Madness For The Intelligent, Bliss For The Ignorant

Clinical studies, infamous heartbreaking cases, Bukowski (that sad bastard of a drunk), and plenty of other impressive people and studies have linked depression to intelligence.

It’s a puzzling correlation, not one that really makes a whole lot of sense at first gander. Even more so when considering the habits and traits linked to depression that actually make sense—eating junk food like a troll under a bridge, cocaine with any semblance of regularity, abusive parents and partners, exercising with the same fury as a sloth and the consistency of a bear in hibernation, a simple chemical imbalance in the brain, all kinds of other shit.

But intelligence?

The Mensa Group is an invite-only set of individuals who’s intelligence is deemed to be in the uppermost percentile of the land. Not that I can attest, can’t say I’ve never met any of them. Or if I did, they didn’t mention this exclusive club. I bet they have the coolest club treehouse in the whole neighborhood, Jimmy Neutron-esque.

26.7% of them have been formally diagnosed w/ a mood and/or anxiety disorder. Over a quarter? I suppose that’s about what I expected. What shocked me was how low on average the national average was at 10%.

From Scientific American article, “Bad News for the Highly Intelligent”:

The biggest differences between the Mensa group and the general population were seen for mood disorders and anxiety disorders. More than a quarter (26.7 percent) of the Mensa group reported that they had been formally diagnosed with a mood disorder, while 20 percent reported an anxiety disorder—far higher than the national averages of around 10 percent for each. 

The group is also said to possess a “heightened tendency to ruminate and worry” in a much higher frequency than the general public.

I think that just says not everyone has been going to a therapist or going out of their way to get diagnosed, especially when considering mood/anxiety/depression disorders on a scale as many mental health diagnoses are determined today.

Further explanation of a key portion of the study’s summary page:

To explain their findings, Karpinski and her colleagues propose the hyper brain/hyper body theory. This theory holds that, for all of its advantages, being highly intelligent is associated with psychological and physiological “overexcitabilities,” or OEs. A concept introduced by the Polish psychiatrist and psychologist Kazimierz Dabrowski in the 1960s, an OE is an unusually intense reaction to an environmental threat or insult. This can include anything from a startling sound to confrontation with another person.

Psychological OEs include a heightened tendency to ruminate and worry, whereas physiological OEs arise from the body’s response to stress. According to the hyper brain/hyper body theory, these two types of OEs are more common in highly intelligent people and interact with each other in a “vicious cycle” to cause both psychological and physiological dysfunction. For example, a highly intelligent person may overanalyze a disapproving comment made by a boss, imagining negative outcomes that simply wouldn’t occur to someone less intelligent. That may trigger the body’s stress response, which may make the person even more anxious.

INFAMOUS CASES

All brilliant in their respective fields and beyond, we’ve witnessed some of the most accomplished and talented people struggle with depression. We’ve seen several, and heartbreakingly so, succumb to the taxing dogfight of chronic depression:

Robin Williams, Anthony Bourdain, Cleopatra, Van Gough, Marilyn Monroe, Hunter S Thompson, Kurt Cobain, and many more.

Cleopatra?!?!

That total badass of a babe was in her feels??

Today, mental health has grown into a vital public discussion. An unbelievable amount of people have brought their own struggles to light, and have helped so many others in the process. Off the top of my head, I think of Dax Shepherd’s Armchair Expert podcast, Kid Cudi, plus Brandon Brooks and Lane Johnson, and The Red Table Talk. I’ve seen it personally with friends I wouldn’t have expected, seek out the topic and discuss without more than a drop of embarrassment. Phenomenal progress in recent years.

Admittedly, it made it very easy on this writer to get some help when the time came to do so.

But this article isn’t about those suffering…

It’s about those who are not.

Those unintelligent, whimsical, daisy-fondling, grinning nitwits living life without worry.

You morons, you.

Don’t you know that life is suffering and then you die?

It’s beautiful.

Being mentally stable and healthy?

Repulsive.

Borderline arrogant one might say.

To be happy and boring?

Yeah, no thanks.

I’ll re-up on tormented and interesting, INTERESTING.

In fact, I pity the fool.

We’re here with one life, and they live theirs in a childish, bouncy house of a bubble—rising and falling between the four cushioned walls of fun. While the adults talk on the lawn about the important things in this world, out of earshot of the brainless giggles of the bouncy house.

They're drowned out by sunshine and puppies, televised pawn shops, cold beer, true crime and gossip podcasts. That, and the cheeto dust stuck under their Instagram-scrolling fingernails and the wax in lodged in their dumb, stupid ears.

A SIMPLE & FOCUSED LIFE? … Gross.

Some of these simpletons even live healthy and successful lives.

But despite their smiles, it’s clear they’re focused on all the wrong things.

Silly things, like only what’s in front of them and what they can actually control.

Things like eating healthy and exercising, on being a good family member and friend to those they love and love them back, or being good at their job and providing for themselves and others, being a courteous and efficient co-worker, on helping those they’re able to help succeed professionally, personally, and in any other way they can, on their own self-improvement and education, on making their community a better place.

DULLARDS!

It’s like they’re living life like they could get hit by a bus tomorrow and not like they have the rest of eternity to solve all the world’s problems.

Ridiculous.

Oh, to float amongst the clouds of idiocracy that drift towards health and happiness.

To not have read every article on every single issue on the face of this earth that we’re both spitroasting in the holy name of excess…simpletons.

Shame.

To have a busy life and focus on what’s in front of you?

Patoowie, you smell like pooey.

My rage for these grinning fools is only contained by my dignified focus on saving the world and my crippling anxiety that I may not bring my massive hopes and dreams to fruition.

It’s something they could never understand, but that’s okay. I do.

Other Intelligence - Depression based studies:

Navrady, L. B., Ritchie, S. J., Chan, S., Kerr, D. M., Adams, M. J., Hawkins, E. H., Porteous, D., Deary, I. J., Gale, C. R., Batty, G. D., & McIntosh, A. M. (2017). Intelligence and neuroticism in relation to depression and psychological distress: Evidence from two large population cohorts. European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists, 43, 58–65. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eurpsy.2016.12.012  LINK

Neuroticism was strongly associated with increased risk for depression and higher psychological distress in both samples. Although intelligence conferred no consistent independent effects on depression, it did increase the risk for depression across samples once neuroticism was adjusted for. Results suggest that higher intelligence may ameliorate the association between neuroticism and self-reported depression although no significant interaction was found for clinical MDD. Intelligence was inversely associated with psychological distress across cohorts. A small interaction was found across samples such that lower psychological distress associates with higher intelligence and lower neuroticism, although effect sizes were small.

Vantage Point Behavioral Health & Trauma Healing Blog Post (not a study)

https://vantagepointrecovery.com/intelligence-and-depression/

The statistics show that students with a natural aptitude in the humanities – subjects like linguistics and music, visual arts and performance – and to a lesser degree, arithmetic and sciences, have a stronger-than-average likelihood of developing manic depressive symptoms (bipolar disorder) later on in life. Creative intelligence, social withdrawal, emotional intelligence and the ability to “connect-the-dots” all seem to be indicators of a higher risk of depression – as well as manic depressive issues and schizophrenia.