IQ of BPD people

I've taken three IQ tests years apart in my adult life, all came back at 139.

I used to think I had low EQ, but in last few months, did some intense work on emotional processing, searching all repressed emotions that are blocking my flow of emotions, and after that clearing, I was suddenly very emotionally sensitive and aware, feel like my EQ is now 139, too. Well, maybe not quite that high...

The thing is, when you repress / suppress emotions regularly, you are basically turning down your emotional thermostat, which both limits your feeling / processing of your own emotions, but also limits your perception of other people's emotions. So you literally GIVE yourself low EQ when you repress your own emotions. And people with BPD suppress emotions more than most, since we tend to have social anxiety, fear how people will perceive us, fear looking abnormal (don't wanna look too nervous, laugh too hard, look too sad, best to be safe and just look calm and collected at all times... oh, they are laughing? Guess I can let out a little chuckle, too...).

Point is, low EQ is not like something we are born with, stuck with. Maybe there is an in-born EQ, but you then make it EVEN WORSE with your emotional suppression / repression, and if you clear that out, you may find your EQ is much higher than you thought. How can you say how good your vision is if you are only testing it while looking around with glasses that have strong filters on them? Until you remove those glasses, who the hell knows how good your vision is? Maybe it's still weaker than average, maybe not, but it sure is going to be better than it is right now.

Not sure why IQ is supposed to matter. It only measures one type of intelligence usually and doesn't at all correlate to how "smart" a person is. One could be street smart but know nothing about mathematics for example. IQ tests often test mathematical thinking ("logical" thinking) and spatial awareness, but if you have dyslexia or other learning disabilities, that could easily interfere with your spatial awareness while you could very well be a genius when it comes to retaining information, making connections between information, or you might have what one calls a photographic memory.

There's a multitude of ways to be smart or intelligent, and an IQ test simply doesn't cover it all.

Now, before anyone says I'm making excuses for myself, I was diagnosed with BPD amongst other things (hence why I'm replying to the thread to begin with) and I needed to get my IQ officially tested along with a dyslexia test. I was found evidently dyslexic and it was also determined I have an IQ of 145. I don't consider myself smarter than people with an IQ of 120 or whatever. I've seen plenty of people with IQ 130-150 who aren't half as smart as they think they are for example. I'm not half as smart as my IQ suggests I am for one.

~ Grey/Knight

You seem very worried people will think you are bragging, egotistical, etc., if you just say your IQ is 145. None of the rest was needed. The thread asked about IQ of people with BPD. So posting your IQ is expected. It's not like you are going into a random thread and saying, "Guess what, my IQ is 145!"

Plus, I'm not sure how accurate it is when they basically recalibrate your IQ to make up for you having dyslexia, like how many extra points they add to offset the supposed deficit they figure that will create. All seems like it might be rather speculative. Handicapping a race is always a tricky business.

Curious response for someone who had an equally lengthy post.

~ Grey/Knight

I don't think I criticized the length of your post at all. Just questioned the insecure apologetic stuff. If you'd had pages of OTHER content, that would be a totally different tissue. Everything you wrote but your IQ score was obvious apologetic "don't think me conceited for saying mine is higher than yours, I am not worthy, I know I'm dumber than you" stuff.

It goes without saying, none of us know how valid IQ scores are. It's almost insulting to think you need to tell explain to everyone else that IQ scores are not the end all / be all of intelligence, are not an absolute and objectively perfect measuring stick of intellectual worth. Of course we know that. I mean, even if you wanted to throw in a little self deprecating nod to that fact, I would not have said anything. It was the paragraphs beating this notion in, that gave me pause.

And, please be assured, I am not in any way trying to hurt your feelings in any way. I only want to help. I happen to think that when we are made to be aware of our issues, so we can address them, that is a boon, not a bane. I thought I was doing you a boon when I pointed this out. I have reflect yesterday, in fact, that when I do these "tough love" blunt truths, it may very well be that I word them in too blunt, perhaps even aggressive, style, so it cannot help but land as hurtful criticism. I realized that yesterday at some point, after my response to your first comment. And, yeah, I think that fits, so, sorry about that. I'll have to reflect on this and take time to re-learn how to express myself to be more considerate of others' feelings when I try to offer what I consider constructive truths. Or maybe I'll just always suck at it. I hope to improve. Your response has reminded me I need to improve on this. I'd actually forgotten since this came to mind yesterday, so thank you for that.

Oh, and the stuff I threw in about the 145 probably not being accurate since it was weighted for dyslexia, that was purely my own ego / insecurity at having a lower IQ. That was definitely not constructive criticism. My bad. I need to get rein on myself more. As a lawyer, most of my writing is adversarial and attacking, so maybe I've got reflexes I need to filter out when I'm not doing legal writing. Sorry for that part for sure, and for not wording the rest in more considerate language, though I do think you do yourself disservice being overly self-deprecating and apologetic like that. As you can see, I have my own flaws that are at least equivalent to any you have, none are perfect. If we call out each others' flaws, we may help one another improve, rather than drag one another down. Well, ideally.

Good evening to you,

Allow me to clarify something. The initial message was not meant to be "self-depreciative". It is an attempt at expressing a severe distaste for the existence of IQ tests and what effect it has on the confidence of people who undertake them. People, such as yourself, who are entirely capable and intelligent tend to find themselves lacking if their IQ score is lower than they would like. Especially when IQ scores are compared do people tend to grow insecure.

Taking you as a prime example of this: As a lawyer, you have likely studied at a university and graduated in law. That is an impressive feat and you ought to be proud of your accomplishment. It is a far more adequate representation of your capabilities than an IQ test aspires to be. In spite of that, you have stated that having a lower IQ made you feel insecure. That is the type of effect that IQ tests have on people, despite them knowing how inefficient these tests truly are.

The correlation between Borderline Personality Disorder and IQ is also confounding. No reason has been given for the question to be posed to begin with and it would have been nice if the person who initiated this thread had provided an explanation with the question. It is a combination of these factors that prompted the initial message to be worded as it was.

There is but one part of your reply that is problematic: the idea that learning deficiencies such as dyslexia have to be compensated for into the rating is not a thing. The rating is as it is without any fixing done to it because, as you rightfully point out, there is no way to correctly estimate how much interference there is. To presume a fixing took place is rather insulting and takes away from the credibility of the results. It is appreciated that you apologize for this.

I hope this has clarified the initial message and explains how your analysis of it was in actuality inaccurate. If I may be so blunt as to provide you with an unsolicited piece of advice of my own; your intent to help people by pointing out another person's shortcomings is in itself not bad, but it could prove beneficial to your cause if you were to gently question a person's motives rather than assuming them.

Have a good day.

I failed the exams in law faculty though they weren't in my native language. I had the option of taking the exam one final time in front of commission but it didn't seem like a good idea at the time, and I did later study something else. And I think the complexity of studying the law depends from country to country, in some countries the studies can only be accessed after completing the undergraduate studies while in others law can be studied right after high school.

In any case, it is an accomplishment. And I am not diagnosed with BPD, don't know if I will be in the future but I can relate to some of the traits.