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I can definitely attest to this. I'm pretty sensitive and aware of a lot of things. It's very difficult to constantly feel almost everything. Anything that happens to me I will feel it 10 times more than the average person. If something good happens, I will be incredibly happy. But if something bad happens, I worry, get anxiety, and almost depressed. My therapist says that means I'm living fully. I guess so... but life is painful so that isn't necessarily a good thing.. heh. I also have insomnia because I'm constantly thinking and wondering about things.
A lot of the times, social situations just overwhelm me. I like people but I have a hard time making friends. People like me most of the time too because I'm really sweet and say and see things that are different but even the thought of people liking me can overwhelm me. The best situation is for me is to be by myself and be around strangers at a coffee shop or something so I can be around people but I don't have to talk to them. This forum is also good for that so I can anonymously express my weird thoughts and communicate with people.
I never thought of myself as having higher intelligence. I think very deeply on even the simplest question so it takes me a while to respond and that usually makes people think I'm dumb because I can't even answer a simple question quickly. But I am pretty intuitive and am usually the first to notice something, laugh at something, or feel danger about something. I majored in Creative writing and philosophy and I think those two majors says a lot about me and what my condition does to me.
Last edited by Gabriella Geramia; 02-14-2016 at 11:55 AM..
I think this is sort of related. I have recently been thinking about the people in my office, and how they can engage in the most mind-numbing of conversation for such long periods of time. Tomorrow is a hi-numb day, as they all discuss in great detail the stuff they did over the weekend. 20 minutes to describe buying something at walmart. Or what somebody put on facebook. On and on on on, over . . . nothing. I have to wonder if I would be a happier person if this appealed to me? Why do I hate listening to that type of conversation so much? I know it's a "me" issue-- it is sort of related to the OP, and perplexing as I look inwardly.
Most of the people I meet who have anxiety are not that smart.
I'll buy that you may be more prone to anxiety if you're more intelligent, but I will certainly never believe that being a person who has an anxiety disorder predisposes you to a higher IQ.
jeez, people on this site are unbelievable. What do you base your assessment of their intelligence on? School grades? grammar? your self-righteousness? Intelligence is not limited to only those things. Albert Einstein, when he was little, was considered a RETARD by many of his professors, because he would constantly fail classes, and have social problems, ironically, turned out to be the biggest mind in the history of mankind.
The article clearly says that many highly intelligent people suffer from social anxiety and that there is a link between the two. If the author believes that social anxiety leads to higher intelligence or not, it is irrelevant. It has been proven that most of the genius minds in the history of the world, have suffered from some form of social disability/reduction, such as shyness, introversion, social anxiety, Asperger's syndrome, autism, and so on.
The biggest example of this was Albert Einstein, who many experts believe, he might have had Asperger's syndrome.
Could it be that all IQ's suffer anxiety equally, but high IQ's are more likely to report it coherently, and/or to seek help for it, because they can figure out it's a problem, and figure out how to discuss it with the appropriate people?
Could it be that all IQ's suffer anxiety equally, but high IQ's are more likely to report it coherently, and/or to seek help for it, because they can figure out it's a problem, and figure out how to discuss it with the appropriate people?
The article clearly refer to people who suffer from legit social anxiety, not the run of the mill nervousness that every person experiences from time to time
In a similar way that “ignorance is bliss,” it can be said that awareness is torture. Indeed, being sensitive to and aware of everything and everyone can be overwhelming, and the mind, seeking to protect itself from this intense experience, creates this kind of mental “disorder”, by societies standard. But if you look at it from a different perspective, social anxiety is actually a gift. Being aware also means being highly intuitive and able to predict situations and behaviors before they occur, which is certainly an advantage. So, if you suffer from social anxiety, consider thinking of it as a gift and a special talent rather than a mental disorder.
I'm kind of wondering how people who suffer from social anxiety could see that as a gift. If social anxiety is characterized by such things as increased empathy and awareness, no question those attributes can be really wonderful. But if a person struggles with what to do with this elevated sensitivity and awareness, and can only come up with anxiety as a coping mechanism, that sure doesn't feel like a gift to them. Therapy is needed for integrating all this to a manageable level. The integration would be the gift, I think.
The biggest example of this was Albert Einstein, who many experts believe, he might have had Asperger's syndrome.
Many years ago I had an older professor who had apparently attended at least one of Einstein's lectures at some point during his college days. The prof told me that at one lecture Einstein did not like the necktie he was expected to wear and he promptly removed it as the straight-laced audience looked on in astonishment.
I've met several highly productive biologists during my career in government who very obviously had high I.Q.'s. However, almost every one of them had terrible social skills. One, whose name you would likely recognize, was so introverted that he would walk to his office in the morning while facing the wall so as to avoid personal contacts. Molly Beattie, the head of the US Fish and Wildlife Service under Bill Clinton, may have unknowingly touched on the subject when she once said something to the effect that wildlife people very often prefer animals to people.
I'm kind of wondering how people who suffer from social anxiety could see that as a gift. If social anxiety is characterized by such things as increased empathy and awareness, no question those attributes can be really wonderful. But if a person struggles with what to do with this elevated sensitivity and awareness, and can only come up with anxiety as a coping mechanism, that sure doesn't feel like a gift to them. Therapy is needed for integrating all this to a manageable level. The integration would be the gift, I think.
Social anxiety is mostly genetic, although it can be worsened by not biological factors. I read hundreds of stories of people on forums, who despite trying everything, therapy, medication, they still have it.
Many believe these people were born with neurochemistry that makes the amygdala, a part of the brain which deals with fear, very excitable, this would make them experience and react with fear, anxiety and nervousness, easier than other people without this neurochemistry
Even if have therapy and somehow manage to cure all the non biological problems, the physical parts in brain, which predisposed you to anxiety, remain the same, therefore, for the rest of your life, you will be biased to react to new unfamiliar situations with an initial restraint
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