Why do intelligent people go insane

Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today. Recommended Head of NHS attacked over 'unacceptable' mental health care for childr. More about Mental Health. They discovered that mood disorders and anxiety disorders were extremely common among Mensa members. Among the general population, about 10 percent of people have mood disorders and about 10 percent of people have some anxiety disorder, with some degree of overlap between the two.

Among Mensa members, those percentages were much higher. About 20 percent reported having been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder and nearly 27 percent had been diagnosed with a mood disorder such as major depression or bipolar disorder. Karpinski and her team suspect the reason for this high rate of mental illness among Mensa members has to do with psychological overexcitability.

Psychological overexcitability includes a greater tendency to ruminate and worry, both of which are common features of mood and anxiety disorders. For example, a very intelligent person may obsessively overanalyze a critical comment from her boss, trying to anticipate the possible consequences it might foretell. Many of history's most celebrated creative geniuses were mentally ill, from renowned artists Vincent van Gogh and Frida Kahlo to literary giants Virginia Woolf and Edgar Allan Poe.

Today, the fabled connection between genius and madness is no longer merely anecdotal. Mounting research shows these two extremes of the human mind really are linked — and scientists are beginning to understand why. A panel of experts discussed recent and ongoing research on the subject at an event held Thursday May 31 in New York as part of the 5th annual World Science Festival. All three panelists suffer from mental illnesses themselves. And I would wager that many people with high intelligence and mental illness suffer in obscurity and might be less likely to be identified in said study.

That being said, it seems to me that, for whatever a personal opinion is worth, this finding intuitively makes sense. Mental illness is frequently precipitated or exacerbated by stress and anxiety. Those who are significantly more intelligent than the norm can often find themselves a misfit; frustrated, thwarted, misunderstood, and poorly treated. Especially so when the person is not articulate and confident enough to fully and convincingly express themselves. Consequently, a person in such a position is more likely to experience long-term, unremitting stress and anxiety, perhaps leading to significant adjustment problems and mental health issues.

No research can be perfectly sampled, performed or conclusive. That is what research replication is for, and as close as we can get to proving a hypothesis. Tbdr the actual research so Im going to ask this here.. Because if that is so then I consider it a not successful prove for their theory. People that want to pay a fee and go to a place where they will be examined by a test in order to become members of a vague society which about self admiration are obviously prone to be the wares of some sort of chronic anxiety or similar syndromes.

In other words they chose the wrong testgroup for their cause or the wrong condition to prove their theory. Your email address will not be published.

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. By Taylor Bennett on Oct 12, with 25 Comments. Sources Karpinskik, R. Explore the latest mental wellness tips and discussions, delivered straight to your inbox. Email Address. Randy Andrews on October 14, at am. Davis Brown on August 23, at am. Sh on May 27, at pm. Are you sure? Norma Atkinson on November 22, at pm. Mike F on June 24, at pm. Rusty Shackleford on October 14, at am.

This is why many Mensa members do not include this achievement on their resumes Reply. John on October 13, at pm.