Do highly intelligent people have depression?
Someone with a low, average, or high IQ can develop depression. It is thought that measures of intelligence may influence a future psychiatric diagnosis. Because there are many risk factors for depression, including trauma, chronic illness, and genes, a person should consult a doctor if they are experiencing symptoms.
It's certainly the case that intelligence can increase your risk of depressive factors. Mensa's survey results could indicate that smart people are more often depressed, at least by their own members' data. But there's no explanation — none proven, at least — as to why that correlation exists.
Intelligent people tend to suffer from social anxiety.
It's rare for them to feel completely integrated into an environment of theirs: school, college, work… Also, as psychiatrist and doctor of neuroscience Dean Burnett explains, people with high intelligence tend to constantly undervalue themselves.
For highly intelligent people, whilst they are most interested in finding solutions for real-life problems, they also enjoy pondering deep philosophical ideas and abstract concepts. From a young age, they have an insatiable curiosity about life; They thrive on learning.
Intelligent people are usually overthinkers and constantly keep analyzing everything in life. Overanalyzing can be draining at times and can make a person frustrated. The more they understand things, the more it becomes difficult to digest and makes people unhappy.
Conclusions. The present study provides robust evidence that highly intelligent individuals do not have more mental health disorders than the average population. High intelligence even appears as a protective factor for general anxiety and PTSD.
While they might have high standards and big picture concerns, research shows that people with high IQs are actually more likely to be happy; data from the research showed that people with the highest IQs were much happier than those with the lowest IQs.
The smarter someone is — in the sense of being awake and aware, attuned to their surroundings and curious about the wider world — the more humble they tend to be. One reason so many smart and talented people doubt themselves is that they know the world is vast and their own knowledge is limited.
You constantly over-analyze and worry. A survey done with more than 100 students reports that “a tendency to worry goes hand in hand with higher intelligence.” One of the key findings of this survey was that students who tend to worry and ruminate more usually score higher on the verbal intelligence tests.
Because evolved 'common sense' usually produces the right answers in the social domain, yet the most intelligent people have personalities which over-use abstract analysis in the social domain [9], [10], this implies that the most intelligent people are predisposed to have silly ideas and to behave maladaptively when ...
How can you tell if someone is highly intelligent?
- They draw wisdom from multiple sources. "They draw wisdom from multiple sources. ...
- They know their audience. ...
- They develop a keen sense for their job. ...
- Curiosity. ...
- They're great at conveying ideas. ...
- Considerate questions. ...
- They make hard ideas simple. ...
- They know what they don't know.
They Listen More Than They Speak
You might expect really smart people to talk all the time, showing off their knowledge. But the truth is, many intelligent individuals spend more time listening than speaking. And there's a simple, honest reason for this: they know there's always more to learn.
Finally, we estimated the correlation between objective intelligence and the SapioQ. On average, the 90th percentile of intelligence (IQ≈120) was rated to be the most sexually attractive and the most desirable in a long-term partner.
There are many possible reasons why. People with higher IQs often have an increased sense of awareness, deeper levels of empathy, or a fear of failure — all may result in more worry and stress. But anxiety isn't always an obstacle, and it can offer many benefits.
You are vulnerable to extreme stress.
Both Karpinski and Dabrowski have pointed out how individuals of high IQ exhibit traits that cause them to become super stressed. Overanalyzing things make you ponder for too long on different events that happened to you, creating scenarios in your head.
They point to other research demonstrating that people with higher IQ scores are more patient and receptive to delayed gratification. So, impatient procrastinators: you could take the advice of other researchers who say being aware of your tendencies can help keep them in check.
Bipolar disorder is linked to a specific kind of intelligence. The connection between intelligence and bipolar disorder is largely seen in those with high verbal IQ (VIQ). ¹ This type of intelligence is associated with creativity, abstract reasoning, and comprehension through spoken and written words.
Asperger's syndrome was named after an Austrian pediatrician, Hans Asperger, who in 1944 described four children who were highly intelligent but socially awkward and physically clumsy. However, he did not coin the term.
There's a common misconception that a person with ADHD automatically has a low IQ. Other people may believe that ADHD is always associated with high IQ. But neither of these assumptions is true. Depending on the severity of symptoms, ADHD can affect a person's ability to function at school and work.
Unlike their less intelligent counterparts, who may have more opportunities to socialize, intelligent people may prioritize their commitments over leisure activities or social events. This can make it difficult to form and maintain friendships, especially with individuals who do not understand their busy lifestyle.
Why do intelligent people like being alone?
According to Carol Graham, who studies the economics of happiness, people with more intelligence and the capacity to use it spend less time socializing because they are focused on some other longer-term objective. Intelligent people are less social because they are more focused on their life goals.
For highly intelligent individuals, being in social situations may be a source of anxiety and unease. They may feel out of place or don't measure up to their peers. To avoid these negative emotions, many choose to be alone and spend time isolated from others.
Pulling data from thousands of people logged in the UK Biobank, researchers found that people with higher intelligence did not have higher rates of depression. In fact, they had less anxiety, PTSD, neurotic tendencies, and trauma than those with lower intelligence.
Research from 2015 supports a link between verbal intelligence and a tendency to worry or ruminate. A small 2011 study also links anxiety to intelligence. Study authors explain that people with high IQs might either worry a lot or worry very little.
A study by Elizabeth Krumrei Mancuso, an American psychology researcher, has shown that intelligence is closely linked to a specific character trait: humility. According to the same study, the smarter a person is, the more humble they are.
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