PODCAST · health
The Healthy Compulsive Project
by Gary Trosclair
For six years The Healthy Compulsive Project has been offering information, insight and inspiration for OCPD, obsessive-compulsive personality, perfectionism, micro-managers and Type A personality. Anyone who’s ever been known to overwork, overplan, overcontrol or overanalyze is welcome here, where the obsessive-compulsive personality is explored and harnessed to deliver what it was originally meant to deliver. Join psychotherapist, Jungian psychoanalyst and author Gary Trosclair as he delves into the pitfalls and potential of the driven personality with an informative, positive, and often playful approach to this sometimes-vexing character style.
Episodes
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What Carl Jung Would Tell You About Your Perfectionism. Ep. 122
Do you constantly see what's wrong and feel compelled to fix it? In this imagined Jungian session, a man named Percy — a bank compliance officer sent by his girlfriend for his perfectionism — meets Carl Jung to ask how he can talk to his girlfriend, and whether he has OCPD (obsessive-compulsive...
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Perfectionism Burnout and The Myth of The Total Couch Potato Collapse, Ep. 121
Afraid that if you stop, you'll never start again? You're not lazy — you're caught in rigidity. In this episode, Jungian analyst and psychotherapist Gary Trosclair unpacks the Myth of the Total Couch Potato Collapse — the catastrophic story that one nap, one weekend off, one moment of letting go...
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The “Should Effect”: When Desire Gets Lost in Self-Discipline, Ep. 120
The thing you once wanted became the thing you have to do — and the moment it did, it stopped being fun. Psychotherapist and Jungian analyst Gary Trosclair calls this the Should Effect: the quiet process by which genuine desire hardens into rigid obligation. You start with a choice, and end up…
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Ep. 119: Inner Conflict: What Happens When You Silence Half of Yourself
There's a civil war happening inside you — and you may not even know one side of it exists. After 30 years as a psychotherapist, I've noticed something remarkable: every person who walks into my office with depression, anxiety, or compulsive patterns is fighting the same battle. One part of them…
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Ep. 118: Letting Go of Resentment: Why You’re Obsessed with People Being Good
Do you find yourself locked in a relentless, exhausting crusade against perceived injustices, even when they're entirely out of your control? In this episode, we explore the psychology behind 'Holy Wars' — those deeply ingrained, often futile battles we fight, driven by perfectionism, old...
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Ep. 117: Karpman's Triangle: 3 Roles that Destroy Relationships
You try to help, and somehow you become the enemy. You explain your feelings, and suddenly you're the one being blamed. These aren't random relationship failures — you're cycling through Karpman's Drama Triangle, and until you recognize the pattern, you'll keep fighting the same battles with...
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Ep. 116: Codependence Is a 'Muscular Glue' — Here's How to Break Free
Why do driven, high-functioning people sometimes find themselves trapped in codependency — bound to others in ways that feel obsessive, compulsive, and impossible to escape? In this episode, psychotherapist and Jungian analyst Gary Trosclair explores the hidden connection between compulsive...
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Ep. 115: Why You Can’t Stop Using Willpower--Even After It Drains You
Why do so many disciplined, high-functioning people keep pushing themselves long after the tank is empty? This episode explores the hidden costs of overusing willpower and why self-control, though powerful, can become destructive when it loses contact with the body, emotion, values, and limits.…
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Ep. 114: Can't Identify Your Feelings? You Might Have Alexithymia—The Unspeaking Heart
If you’ve ever felt unsure what you want, relied on logic where feeling should guide you, or wondered why emotions seem elusive, this post is for you. Alexithymia—“the unspeaking heart”—is not a lack of feeling, but a learned and often inherited difficulty accessing it. Drawing on research,...
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Ep 113: 6 Reasons Perfectionists Struggle to Change
For people who are stubbornly perfectionistic, obsessive and compulsive, change can be hard to come by. Particular personality traits that can be positive can also manifest negatively. In this post we explore six of the main blocks to change, including, avoidance motivation, impatience…
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Ep. 112: Break Free from the “Shoulds”: How Old Soul and Young Soul Archetypes Can Run Your Life
There are both among us and within us young souls and old souls. Some of them fulfilled and some of them unfulfilled. Typically, people with obsessive-compulsive personality traits are old souls, and they can express that part of them either constructively or destructively. But usually their…
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Ep. 111: Your Outdated, Risk‑Averse Comfort Zone Is a Prison — Chuck It
Risk aversion once kept us alive. Today, it often keeps us trapped. Drawing on evolutionary psychology, personality theory, and clinical experience, this essay explores how outdated risk‑avoidance strategies—especially common in obsessive‑compulsive personality styles—shrink our lives, suppress...
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Ep. 110: The Hidden Wisdom of the Compulsive Personality
Compulsive traits are often judged as rigid or unhealthy, but they originate in qualities that once helped humans survive. This essay reframes compulsiveness as an adaptive style—rooted in conscientiousness, focus, and persistence—and explores how these traits can become strengths when…
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Ep. 109: 5 Steps to Respond to an OCPD Diagnosis
Receiving an OCPD diagnosis can leave you unsure where to begin, but the traits that once fueled rigidity and perfectionism can also support meaningful change. This guide introduces RAILS, a five‑step framework designed to help you start removing the “disorder” from your obsessive‑compulsive...
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Ep: 108: A Dog's Eye View of OCPD
A Husky narrates a compassionate, humorous, and perceptive account of living with a human who has obsessive‑compulsive personality disorder traits. Through keen canine observation, the Husky contrasts natural dog instincts—flexibility, presence, connection—with the rigid routines, perfectionism,...
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Ep. 107: Waking Up from the Strange Comfort of the Obsessive-Compulsive Dream
What if the machine controlling your life isn’t out there—but inside you? Using The Matrix as a lens, this post exposes how maladaptive obsessive‑compulsive personality patterns act like internal programs that hijack authenticity, drain energy, and keep us locked in a dream of perfection…
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Ep. 106: Marriage Is Not for Sissies: Courage, Projection, and Projective Identification
It takes courage to make a relationship work. The courage to admit you’re wrong. The courage to persist when you’re right. The courage to take chances in communication, generosity and vulnerability. And most of all, the courage to objectively look at what’s happening emotionally inside of you.…
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Ep. 105: Quieting the False Alarms of "Not Just Right Experiences"
Ever felt like something was “just not right” even when nothing is wrong? Psychologists call these Not Just Right Experiences (NJREs)—a subtle but powerful force behind OCD and OCPD. Learn what they are, why they matter, and how to manage them before they hijack your peace of mind.
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Ep. 104: Befriending Adaptive Perfectionism: From Villain to Ally
We’ve got perfectionism all wrong. The real problem isn’t high standards—it’s the illusion of perfectibility and harsh judgment that have been grafted onto it. Perfectionism began as a guide toward purpose, but centuries of distortion turned it into an enforcer of impossible ideals. Instead of...
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Ep. 103: 7 Vexing Questions & Encouraging Answers for Therapists Who Treat Obsessive-Compulsive Personality
Explore practical insights and nuanced strategies for working with clients who have obsessive-compulsive personality traits. Drawing on 33 years of experience, this post addresses common challenges, misconceptions, and ways to foster meaningful change—while offering a behind-the-scenes look for...
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Ep. 102: Interview with Endurance Coach Travis Macy about the Driven Personality
This is an extended interview in which endurance athlete, coach, and podcaster Travis Macy asks me about the driven personality and broader questions of well-being. Having set records in some truly astounding endurance races, Travis knows about perseverance, resilience and fortitude, all of which...
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Ep. 101: 4 Ways Perfectionists and Obsessive-Compulsives Try To Avoid Humiliation
This essay explores how perfectionist and obsessive-compulsive personalities construct “fortresses” to avoid humiliation, embarrassment, and shame. Through vivid stories and cultural examples—from Steve Jobs to Michael Jackson—it identifies four compulsive types (Boss, Workaholic, People-Pleaser,...
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Ep. 100: How a Goddess Became a Modern Disease: Ananke, OCPD, & the Need for Control
Carl Jung famously wrote that the gods have become diseases. What he meant was that because we no longer consciously acknowledge the powerful forces we used to call gods and goddesses, they’ve gone underground and manifest in our physical and mental ailments. However unbelievable they might seem,...
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Ep. 99: From Alienation to Connection: Healing the Spiritual Side Effects of Compulsive Perfectionism
Explore how compulsive perfectionism creates alienation, and the science-backed benefits of as sense of connection to something larger than yourself. And discover practical ways to restore a sense of connection with Nature and the Universe for greater peace and well-being.
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Ep. 98: How to Pivot to a Life Worth Living Through Flexibility: A Review of ACT
To make a dent in the pile of material you might feel you have to read to be up on the most recent developments in mental health, here's a practical review of the relatively new approach to therapy called Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, with brief examples of how to apply it. Because one of…
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Ep. 97: 3 Reasons You're Having Anxiety Dreams
Anxiety dreams may seem simply like a nuisance at first glance. But slow down and pay attention and you might find they have something to tell you about how you are living and how you see your world. Issues of avoidance, authenticity, and being tested can all show up in anxiety dreams. Seen as a...
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Ep. 96: 4 Tools to Help Obsessives Move Past Creative Blocks
Creativity may be one of the most fulfilling activities we have. Unless it’s blocked. Then the desire to be creative can feel like torture. But there are ways to get unblocked. In this episode we will talk about the possible benefit of compulsive urges, and the destructiveness of obsessive...
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Ep. 95: No Laughing Matter: What Being So Serious Does to Your Life
Seriousness is an occupational hazard for obsessive-compulsives, Type A's and perfectionists. Being serious can hurt relationships, mental health and physical health. Yet many of us feel duty-bound to be serious, and we lose out on the benefits of humor and laughter--which can melt the rigidity...
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Ep. 94: 2 Novels About Perfectionists Sure to Entertain and Inspire You
What happens when a rigid devotion to rules, order, and perfection replaces our ability to feel, connect, and live? In this episode, we explore two moving character studies from Fredrik Backman’s novels A Man Called Ove and Britt-Marie Was Here. Through Ove and Britt-Marie—both fictional but…
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Ep. 93: Breaking Horses: 6 Signs That You're Micromanaging
How do we know if we are micromanaging? If you constantly look over someone’s shoulder, give them detailed instructions, distrust them, and make mountains out of molehills, it will discourage creativity, diminish morale, and disrupt relationships. It may even lead to them ignoring you. It brings...
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Ep. 92: A Review of RO DBT, Radically Open Dialectical Behavior Therapy—A New Treatment for Overcontrol
Is RO DBT a new answer for overcontrol and obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD)? This post introduces Radically Open Dialectical Behavior Therapy, a treatment developed for overcontrolled personalities, and explores how well it fits the traits and needs of those with OCPD. Clinical...
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Ep. 91: Navigating Challenges for the Perfectionist Father: From the Horrific to the Heroic
How do perfectionist and compulsive traits shape fatherhood? This post explores the challenges and opportunities for the obsessive father—how those traits can either alienate or elevate, harm or heal. Learn how self-awareness, values, and mindset can help fathers navigate the line between heroic...
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Ep. 90: Finding the Meaning of Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Traits
Compulsive behavior is often dismissed as neurotic, but what if it's a deep call for connection and purpose? This post explores the redemptive potential of obsessive-compulsive personality traits—how they can become a source of meaning, growth, and compassion when understood properly.
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Ep. 89: Should You Unearth the Past? How Looking Back Can Help us Move Forward
Is burying the past holding you back? Most of us live as if we are still in the past without being aware of it. Discover how understanding your personal history can help you reclaim buried strengths, rewrite limiting stories, and live more freely in the present.
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Ep. 88: Am I Being Passive-Aggressive? How to Know—and What to Do About It
Ever wonder if you're being passive-aggressive? Learn how to spot the signs, understand your hidden motives, and shift toward more conscious, assertive communication.
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Ep. 87: Beyond the Switch: The Dark and Subtle Side of Punishment
Explore the true motivations behind punishment, its impact on relationships and society, and learn how to cultivate awareness to prevent destructive tendencies. Discover healthier ways to handle conflict and promote genuine justice. This episode explores the evolutionary and archetypal sources of...
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Ep. 86: The Hidden Drive Behind Compulsive Behavior: Carl Jung’s Path to Wholeness
In this episode we explore the profound though often unseen energy that leads to either wholeness or compulsive behavior. If this energy is blocked from its true goal, it make make us unbalanced. Discover Carl Jung’s insights on compulsive behavior and how blocked growth can lead to obsession....
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Ep. 85: This is Not a Test: 3 Steps to Winning the Battle Against Insecurity
Insecurity underlies many of the mental health challenges we all experience, as if we are always taking a test and always fearing failure. But what causes this insecurity and how do we become more secure? In this episode we explore the three most common aspects of insecurity (feeling unlovable,...
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Ep. 84: Is Psychotherapy Effective? A Note for the Skeptical
For those of you who are skeptical about whether therapy is effective, I get it. Who’s to know whether what goes on behind closed doors does any good? And isn’t it in the interest of the therapist to excavate all sorts of problems to keep those checks coming? Therapists actually share those sorts...
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Ep. 83: 7 Ways Spending Time in Nature Heals the Driven Personality
There’s an increasing amount of research which suggests that spending at least two hours each week engaging with nature improves our well-being. And because of the epidemic of Nature Deficit Disorder (yes, it’s a real thing), an increasing number of healthcare professionals are even prescribing...
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Ep. 82: Want to Make Life Easier? Break the Habits that Make It More Difficult Than It Needs to Be
Life is not easy, and we actually make it harder if we imagine we can sashay through it effortlessly. But we can also make life more difficult than it needs to be by imagining that the path forward is steeper than it really is. In this post I explore the effect of "Mountain Mirage," its causes…
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Ep. 81: A Short Guide to Love Languages for People with Obsessive-Compulsive Personality
To have a good relationship we need to learn to speak the love languages that our partner can understand and feel. This can be particularly uncomfortable for people who are obsessive-compulsive, because they are most familiar with one particular language. But learning a new language is always…
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Ep. 80: Four Blocks to Releasing Resentment and Offering Forgiveness
Whatever the motivation for withholding forgiveness, it often hurts the holder more than it hurts the offender. And as I’ll show in this episode, not forgiving may be part of a larger mindset which blocks not just connection with that one person, but also a more fulfilling life.
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Ep. 79: Authenticity: Why Being Realistically Real Matters
Living like no-one is watching is a rewarding but somewhat risky approach to life. While not caring what others think can allow us to be authentic, it may also put us in harms way, or lead us to hurt others. This episode explores how to be real in a realistic way.
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Ep. 78: How to Harness the Power of Lists for Your Well-Being
Some of us live by our lists. We do whatever they tell us to do. Others dig their heels in and rebel against whatever chores have been assigned there. But who makes the list? Whoever does determines the power of lists to make our lives miserable or fulfilling.
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Ep. 77: How to Help a Partner, Friend or Relative Who Feels Suicidal
How do you help a partner, relative or friend who feels suicidal? The situation is disturbing for anyone, and can be even more difficult for people who take too much responsibility and need to have things fixed and resolved. There are limits to what is within our control. And many of us feel too...
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Ep. 76: The Need to Control: A Compulsive Recipe for Poor Health
It might feel right at times to be all fired up and plowing through a messy house as if it were about to be condemned as inhabitable by the town, fixing errors in a discombobulated spreadsheet like your life depended on it, or planning every detail of your daughter’s 10th birthday party so that...
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Ep 75: 6 Steps to Stop Being Judgmental
It’s human nature to have standards and to compare, but this tendency can go rogue and unleash harsh judgments on others—with results completely contrary to the original intentions. I have found it helpful to explore what triggers our judgment and to see what impact it has on the other person and...
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Ep. 74: Four Ways that Control Smothers the Flames of Romantic Love
Ah romance. What could feel better than falling in love? Bliss, delight, ecstasy. But those can happen only if we can let go enough to get things going, and enough to sustain them as things get more challenging. Nothing smothers romantic love worse than control. And this happens in more ways than...
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Ep. 73: Taoist Wisdom for Compulsive Perfectionists
While I find parts of the Tao Te Ching baffling, exasperating and mystifying, Lao Tzu’s encouragement to accept things as they are still conveys an attitude toward life that I find to be a good counterpoint to my driven nature. Since Taoist wisdom can be especially useful to people who are...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
For six years The Healthy Compulsive Project has been offering information, insight and inspiration for OCPD, obsessive-compulsive personality, perfectionism, micro-managers and Type A personality. Anyone who’s ever been known to overwork, overplan, overcontrol or overanalyze is welcome here, where the obsessive-compulsive personality is explored and harnessed to deliver what it was originally meant to deliver. Join psychotherapist, Jungian psychoanalyst and author Gary Trosclair as he delves into the pitfalls and potential of the driven personality with an informative, positive, and often playful approach to this sometimes-vexing character style.
HOSTED BY
Gary Trosclair
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does The Healthy Compulsive Project have?
The Healthy Compulsive Project currently has 122 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is The Healthy Compulsive Project about?
For six years The Healthy Compulsive Project has been offering information, insight and inspiration for OCPD, obsessive-compulsive personality, perfectionism, micro-managers and Type A personality. Anyone who’s ever been known to overwork, overplan, overcontrol or overanalyze is welcome here, where...
How often does The Healthy Compulsive Project release new episodes?
The Healthy Compulsive Project publishes regularly with 122 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to The Healthy Compulsive Project?
You can listen to The Healthy Compulsive Project on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts The Healthy Compulsive Project?
The Healthy Compulsive Project is created and hosted by Gary Trosclair.
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