When we see a person who is extremely structured and organized in his daily tasks, it is normal to believe that he is someone very intelligent and dedicated. After all, we generally tend to have a certain idealization of those who maintain precise rituals about various situations in everyday life. How many times have we seen someone counting numbers before making an important decision? How does a person who intends to tidy up her room follow certain specific guidelines? In this sense, some interesting questions may arise about the degree of intelligence that can be developed by people who have some obsessions that cannot be put aside.
Does OCD occur in intelligent people? In this PsychologyFor article we explain it to you.
Although it is impossible to establish an absolute generality, we can provide some specific data on this topic. According to various research carried out, it has been concluded that intelligent people tend to have OCD or Obsessive Compulsive Disorder because 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 condition because it is necessary that the moments that occur have a specific resolution. At the same time, it would be complex to think about the fact that someone with this mental health disorder lacks a high IQ to handle rituals.
In this article you will find more information about the Types of OCD and its symptoms.
Who is more likely to have OCD
In general, people with detail-oriented, rigid qualities, inflexible to changes They have a greater chance of being diagnosed with this clinical condition. This is independent of biological sex, although men may be more predisposed to adopting these types of personality characteristics.
On the other hand, people who have an urgent need to have situations under control often adopt rituals and/or obsessions to carry out situations and avoid moments of anxiety or stress resulting from the unpredictability of everyday life.
What qualities do people with OCD have?
Based on the information glimpsed in the previous sections, it is possible to define some specific criteria that allow people with OCD to be identified. It should be noted that the particularities of each specific case must be considered since no person is the same as another. Below we explain the most transcendental qualities:
Perfectionism
If we carry out an analysis of the name given to this clinical condition, we will notice that the name “Obsessive Compulsive Disorder” emphasizes that there is a compulsion to achieve a certain goal. In the case of perfectionist people, an irrepressible need arises to achieve unattainable goals that cause deep wear and tear on the person.
This is because perfection is impossible to achieve because there will always be some detail in everyday life that is not the way previously thought.
Order
People diagnosed with this clinical condition They 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 its sequence cannot be modified because it would alter the pre-established order.
Repetitive thoughts
People who suffer from this disorder have incessant thoughts , generally associated with catastrophic events that would be caused if they stopped carrying out obsessive actions and rituals. The paradox of this point is that the person has a notion of how crazy this idea is since nothing tragic would happen if he left out a ritual, but even so he cannot avoid it.
For example, someone may believe that knocking on a door ten times 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, we choose to continue with the obsessions and compulsions that were previously established.
This article is merely informative, at PsychologyFor 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.
If you want to read more articles similar to Does OCD occur in intelligent people? we recommend that you enter our Clinical Psychology category.
Bibliography
American Psychiatric Association (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of mental disorders (5th edition). Arlington: Panamericana Medical Publishing.
De la Cruz Villalobos, N. (2018). Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Sinergia Medical Magazine, 3 (11), 14-18.
