I’m sure you’ve heard it before: highly intelligent people struggle to be happy. Maybe it’s like they say, “ignorance is bliss.”
For people with above average intelligence, being truly happy in life is like drawing water from a stone. They understand the socially acceptable norms and can appear happy on the surface, but underneath the facade they are never truly satisfied.
If you find yourself falling into this category, then these 6 reasons can help create a clearer picture of why intelligent people struggle to find happiness:
1. They over-think things.
Highly intelligent people have a tendency to constantly analyze everything to the point of exhaustion, forever weighing out the pros and cons, judging everything that takes place quietly and withdrawn, resulting in their depression.
They understand how dreadful of a place this world is and matters of conviction bother them more than anyone. Finding answers goes with being intelligent and when none can be found they become despondent.
Continuous analysis of everything can be unpleasant for them, their thought train spirals further and further down a track that seems wrought with negativity and disappointing outcomes.
2. Things don’t always turn out the way they want them to.
Intelligent people posses a firmer grasp of everything, which can help when it comes to deciding the best solution or most desired condition for certain matters. When these conditions turn out less than optimal, according to them, they feel let down.
Everything they surround themselves with never seems satisfactory; if it doesn’t meet their high standards, it has no value. Even if it is a person that they should be fond of, they will never truly hold them in the highest regard until they live up to said standards.
3. Scrutiny of self.
Intelligent people are inclined to have a low self-image and meager amount of pride because of the harsh ways in which they judge themselves. They highly scrutinize themselves, so when they fail to meet their own personal standards, they become somber.
They are experts at discerning good qualities from bad, even if it is a trait of their own. They will not favor any bad qualities or accept them. Realizing the harsh truth about ourselves can be depressing.
4. There’s always something else.
Intelligent people keep setting the bar for themselves higher and higher; there is no limit to the standards they set. When one thing comes to fruition, their mind floats off to the next big thing.
They devise questions for everything, their minds are full of question marks and continuous rationalizing. They feel that there is always more, another possible outcome.
5. Few people actually understand them.
Human contact is our greatest source of happiness. Sharing the worries and stresses with the right people makes it easier to cope with.
Finding someone to share it with, someone who fully understands what goes on in their head, is not so easy for them to do. They very seldom find someone with the same depth of character that can nullify their burden.
6. Intelligence can lead to psychological issues.
This is not saying that every person with an over-average IQ has a psychological disorder, but that constant examination and summing things up can lead to asking questions regarding life and death. Which we can agree, is not a healthy road to go down if taken too far.
Existential depression and social anxiety are two of the most common disorders we see amongst people of higher intelligence.
What we do know about the human mind is that it is vastly complex and not yet quite fully understood. From this we can conclude that over-analyzing and being isolated is without doubt unhealthy.
By Raven Fon
