Thoughts about DSP's Psychology - Dr Fred Freud's Office

[neger psykolog]

Interesting to read about your father and sorry he has the condition - it can be worked on if a person acknowledges it. These personality disorders are extremely complex so people can have it but it presents entirely different to others or manifests in very different ways.

According to formal diagnostic criteria, DSP lacks only a few traits typical of OCPD: some obstinacy, refusal to delegate tasks, and hoarding. He doesn't have real perfectionism interfering with jobs, hyper-watching out, or a real workaholic drive. His purported stinginess is uncoordinated, especially given his extravagant expenditure on WWE Champions a few hundred thousand dollars something my father would find not just wasteful but bewildering and as severely mentally ill. My father's frugality and prudence with money are far removed from DSP's wanton, indulgent splurging, as that says a lot about a fundamental difference in values and control.

I think the weird part about DSP is the mix of narcissism and also the fact that gaming is entangled with a gambler's mindset for him. There have definitely been several times he has missed out on holidays and other things as a result of his "work drive" (but can also be explained in other ways. He's also avoided doing stuff like fixing his shower and so much other stuff. There are plenty of workaholics who work total dead-end jobs.

Only a real psychiatrist/psychologist who sees DSP for several months would actually be able to make a diagnosis and OCPD definitely has some overlaps with other conditions and alcoholism and some other things wouldn't make a diagnosis that easy. DSP is just very weird too because he's such a prolific creator and a public individual, there's plenty that I'm sure we don't hear about that is relevant to this kind of conversation.

I think a key thing though is that a person just has to feel productive but they aren't actually necessarily productive. The way I read it (at least from my own perspective) is that the idea isn't necessarily just being a workaholic but that a person truly engulfs themselves in "a/the system" and obsessively works within it to escape anxiety and other things, which for me definitely matches with what we see with DSP. There's been multiple times where he could've explored stepping away years ago but he obviously has some anxiety about leaving "the system" he has.

I'm also pretty sure he must have severe social anxiety/agoraphobia which has worsened a ton over the years.

For instance, he tolerates major problems in his environment with scant concern but will become outrageously agitated about minor annoyances like a bad DoorDash delivery. His productivity at work is largely for show, doing little real work in the meantime. DSP's rigidity seems more related to creature comforts and fear of other people's opinions than any obsessive need for perfection.

This is true but one thing I read about OCPD is that it won't make sense to an outsider sometimes, and the imbalance in life and devotion to productivity doesn't actually always equate to working in ways that make sense. DSP almost absolutely refuses to deviate from his schedule for example and is almost entirely incapable of being spontaneous - he has a habit of planning games, marathons and things like that literally months in advance (which makes no sense at all for a livestreamer, the audience would want to see something take a few days at most to happen). So he essentially lives in a system of "organized chaos" and tolerates (or better yet just refuses to acknowledge/ignores) major problems in his environment but still holds strict belief and adherence in "his system".

According to formal diagnostic criteria, DSP lacks only a few traits typical of OCPD: some obstinacy, refusal to delegate tasks, and hoarding.

DSP is actually known for being an extremely prolific hoarder. He has tons of old shit he refuses to throw away. He has been called a hoarder thousands of times over the past decade or more.
He also technically refuses to delegate tasks because he never hires a video editor or anything like that - there are other explanations for it that he is just lazy/stupid but he can't even delegate himself tasks effectively.
He also almost refuses to play multiplayer even with "friends" he has - that could definitely be paranoia about detractors and narcissism about other people getting attention but it may also be rooted in a sense of perfectionism about how the game "must" be played and other people not listening enough - this latter pattern has always been present, he loses his patience with people who don't follow "his rules".


In summary the diagnosis isn't a surefire thing - only a doctor who actually sees him for a prolonged period of time can make that ascertation but at the very least he has some traits of OCPD and its a useful tool (for lack of a better word) to understand some of what drives him). Because he's super likely to be narcissistic and because of his alcoholism and years of isolation I'm not even sure a doctor would find that much value in diagnosing him with it because he clearly has a fucking feast of problems that are bigger than Jesus' last supper and the OCPD stuff would just be one of the side dishes (most likely)

 

[RuZZianWarCriminal]

Interesting to read about your father and sorry he has the condition - it can be worked on if a person acknowledges it. These personality disorders are extremely complex so people can have it but it presents entirely different to others or manifests in very different ways.

Thank you, most of my life i just thought that its how he is a person but once i found out about OCPD everything started clicking, the problem i think is that the majority of OCPD folks dismiss psychology entirely. They believe the science on which it is founded is a scam to sell people meds and make money, or affective understanding weakness. Any attempt to help is perceived as manipulation or ineptitude. It's ironic, because the disorder lives on control and rationality, but shuns the psychological rationales which could truly explain the behavior. So even when the symptoms are textbook, recognition is seldom granted because recognizing it would mean losing the very control which the disorder was meant to protect.

I think the weird part about DSP is the mix of narcissism and also the fact that gaming is entangled with a gambler's mindset for him. There have definitely been several times he has missed out on holidays and other things as a result of his "work drive" (but can also be explained in other ways. He's also avoided doing stuff like fixing his shower and so much other stuff. There are plenty of workaholics who work total dead-end jobs.

Only a real psychiatrist/psychologist who sees DSP for several months would actually be able to make a diagnosis and OCPD definitely has some overlaps with other conditions and alcoholism and some other things wouldn't make a diagnosis that easy. DSP is just very weird too because he's such a prolific creator and a public individual, there's plenty that I'm sure we don't hear about that is relevant to this kind of conversation.

I think a key thing though is that a person just has to feel productive but they aren't actually necessarily productive. The way I read it (at least from my own perspective) is that the idea isn't necessarily just being a workaholic but that a person truly engulfs themselves in "a/the system" and obsessively works within it to escape anxiety and other things, which for me definitely matches with what we see with DSP. There's been multiple times where he could've explored stepping away years ago but he obviously has some anxiety about leaving "the system" he has.

I'm also pretty sure he must have severe social anxiety/agoraphobia which has worsened a ton over the years.

gambler mindset laid over narcissistic personality is one of the most poisonous feedback loops we find in DSP. WWE Champions is not just a video game to him it's a symbolic identity manager. It's where he experiences control, mastery, reward, and even self-esteem. But it also mirrors the same distorted dynamic as his content: he puts in money (or effort), and expects validation in return except both are hollow and compulsive. And you’re spot on that he’s missed out on things like holidays or basic self-maintenance, not because he’s a workaholic in the classic sense, but because he’s addicted to the structure itself.

I think that's probably one of the least-worn-about aspects of his larger behavioral paradigm it's not the work he's addicted to, it's the structure he developed to avoid failure. That includes the drab day-in-and-out tedium, the ritualistic stream-starting routines, the performative complaints, the ritualistic anger triggers, even the very specific way he talks to his audience. It's a closed system meant to deny uncertainty, emotional discomfort, and above all introspection. You said it perfectly — he’s not productive, he just needs to feel productive. That distinction makes all the difference.

As for the agoraphobia/social anxiety angle yeah, I’d say it’s worsened massively over time. It’s not just that he doesn’t want to go outside; it’s that the real world doesn’t conform to his delusional architecture, and being out there reminds him of how little control he actually has. In his bubble, he is the "original YouTuber," still on top, still relevant. In the real world? Just another old dude without a chance for upward mobility, and I'm not sure his ego can handle that kind of discord.

And of course, a true diagnosis would take months of clinical observation because he's not playing out according to script. It's not just OCPD, or just narcissism, or just impulse control. It's a personality built entirely of compensation, forged out of years of evasion, growth milestones missed, and the kind of compulsions that calcify into identity rather than symptom.

This is true but one thing I read about OCPD is that it won't make sense to an outsider sometimes, and the imbalance in life and devotion to productivity doesn't actually always equate to working in ways that make sense. DSP almost absolutely refuses to deviate from his schedule for example and is almost entirely incapable of being spontaneous - he has a habit of planning games, marathons and things like that literally months in advance (which makes no sense at all for a livestreamer, the audience would want to see something take a few days at most to happen). So he essentially lives in a system of "organized chaos" and tolerates (or better yet just refuses to acknowledge/ignores) major problems in his environment but still holds strict belief and adherence in "his system".

That's true, and you're right OCPD does appear irrational or even destructive on the surface, because the motivation is about control of some sort, and not always about useful outcomes but this also depends on the person and the field they are active in. But for DSP, I think the crux of the difference lies in structure versus intent. OCPD stems from an internalized sense of how things "need to be done," often within a perfectionism, moral duty, or dutiful context. In DSP's case, however, the shape doesn't represent any higher principle it represents more emotional insulation.

He is not pre-scheduling marathons months in advance because he's pumping himself for excellence or discipline. He's pre-scheduling them to avoid decision fatigue, maintain control over emotions, and stay engaged with a system that informs him who he is day in and day out. That's why he is able to tolerate dysfunction anywhere else in his life because those things do not directly interfere with "the system." While something trivial such as a botched food delivery or laggy netcode does interfere, because it contradicts the small sphere of control he imagines he still has.

So whereas his behavior appears to be OCPD on the face of things rigid scheduling, intolerance for spontaneity, clinging to routine the inner workings appear to be different. It's not about doing things the "right" way. It's about doing them the only way he can prevent absolute psychological collapse. That's why his "system" is so chaotic beneath the surface, it wasn't constructed to function, it was constructed to protect himself.

DSP is actually known for being an extremely prolific hoarder. He has tons of old shit he refuses to throw away. He has been called a hoarder thousands of times over the past decade or more.
He also technically refuses to delegate tasks because he never hires a video editor or anything like that - there are other explanations for it that he is just lazy/stupid but he can't even delegate himself tasks effectively.
He also almost refuses to play multiplayer even with "friends" he has - that could definitely be paranoia about detractors and narcissism about other people getting attention but it may also be rooted in a sense of perfectionism about how the game "must" be played and other people not listening enough - this latter pattern has always been present, he loses his patience with people who don't follow "his rules".


In summary the diagnosis isn't a surefire thing - only a doctor who actually sees him for a prolonged period of time can make that ascertation but at the very least he has some traits of OCPD and its a useful tool (for lack of a better word) to understand some of what drives him). Because he's super likely to be narcissistic and because of his alcoholism and years of isolation I'm not even sure a doctor would find that much value in diagnosing him with it because he clearly has a fucking feast of problems that are bigger than Jesus' last supper and the OCPD stuff would just be one of the side dishes (most likely)

When i said that DSP was "lacking" some OCPD traits line was a typo on my end. I meant that he really does have some of these traits: and he's a hoarder. You nailed all of that.

What's so odd about DSP is that combination of obsessive planning, anxiety, and narcissism. It's not a matter of being productive it's about clutching at his "system" as a means of coping with his anxiety. He makes plans months in advance for no logical reason, dodges critical issues in his life, but loses it over minor. That alone says a lot.

In all fairness, the few OCPD traits might just be a small slice of a huge mess. He's clearly got layers of pathology addiction, isolation, paranoia — and the inflexibility is as much about control and fear as it is about standards. A shrink would probably see OCPD behaviors as just one piece on a plate of more basic issues. This all started somewhere in Phils childhood

Also, I have to add, this whole topic is absolutely absolutely intriguing. There's so much depth in how all of these traits overlap narcissism, OCPD, addiction, anxiety. It's wild the way one can act so out in public yet clearly mired so far down in such squalor in their own mind. Thanks for the discussion.

 

[kkreemstar]

i just think that basically he just sucks. I remember hearing about his website he had made back in the day, where someone said, "hey check this out theres this guy he shit talks people." well, that intrigues me, always interesting to hear people talking shit. But then he said "but he sucks and everybody is shit talking about him everywhere on his site". SO others opinions on people no matter how numerous don't bother me. So i went to look for myself.

I read a little bit about his shit talking, which was on the front page and it basically was, everyone else is jealous of me. blah blah blah. And i concluded, he sucks. I saw the posts, read a few, thought they were funny. Then left. became disinterested.

I may have heard about him being punked out for the $10 bucks that one time. ANd I think I heard the lore about how he got 4th at that convention, and the stuff behind it. like it was a system noone played sf on, phil had been practicing on it, which may have been a smart move, figuring out they were going to advertise that new console by doing this but.. doesnt prove shit about gaming. which is what he uses to shove in everyones face. I didnt pay attention to him digging himself into a hole after that and was aware of but didnt care about his dumb gaming channel.

Doesnt prove what you can do. Making a good guess, kind of gambling, totally anybody could have guessed. winning is gambling. But thats where I think his mentallity comes from. To drudge through that to figure it out is just too boring and shit for me to even try to do.

He was a spoiled rotten shit of a child. babied maybe even. Mom combing his hair for him until he was 17. Trying to direct all of the attention, towards something else, himself. I think that comes from his good guess before. He thinks that all accomplishments are based on that and that anyon elses success they got from his very narrow perception on this, like his shit with Pewdiepie's success, is like this. That's a very weird way to look at pewdiepie tho. He also went with the times and was interesting. DSP has had some interesting stuff, when you get mesmerized and watch for a little bit.

But man, that Switch 2 stream. He even said it himself, he did good at subs when he was unboxing. Sure, becuase he wasn't complaining. As soon as the game started, he insisted it was cheating on him, and he was complaining everytime the shit he was doing wasn't perfect. That's how mariokart is. And a lot of his complaints where about normal stuff that the game does. Like how one kart is faster in top speed than another. Why, if he didnt know how the game worked, didnt he just figure it out? Calling everything cheating and not figuring out anything, when the game doesnt do cheats as far as Ive ever known about mario kart, maybe I just forget but i dont remember them, shows he has no adultness to his gaming.

As soon as the gaming started, his complaining started. then his subs went way down. He got beat by other streamers when it was his field of expertise. He can't even succeed in his own field.

He just wants attention, had one bit of success, now claims some online claim to success on everyone elses online presence. That is just not how it works. So summary, something to do with his fake gambling win and his earlier life and his attitude were everyone shows they hate him and he doesnt get it that gives you what he is today.