I have observed a weird phenomenon within the past few weeks, I have noticed how many people have said in any setting, work, market, anywhere, " I am anal", and they say it with pride. I have looked at them, thinking, how horrible of a trait to have, really nothing to gloat over.
Relationship to Freudian theory
These traits were thought by Freud to be related to an anal phase of psycho****** development at a time when an infant's attention moves from oral stimulation to anal stimulation (including the bowels and bladder), usually synchronous with learning to control their excretory functions, a time of toilet training. Freud theorized that children who experience conflicts during this period of time may develop "anal" personality traits, namely those associated with a child's efforts at excretory control: orderliness, stubbornness, a compulsion for control.[1] Those whose anal characteristics continue into later life are said to be "anal retentive", or conversely, those who reject anal characteristics are said to have "anal expulsive" personality types. Some believe this to be a mild expression of obsessive-compulsive disorder or obsessive-compulsive personality disorder.