LittleBlackCat wrote:
A psychologist told me once that in general highly intelligent people are less prone to mental ill health as they are better equipped to deal with life's problems and the stereotype of the tortured genius is a myth.
I'd say that's largely an ill-informed observation. The majority of people I know/have known who are highly intelligent (both academically perfectionistic, and/or highly creative and ingenious) suffer from depression and anxiety. Seeing as depression and anxiety are classed as mental health conditions (I suppose only in their severe form) then what the psychologist said would be untrue. I think that highly intelligent people are more likely to be analytical and self-reflective, which are probably pre-cursors to both depression and anxiety.
I tend to think that highly intelligent people are less prone to developing conditions where their rationality appears to dissolve (I'm talking severe psychosis here). Although of course there are always anomalies and exceptions.
06 Jan 2015, 3:53 pm
