You really don't get into medical school without being hellaciously obsessive-compulsive traits (at least) so for that milieu, it's perfectly normal. And a side-order of ambitious and ability to get by on very little sleep. At least, the ones who had to do it on scholarships were like that when I was in school, and there was a lot more grant money for that stuff than there is now.
Med school's among the worst, but every grad student I've ever known has ascribed the same traits as necessary for success. Regardless, I still wouldn't call it OCD. I'd just call it "hard-working".
Hi! I subscribed a little while ago because I like your journal.
From the third-year psych major in the comments: A person with Obsessive-compulsive Personality Disorder will not stop for any reason until perfection is attained.
I had OCD in my teens. AAAAAHAHAHAHA (gasp) HAHAHA.
That's right. Facing all the cans in your cupboard so they face forward and checking the oven twenty times before you leave the room, instead of doing your homework, is "perfection". Why doesn't EVERYONE want OCD? It's ever so fun!
My sister has OCD, and I'm well aware it has little to do with -- from the description in the image -- what amounts to simply "a student who's ambitious and works hard". Not to say that one can't be ambitious and work hard and also have OCD (since my sister was also a consistent honors student).
But also, my mother was a psychologist, and I've heard my share of Stupid Things the Psych Industry Thinks. This crap about "perfectionism" is one of them, and it's nice to see someone shoot it down.
I agree about perfectionism. Sometimes people are just okay the way they are! I was really more laughing at people who think OCD turns you into a diligent little worker-bee who's just fantastic to have around.
If, as many commenters to the original blog post noted, a person so described is labeled within the psychology field as having "obsessive compulsive traits," and that label means "kinda like OCD but not negatively affecting the person's life," then someone needs to look at how we are labeling people with effective personalities. Why should everyone be labeled as a psych disorder waiting to happen?
That reminds me of some of the symptoms said to be affiliated with BPD. While I'm sure that personality problem exists in some, the descriptions were way too vague.
Hahaha! I particularly love the part about how he (gasp!) takes notes and prefers to attend every lecture himself. Clearly a sign of having a "disorder"!
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Date: 7 May 2011 03:42 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 7 May 2011 04:07 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 7 May 2011 04:18 am (UTC)Totally OTP here, but I love the comma sutra icon!
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Date: 7 May 2011 04:11 am (UTC)From the third-year psych major in the comments: A person with Obsessive-compulsive Personality Disorder will not stop for any reason until perfection is attained.
I had OCD in my teens. AAAAAHAHAHAHA (gasp) HAHAHA.
That's right. Facing all the cans in your cupboard so they face forward and checking the oven twenty times before you leave the room, instead of doing your homework, is "perfection". Why doesn't EVERYONE want OCD? It's ever so fun!
no subject
Date: 7 May 2011 04:42 am (UTC)But also, my mother was a psychologist, and I've heard my share of Stupid Things the Psych Industry Thinks. This crap about "perfectionism" is one of them, and it's nice to see someone shoot it down.
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Date: 7 May 2011 04:46 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 7 May 2011 05:00 am (UTC)There's a followup post to the original one that addresses this:
http://www.globalnerdy.com/2011/05/05/thats-not-ocd-redux/
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Date: 8 May 2011 11:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 9 May 2011 04:01 pm (UTC)