The colloquialism control freak usually describes a person with an obsession with performing tasks in a certain way. This is why a control freak can become distressed when someone causes a deviation in the way they prefer to perform tasks.[1]
A control freak can also be considered as a person who tries to make other people perform tasks the way they want, even if the others prefer to perform these tasks in other ways, and even if the initial person has no good reason for interfering.[2]
This expression was introduced around the 1960s.[3]
Control freaks tend to have a psychological need to be in charge of things and people - even circumstances that cannot be controlled. The need for control, in extreme cases, stems from deeper psychological issues such as obsessive–compulsive personality disorder (OCPD), anxiety disorders or personality disorders.[2]
Control freaks are often insecure and perfectionists.[4] Additionally, they may even manipulate or pressure others to change to avoid having to change themselves. They may have had an overbearing mother or father.[5] Furthermore, control freaks sometimes have similarities to codependents, in the sense that the latter's fear of abandonment leads to attempts to control those they are dependent on.[6]