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.
Research has shown that there is a high correlation between being intelligent and socially anxious. The higher your IQ, the higher the chance your social apprehension is higher than usual. Of course, that doesn't mean that your social anxiety should be classified as a disorder.
Relatively high anxiety in patients with GAD predicted high IQ whereas relatively low anxiety in controls also predicted high IQ. That is, the relationship between anxiety and intelligence was positive in GAD patients but inverse in healthy volunteers.
Many people with high level of intelligence lean towards over-thinking and keep analyzing everything that occurs in their life, their surroundings and beyond. Too much thinking can be exhausting at times, especially when your thoughts lead you to conclusions which vex and frustrate you.
Because they spend their time developing their curiosity, intelligent individuals stand out from the crowd. They geek out, ponder, research, and read. Whether the subject is the most recent catastrophic disaster, proper flossing technique, or how words have evolved, they will take the time to go further.
They Are Adaptable. Intelligent people are flexible and thrive in different situations. Smart people know the future is uncertain and are ready for the unexpected. Research supports the idea that intelligence is based on being able to change behaviors to cope with your environment and adapt accordingly.
A study reported in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease has confirmed that women overthink more than men do, due to their brains having more activity.
One misconception a lot of folks have is that intelligent people get by easily in every aspect of life — that they are destined for success. They think belonging to the top of the ladder in terms of IQ level saves smart people from the struggle of doing tasks, mundane or complex. Well, they're not entirely wrong.
Even though the gifted are no more susceptible to mental illness than anyone else, some gifted children and teens struggle with overthinking, worry, or cautious alertness. Their nervous system seems wired for heightened reactivity. For some, obsessive thinking transitions into anxiety.
One explanation behind the struggle of smart people in life is because their self-esteem lies only on their intelligence levels. This makes it difficult for them to work with people who are smarter than them. They aren't good at dealing with failed projects and critical feedback.
Those with the highest vocab scores were 34 percent more likely to trust others than those with the lowest scores, and someone who had a good perceived understanding of the survey questions was 11 percent more likely to trust others than someone with a perceived poor understanding.
Furthermore, people with depressive symptoms tended to score lower in exercises of intelligence and cognitive thinking than people with normal, healthy mental conditions. In short, there's also research to suggest that with a low IQ and a lower intelligence comes a higher risk of depression.
In fact, studies show that highly intelligent people are vulnerable to developing mood disorders, like depression and bipolar disorder. As they are very goal-oriented, highly intelligent individuals try to “create” their own happiness.
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.
Throw social commitments into the mix, and there's limited time to be alone and be still with your thoughts and creative process. It's common for people with genius qualities to seek out isolation at times, due to a social anxiety and an excessive need for “me” time, in order to practice mindfulness..
Intelligent people often enjoy spending time alone to pursue their interests, recharge, and reflect. They may not feel the need to socialize as much and may prefer to spend their time in solitude or with a small group of likeminded individuals.
The good news is that you weren't born an overthinker. Overthinking is the result of one fact of human existence: we all have patterns to our behavior. These patterns, good and bad, develop over time based on life experiences. And just as patterns are learned, they can also be unlearned.
Overthinking is a sign of intelligence insofar that you need to be intelligent enough to be able to think and re-think until you have overthought. It is, however, not necessarily a sign of high intelligence.
However, it can also lead to potential misinterpretation of symptoms. Take, for example, ADHD. While most people associate ADHD with hyperactivity and impulsivity, it can also manifest in more subtle ways, such as through intrusive thoughts and overthinking.
Highly effective people spend an inordinate amount of time and energy listening (Covey, 1989). Some psychologists believe that the ability to listen to another person, to empathize with, and to understand their point of view is one of the highest forms of intelligent behavior.
Those with an IQ of over 125 tended to go to bed around 12:30 a.m. and wake up around 8:00 a.m. on weekdays, and go to bed around 1:45 a.m. and wake up around 11:00 a.m. on weekends. Those of normal intelligence tended to sleep from 12:00 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. on weekdays and from 1:15 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. on weekends.
Chess playing is often cited as the paradigm example of intelligent behavior in humans, and a great deal of work has been done in trying to understand just how people do play chess successfully. Early on, this problem of playing chess became a challenge to computer scientists.