I am so glad you have written this Benighted. I notice that some of the OCPD traits are also autism traits which is where it gets a bit tricky for me. I can tick yes to the entire list of traits, but i understand now that duration and interpersonal distress are important components. At first I thought that it is more likely i have OCD. But then i thought "does my anxiety temporarily decrease when i stim" and the answer is that I am not sure. I'm so out of touch with what "distress" feels like that there is a possibility it is because i am always in a state of "distress" but don't realise. I thought back to the last time that i didn't stim for any length of time thinking that this might be a sign that i am more OCD and OCPD - it was when Shen had 5 puppies and i was spending every waking hour (and lots of time getting up in the night) making sure that i was being the best dog breeder i could be. I may not have been stimming but that was because I had an extreme urgency to be perfect and could not delegate any of the tasks to anyone else.

This article has taken me on a journey of self-reflection and i have gained much insight. I shall be exploring this further! Thank you, A🙏💚