Self-compassion has now been shown to be very effective in raising self-worth without the dangers that perfectionism can cause. Having compassion for our shortcomings actually helps us to be more effective and more successful. Join us for this episode on how to achieve self-compassion, with both examples and supporting psychological research. 

How you handle anxiety is one of the main factors that determine whether your obsessive-compulsive personality works for you or against you. Most people have some anxiety, some just handle it better than others. You’ve got determination and drive, but if your anxiety drives you rather than your passion driving you, you’re going to be white-knuckling it for a long time. Join me for an exploration of how to handle anxiety and the fears that lie beneath it.

Work can be a nightmare or one of the most satisfying aspects of our lives--depending on our motivation and attitude toward it. If it is a source of mastery and accomplishment for us it can be fulfilling. But if we use it to avoid feelings it will not be satisfying and can even lead us to burnout. 

Even once you've begun to channel your obsessive-compulsive tendencies more constructively, you will be faced with triggers, circumstances that have the potential to make you react in ways you regret. This episode explores just what triggers are, offers examples, and offers tools to help you manage them more wisely. 

An undervalued aspect of human personality, mastery motivation can lead to fulfillment if well-integrated, or addictions and depression if not. IN this episode we explore the role that mastery in the lives of people with obsessive-compulsive tendencies, for better and worse, through the lens of research psychology, archetypes, and positive psychology. 

Proving yourself is, on the one hand, part of our social makeup, but it can also backfire if we neglect our true self to impress others. It can lead to heightened anxiety, diminishing the fulfillment that might come with living well naturally. In this episode we explore some of the insecurities that can lead to trying too hard to prove yourself. 

This the fourth and final episode in the series on Four Types of Obsessive-Compulsive Personality. Think-Planner types rely on imagination & foresight to deal with their world and can be very creative, but they can also get stuck obsessing & procrastinating. Join us as we explore this personality type through popular culture, mythology and psychology. 

Holidays can bring out the best and the worst in us. For people with obsessive-compulsive tendencies holiday expectations can elicit more control and perfectionism, blocking the joy we hope for, and inviting the disappointments we dread. But some give up hope completely, wish for nothing, and just try to get through the season with as little psychological damage as possible. We explore all these possibilities, and we listen in as Ebenezer Scrooge consults psychiatrist Carl Jung to try to understand his frightening dreams about Christmas past, present and future. 

The 3rd type of obsessive-compulsive personality is the Server-Friend, who can become either wonderful companions, or people pleasers who lose their true self. Their suffering is not always seen, but it's real. We look at the stories of two examples, one unbalanced, the other very well balanced. 

Delaying gratification may get you what you want. But used too frequently it can erode the capacity for pleasure, mastery and meaning. And invite suffering. This episode explores what happens when delaying gratification becomes chronic, and we re-wire our brain so that fulfillment is no longer possible. Two stories, one playful, the other painfully serious, illustrate the the dangers of delaying gratification.