Link between AS & Obsessive Compulsive Personality?

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I've done a bit of research on OCPD because I was diagnosed with that when I was tested for AS along with lots of other things. I'm pretty sure I have AS thou for lots of rezones but I think my dad has OCPD; he has the main features & always wants control of things. OCPD & AS have some overlapping symptoms & I was wondering if there could be a link between both disorders

Not sure about the connection. There is no doubt in my mind that my boss has OCPD. He really really stresses me out, more than anyone has in my entire life! Most people that work under him have problems with him.

The traits I can see that we share are rigidness of routine, lack of empathy, social ineptness, technical giftedness, elitism and money hoarding. The way in which these traits manifest themselves however is very different and I have always thought of us being very very different. It's interesting that you've made me think about it though, from that list we sound much more alike than I had envisaged

There is a very strong connection between ocd and the spectrum (need for consistany)
The connection extends to include turrets, adhd, ocd.
Often thesr are the things that are most noticable to those on the outside and AS is overlooked compleatly

I have noticed a similarity between the two disorders but I find that whilst the symptoms can present in a similar way the motivations for those symptoms are vastly different. I checked OCPD out to see if it fitted me...it doesn't. Neither does OCD any more...Ie my obsessions are not unwanted ones and they are not compulsive. Ie if I get bored of one special interest (which can happen at times) I don't feel compelled to do it anyway, I change over to an interest that I am not bored with and that takes over as my main passion for a while. With OCD its more that you feel compelled to do it whether you want to or not and it's pure torture...not fun!

As for OCPD, yes I can appear to be a control freak but only in ways that affect my own personal world and sense of sameness. I have no desire to control other people and in ways that do not affect my own sense of sameness and familiarity I can be remarkably easy going. I don't need or want people to do the things in the same way that I do them, I just need them to respect that I like to do things a certain way and that I want to be to be able to do that instead of the world insisting that I do it their way all the time.

Respect and let me have my quirks basically lol

I'm not diagnosed OCPD, but I fit the criteria very well. I'm also diagnosed AS.

I have lots of obsessions some of which are unwanted but the unwanted used to be a lot worse. I have compulsions as well & I was diagnosed with OCD as well I think the OCD could be a learned adaptation with some things due to my AS & other disabilities. I'm very forgetful at times & I have problems doing some things well that most others can. I do things in specific ways & order because I'm worried that it won't be done rite if I don't. I was on meds years ago for OCD & other things but the meds didn't help the OCD at all. I think it was because the causes were still there. This may not be the best analogy here but if someone has OCD about germs but they have a weak immune system & they could easily get sick if they don't take those precautions; is it really OCD sense there is a real cause that can have consequences if those steps aren't taken?
I have issues with control especially when I was in a relationship 8 years ago but I think some of that was related to being very insecure. I think I may of learned some of my OCPD traits from my dad but I was thinking there might could be more to it like a genetic link but I think joestenr is rite about those things being noticeable & AS being overlooked. Sorry if this doesn't make much sense; I'm having a lot of random thoughts

I was diagnosed with OCD about 5 years ago because at that time I was having unwanted intrusive thoughts, obsessions, compulsion and rituals. It manifested itself as a need to repeat actions, flicking light switches, symmetry, balancing out (if I scuffed one foot I would have to scuff the other), bad numbers and good numbers, counting and so on.

I got sick of it. I don't mind having obsessions I enjoy but really...20 minutes flicking a light switch because I'm afraid the house will burn down if I don't...errrr

Antidepressants either did not help or gave me an allergic reaction and the queue for CBT was so long that I decided to get rid of the OCD myself. I used several techniques to do this:

1 I decided which of my obsessions and fears were irrational or unlikely...ie such as the house burning down if I don't flick a light switch. Actually, going by the number of light bulbs I was going through at the time I would say that my light switch flicking was doing more harm than good.

2 I noticed that most rituals and the associated fears had an element of superstitious thought to them. Ie if I flick this light switch the bad thing will not happen compared to 'If I throw salt over my shoulder after spilling it the associated bad luck won't happen'. It is in many ways the same line of thinking so (in the hopes that this did not become a ritual itself) instead of flicking the light switches, when ever I had a compulsion or urge to do so I would resist it and say the rhyme 'No need to flick, I tell you why, It's superstition gone awry'. I could also substitute the word flick for my other compulsions/rituals as well and fortunately it went away with the compulsions and did not become a ritual in and of itself!

3 Resisting the compulsion will initially cause a surge of anxiety but that will soon fade given enough time.

4 When it comes to intrusive thoughts and images the more you react to them emotionally or try to push them away, the more they will come back to haunt you. The best thing to do is not respond to them and gently direct your thoughts onto something you do want to think about. I just let them sit in my head without any kind of emotional or physical response and they eventually faded.

I did however keep some of my obsessions...the fun ones lol. I have an obsessive streak by nature although I prefer to refer to it as Passion instead as the word obsession has negative connotations and I certainly don't think negatively about my special interests for example. I just have a little more passion for my interests than most people I meet and they seem to interpret that passion as obsession whereas I do not.

As for fears...yes I did retain one...a phobia about taking medications or using certain chemicals but this is in fact based on real life bad experiences. Ie I have had allergic reactions to several antidepressants, I have allergies to duck and duck feathers, I am not able to take non steroidal anti inflammatories as I have a bad reaction to those as well (as was proven once when they gave me some in hospital...they would not give them again and put me on a different pain killer) and I can also be sensitive to certain household cleaners (certain washing up liquids bring me up in an itchy red lumpy rash and the smell of bleach makes me wheeze very badly) so I do avoid using things that I am not familiar with and am not sure what my reaction to them will be. If it's something I usually take though and know I am ok with it I am fine. This makes me come across as fussy to the drs but I don't care lol.

I did try the old pep talk once or twice by telling myself that "just because I had a bad reaction to a drug in the past it does not mean I will have a bad reaction to this one". So I tried the drug and....had an allergic reaction to it lolololololol. It did not help *ahem*

I also have an aversion to alcohol as I used to have a drinking problem many many years ago (not touched the stuff in 11 years now) as I can remember all the nasty symptoms I got either during a hangover or during withdrawal. But quite frankly, as I do not want to go back to drinking again, I am quite happy to leave that aversion in place. It's useful lol.

I also find that I do need certain routines or my brain becomes flustered and I am not able to organise myself...so even if my routines might seem strange to others, on some level, they are actually functional to myself.

The unwanted OCD stuff though had to go so I got rid of it lol

So glad to know this! Intrusive thoughts are driving me insane. It's true that the more that I try to resist or suppress them, the stronger they get. I am going to try your way. I don't want to go back on meds for this.

According to the Wikipedia gods:

@hartzofspace

I found it to be a useful technique and I hope it works for you also. Persist with it and they should fade eventually. Intrusive thoughts and images are a right pain to have.