Smart people seem to have every advantage in life.
They tend to get better jobs, make more money, and generally rake in more success than those who are less mentally gifted.
However, psychologists suspect people who are highly intelligent face unique challenges in everyday life compared with the average person.
For example, overthinking is common among high IQ individuals, meaning they might struggle to sleep at night or dwell on benign interactions with others long after they are over.
Below, four psychologists and psychotherapists have revealed to DailyMail.com the unique challenges for highly intelligent people.
Small talk
Highly intelligent people may find small talk especially boring and mentally draining
Small talk is inevitable, especially while stuck in an elevator or catching up with your colleagues on a Monday morning.
While most of us don’t think anything of questions like ‘How’s the weather’ and ‘Did you catch the game last night,’ those with high intelligence may especially dread it.
Martina Cola, a psycholinguistics researcher at Think in Italian, told DailyMail.com that highly intelligent people ‘often seek complexity in conversations, making routine or shallow exchanges mentally draining.
‘For example, when faced with small talk, which often lacks depth, they may feel disengaged and fatigued because the conversation doesn’t stimulate them intellectually.
‘As a result, maintaining polite exchanges becomes tiring as it lacks the cognitive reward they seek.’
Keeping up with trends
Experts told DailyMail.com that people with high IQs could struggle to keep up with the latest trends due to them being ‘superficial’
Staying up to date on the latest TV shows and fashion staples comes naturally for many people.
But trivial things like pairing a particular sweater with a certain skirt might not be a priority for those with high IQs.
Dr Jennifer Hartstein, a psychotherapist at Hartstein Psychological in New York City, told DailyMail.com: ‘Highly intelligent people don’t often have the mental energy for the small or superficial.
‘Something like keeping up with fashion trends may cause a sense of fatigue because it lacks any sort of mental challenge.
‘People who are highly intelligent may feel bored when they are not stimulated, which triggers some exhaustion.’
Maintaining friendships and dating
Experts suggested that highly intelligent people may need more personal space, which can lead to difficulties maintaining friendships and romantic relationships
Exceptionally smart people may also have a hard time maintaining friendships or romantic relationships.
Jonathan Alpert, a psychotherapist and performance coach in New York City, told DailyMail.com: ‘I’ve seen highly intelligent people struggle with relationships as they sometimes intellectualize things and struggle to forge connections with others based on feelings and emotions.
‘There’s a bit of a double edged sword with this. As they struggle to fit in, they might feel anxious and withdraw, making it even tougher to develop friendships.’
This could also spell trouble for their dating life.
Imi Lo, a psychotherapist and consultant in Australia, wrote for Psychology Today that highly intelligent people often need more personal space and solitude, which could create relationship rifts.
She also noted that some people with a high IQ may also have increased sensitivities to physical touch, making it difficult to form trust or be intimate with a partner.
Controlling their emotions
Highly intelligent people could struggle with impatience and anxiety more than the average person, psychologists told DailyMail.com
Highly intelligent people tend to be more analytical and logical than their more average counterparts.
However, Dr Dakari Quimby, a clinical psychologist with HelpGuide Handbook, told DailyMail.com: ‘Being highly intelligent doesn’t necessarily mean one is good at managing emotions.
‘Balancing one’s own emotions and those of others can be challenging, especially for those who are more logical and reason-oriented than emotional.’
Difficulty regulating emotions does go hand in hand with heightened sensitivity seen in some highly intelligent people, as having trouble with loud noises and bright lights could make them impatient and more prone to outbursts.
People with high IQs may also struggle with imposter syndrome due to success in their fields, which could lead to them feeling overwhelmed or anxious.
Sleeping
Research has shown that people with high IQs are more likely to be sleep deprived or suffer from insomnia
Since their minds have a hard time turning off, people with higher IQs may have more trouble drifting off to sleep than others.
For example, a 2022 study in the Journal of Sleep Research looked at 182 individuals who were either sleep-deprived or got a normal amount of rest per night.
They were then asked to complete cognitive exercises testing math skills, memory, and attention to test their fluid intelligence, the ability to solve problems or think logically.
The team found that people with higher fluid intelligence performed worse on these tests after experiencing sleep deprivation. However, those with normal intelligence performed no different on the tests if they had a normal night’s sleep or not.
This suggested that intelligent people were more prone to sleep deprivation.
Dr Hartstein noted that this group may also have trouble sleeping because they ‘do not do a great job of taking care of themselves’.
She said: ‘In fact, they may not really know how to relax, which will impact their quality of sleep and their ability to get a good sleep.
‘They don’t really know how to recharge. It does overlap with overthinking, but can also overlap with one’s inability to get things done or wanting to always do things perfectly, which pushes off the focus on self-care and what the individual needs.’
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