depending on how severe the obsessive thoughts are, this can be very difficult to accomplish sometimes. People that deal with obsessive thinking find it very hard to focus on pleasurable activities and tend to take life very seriously. This may be because they are forever combating thoughts with obsessive counting, praying or chanting. The best thing for a partner to do in this case is to keep their partner's mind preoccupied with as many good thoughts as possible. It is imperative that you get out and enjoy life together and create positive memories to reflect upon. Learning a new skill together can be a great idea and can help get rid of the frequency of obsessive thoughts.