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Wednesday 11 February 2009

Perfectly Imperfect

As humans, we have a tendency to want to get things right. Some of us more than others. Such people might be called perfectionists. They spend hours over something and may still be unsatisfied while others might be happy with half the work. I've always believed I was a perfectionist when it came to my work. So, when I came across the Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder, I naturally assumed it was me. But it wasn't. It makes me looks like a lazy perfectionist at best.

Now, some of you may have heard of OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) but that's not the same as OCPD. OCD is described as a person being obsessed with something and in order to decrease their anxiety, they are compulsed to perform certain actions repetitively. Eg, if someone was obsessed with being clean, they compulsively wash their hands multiple times maybe for hours until they are satisfied that they are clean. Whereas a person having OCPD is someone who is obsessed about details. They have "chronic preoccupation with rules, orderliness, and control. This disorder is only diagnosed when these behaviors become persistent and disabling. The individual with this disorder often becomes upset when control is lost. The individual then either emotionally withdraws from these situations, or becomes very angry. Occupationally, the individual tends to be a high achiever with an excessive devotion to work. However, inflexibility, perfectionism, preoccupation with detail, and inability to delegate work may seriously interfere with the individual's ability to complete a given task." Source.

Thinking about these disorders makes me glad that I do not suffer from these problems. Alhumdulillah, I know when to be flexible, when to take it easy and when I need to put my nose to the grindstone. Being a doctor can be humbling and inshaAllah I hope this attitude doesn't change as I increase in knowledge and experience.

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