When we see a highly structured and orderly person in their daily tasks, it is normal to believe that they are someone very intelligent and diligent. After all, we usually tend to have a certain idealization of those who maintain precise rituals on various situations of daily life. How many times have we seen someone counting numbers before making an important decision? How does a person who intends to order her room according to certain specific guidelines act? In this sense, some interesting questions can arise about the degree of intelligence that can be developed by people who have some obsessions that cannot be stopped side.
Does OCD occur in intelligent people? In this Psychology-Online article we explain it to you.
Although it is impossible to establish an absolute generality, we can guide some specific data on this subject. According to various investigations, it has been concluded that intelligent people tend to have OCD or Obsessive Compulsive Disorder because they their mental structures give rise to rigid, meticulous and detailed schemes on various areas of daily life.
In other words, intelligence is a quality that stands out in people with this clinical picture because it is necessary that the moments that occur have a specific resolution. In turn, it would be complex to think about the fact that someone with this mental health disorder lacks a high IQ to face rituals.
In this article you will find more information about the Types of OCD and its symptoms.
In general, people with detailed qualities, rigid, inflexible to changes are more likely to be diagnosed with this clinical picture. This is independent of biological sex, although men may be more predisposed to adopt these types of personality characteristics.
On the other hand, people who have an urgent need to have situations under control tend to adopt rituals and/or obsessions to carry out situations and avoid moments of anxiety or stress caused by the unpredictability of life daily.
Based on the information glimpsed in the previous sections, it is possible to delimit some specific criteria that make it possible to identify people with OCD. It should be noted that the particularities of each specific case must be considered since no person is the same as another. Here we explain the most transcendental qualities:
perfectionism
If we carry out an analysis of the name given to this clinical picture, we will notice that the name "Obsessive Compulsive Disorder" emphasizes that there is a compulsion to achieve a goal certain. In the case of perfectionist people, an irrepressible need arises to achieve unattainable goals that cause a deep wear to the person.
This is because perfection is impossible to achieve because there will always be some detail in everyday life that is not as previously thought.
Order
People diagnosed with this clinical picture tend to seek a constant order in any activity that they carry out In this way, they try to replicate this condition in routines, habits, customs, among others.
As an example, a person could clean their hands with toilet soap for three minutes and then touch the same towel before performing another action. This routine is inflexible and the sequence of it cannot be modified because it would alter the pre-established order.
repetitive thoughts
People with this disorder have incessant thoughts, generally associated with catastrophic events that would be caused if they stopped performing obsessive actions and rituals. The paradox of this point is that the person has an idea of how crazy this idea is, since nothing tragic would happen if he left a ritual aside, but even so, he cannot avoid it.
For example, someone may believe that knocking ten times on a door will prevent a loved one from being hit by a car. Although this would not alter the course of actions, the intensity of the thoughts is overwhelming. In this way, it is decided to continue with the obsessions and compulsions that were established previously.
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
