normal is as normal as can be

a psychiatrist testifying in court narrates the manifestation of a psychologically incapacitated individual in the context of how it affects the person's capacity to perform his/her marital obligations, the picture she paints of the individual concerned sounds so much how the rest of us act to the point that the prosecutor even commented out loud if don't we all have personality disorders?

check this out:

“Individuals with Avoidant Personality Disorder (301.82), according to the world-renowned Psychiatrist, Prof. Glenn O. Gabbard, long for close interpersonal relationships but are afraid of them because of the fear of humiliation connected with failure and the pain connected with rejection. Their desire for relationships may not be readily apparent because of their shy, self-effacing self-presentation. According to the Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fourth Edition (DSM-IV-TR), individuals suffering from this have the following:

“A pervasive pattern of social inhibition, feelings of inadequacy, and hypersensitivity to negative evaluation, beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by four or more of the following:

1. avoids occupational activities that involve significant interpersonal contact, because of fears of criticism, disapproval, or rejection
2. is unwilling to get involved with people unless certain of being liked
3. shows restraint within intimate relationships because of the fear of being shamed or ridiculed
4. is preoccupied with being criticized or rejected in socials situations
5. is inhibited in new interpersonal situations because of feelings of inadequacy
6. views self as socially inept, personally unappealing, or inferior to others
7. is unusually reluctant to take personal risks or to engage in any new activities because they may prove embarrassing”

don't you think we have at some point in our lives exhibited some of the above traits? are we naturally dysfunctional?

i believe i have obsessive compulsive tendencies. i made that observation to another psychiatrist and he said that all of us have to a certain degree, OC tendencies. he said most professionals tend to have this because it what drives them to succeed.

i know a guy who counts his steps to arrive at his destination within a given number, or probably it's a toss up between an odd or even number. he retraces his steps if it doesn't jive with that number. i know someone who makes a sign of the cross at every church he passes by; i know someone who cleans up the mess even if the party ends up at 2 or 3 am.

as for me, at home, i wipe the bathroom sink and toilet bowl every morning and evening with a germicidal wipe, i mop the bathroom floor after each shower, i wipe all the faucets even if its 1am. when i see a frame hanging askew, even if i'm running late, i have to fix it. i arrange my clothes by colors, i even arrange empty hangers by colors. i fold dirty clothes and put it in the hamper by color. or when i hear a strange sound, i will not rest until i find its source. this last quirk saved our home from fire a few years back. daging and i heard a strange popping sound but couldn't find its source. everyone at home decided it was just our imagination. the next day, we had some guests over and they too, heard the strange sound and pointed to the ceiling. someone opened the ceiling and true enough, there was an open wire with sparks already at that point. if daging and i hadn't insisted, our house would probably had burned down.

is this normal? as dr g said, it's as normal as it gets. does it make me psychologically incapacitated, of course not!!!!! or i hope not!!!!!!