- Joined
- Jul 13, 2017
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.
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.
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)
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.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.
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.
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".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.
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.According to formal diagnostic criteria, DSP lacks only a few traits typical of OCPD: some obstinacy, refusal to delegate tasks, and hoarding.
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)
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