Is it possibly to be mentally disturbed, suffer OCD, or have other neuroses, and still be a nice guy who is worthy of friendship and compassion?
Of course it is.
To take anything of this sort to such a debilitating extreme is indicative of some kind of unhealthy obsessive mental state.
Its not really a reflection on his lacking intelligence, since, in fact, higher intelligence has a high correlation with mental illness, particularly OCD.
Its fascinating in its strangeness... but it moves me to feel for the kind of mental state that drives people to do things that they may regret terribly, later.
But then, I see young people, all the time, who are tattooing themselves and getting stretched out piercings to the point of extremity... on their faces, their necks and throats, stretching out ears and nostrils and lips...
It astounds and saddens me that these young folks can not imagine a future, 20 years on, where they might grow to be a person who doesn't want a spider or skull tattooed on their chin...
They make decisions at age 22, that prevent them from changing and growing with age.
Cutting off their options, and making irreversible choices at an age when they lack any sense of what time might offer.
And then, an older generation was heavily peopled with compulsive consumerists who collected everything from hummel figurines to beanie babies...
same kinda sick... but much easier to walk away from, unscarred.