DOC da Relazione: i Difetti Fisici del Partner

Dr. Gaspare Costa, Psychologist and Psychotherapist, for Online Consultations or In-Office Appointments: 340.7852422, WhatsApp or http://www.attacchidipanico-ansia.it/... Partner-focused relationship OCD manifests itself with obsessive mental content that focuses on the perceived physical defects of the partner. Partner-focused relationship OCD can appear suddenly, after which the obsessions may focus on the doubt of seeing the partner as ugly, short, too tall, too thin, or fat, or on other physical defects. Before the onset of partner-focused relationship OCD, the relationship was progressing satisfactorily, and the person had no doubts about loving the partner and, perhaps, starting a family. After the obsession about the partner's defects sets in, the person with relationship OCD is tormented by doubt and extreme distress about whether to continue the relationship or leave. To neutralize obsessions associated with their partner's physical flaws, such as seeing them as ugly, the person begins to engage in compulsions, seeking reassurance, compulsively searching the internet, or even trying to construct a pleasant image of their partner in their mind. People who experience partner-focused relationship OCD are very often perfectionists. There are at least three underlying reasons that fuel relationship OCD focused on their partner's physical flaws: 1) The risk of making the wrong choice and precluding themselves from finding a better partner in the future: for example, if I continue to see them as ugly, I might find a better-looking partner, but I would already be taken. 2) Another reason may be that the partner's physical flaws in relationship OCD can be associated with an unhappy life. 3) Often, relationship OCD focused on the partner and their physical flaws—seeing them as ugly—is fueled by the patient's low self-esteem, who seeks approval, even through their partner. In this case, partner-focused relationship OCD may work like this: "If I see him as ugly, others will also see him as ugly, and therefore they may criticize or mock me for his physical flaws." Relationship OCD focused on the partner and physical flaws can be treated with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and an experienced therapist who can identify the beliefs, work on perfectionism, and replace early maladaptive patterns.