I’ve noticed, the more I think and analyze a situation, the higher my levels of anxiety become. I have often told myself and others this: “I wish I was dumb”. To me, being less intelligent would mean having peace of mind, you know…”Ignorance is bliss” sort of thing. But then I think it over and then come up with even more questions like this one: “How do you categorize intelligence?”
So, to understand the correlation between high levels of anxiety and intelligence, intuition or even empathy, I must first look at each one separately. The objective is to gauge how these characteristics influence emotions and the ability to cope. Maybe there’s something there that can help bring out the best in us.
Intuition is something that I have been gifted with from an early age. You might say it came from trauma, which gave me the ability to reason and assess probability more effectively. It’s true that intuition is only making an educated guess based on past experiences, right? It could be more than that. Maybe there’s a slight bit of extra sensory perception involved, and a great deal of anxiety… possibly.
Did you know that people who are diagnosed with anxiety can predict situations 50% more frequently than those who do not have anxiety? It’s true, and so this gives a little insight on how these two relate. I remember speaking before about how being anxious wasn’t all bad and was actually a heightened “fight or flight” instinct.
Well, it’s not all bad, that’s true, but anxiety and intuition can also cause a state of alarm when nothing is even happening as well. So, basically, you take the good with the bad. But yes, there is a clear connection between high levels of anxiety and intuition.
A study at the Lakehead University in Canada proved that out of 100 students surveyed, those who exhibited higher levels of anxiety indeed had a higher I.Q. In a separate study, two psychiatrists, Tscahi Ein-Dor and Orgad Tal both reported that these students with higher I.Qs were also more alert to dangers in their surroundings. They had heightened senses of smell and hearing.
Now the downside of this, and we know there is a downside, is that intelligent people with high levels of anxiety can sometimes let this anxiety cripple them. Instead of taking action on all these analyzed scenarios in their head, they will sometimes become paralyzed and unable to act at all. No amount of intelligence can override some of the fears concocted by the anxious mind.
High levels of anxiety are common in empathy as well. The reason this rings true is that empathy means being able to feel what other people feel in such a heightened way that you find yourself wanting to “save the world”. Of course, you know you cannot save the entire world and that, in turn, makes you depressed. Being empathic carries a boat-load of responsibilities, at least that’s what you think. It’s important that you try to understand and walk in someone else’s shoes, right?
The connection between anxiety and empathy is strong because of the desire to always want to make things better. Sometimes, personally, I even try to understand how the turtle feels when it crosses the road, and even when I’m in a hurry, I will stop and help him across. If there are three turtles crossing the road in different locations, on a particular day, I will be late. Then I will worry about whether or not they wish to cross back again. sigh…
Sometimes, I just have to distract myself from such thoughts. lol
Okay, like I said before, there are good and bad sides to high levels of anxiety and the effects on your intuition, intelligence, and empathy. The bad side is losing control of your thoughts. Now, you might ask, why is it so terrible to be a little worried about things? Well, in case you didn’t know, anxiety is completely different from worry. Having high levels of anxiety contribute to many other physical and mental illnesses such as:
I was told that I worried too much when my car battery died a few days ago, and I started to make plans to buy a new one. I was also told that it was just because I left the door open and that after a while the battery would build back up and everything would be fine. So, I listened to this suggestion and felt like my anxiety was getting the best of me again.
The next day I was stranded, because why? My battery was bad! This time, I was right to use my logic to buy a new battery, but because of my anxiety track record, I listened to someone else. As you can see, having high levels of anxiety can be tricky. You have to know when to stick to your guns and when to admit that… “you worry too much.” This can be a difficult thing to do.
And no, it’s not rocket science to realize you need to purchase a battery for a car, but sometimes you will choose to ignore your intuition because of how your anxiety has caused problems in the past. There lies the biggest problem of all.
Here lies the cure…
There’s a word that wasn’t mentioned in this title, and I think it’s worthy of mentioning. The word discernment is your answer. Practicing healthy discernment is the key to conquering your doubts with high levels of anxiety in connection with intuition, intelligence, and empathy. As you grow older, you will understand when the time is right to fight or take flight…or simply do nothing at all.
Yes, it will take time, you will eventually gain a healthy insight on these things. From one anxious person to another, and to all those who love us…
Thank you for listening and learning.
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A very good article. I grew up with tremendous trauma. It was very bad.
Chad,
Thank you, and my heart goes out to you. Your pain is a testimony to others who feel helpless and hopeless, so share your story when you feel up to it, so you can be a light to someone's darkness. Seek out those strengths that you gained from this horror. They are there, and it may take the time to heal.
Holds true to the extent I HV been through ....
It is..
it's beginning to take toll..
Stay strong, Samina, stay strong. It might not be easy, to overcome past hurts, or to deal with anxiety, but your gifts, if you haven't already seen them, will manifest in time. Listen to your intuition and give yourself credit for your intelligence. Most of all, never hold back your feelings because someone needs you.
Innate alarm system
Tina,
Yes, that intuition thing, it's almost as if a red flag waves, an alarm system goes off, and people start screaming! It can be so strong sometimes and people wonder why you get so passionate about a decision or situation. I have made people really angry before because of my discernment about situations. It's something that takes a while to get used to.
Untrue. I've come to understand anxiety as just a term to excuse one lacking emotional self control. It's simply just overthinking. Stop overthinking and control your emotions.
Where did you get your doctorate?
Life experience, you should try it old man. If I can make it through 18 straight months in central Baghdad right after the initial push, seen and experience all the fucked up nightmarish shit that I had then, and come out of it without any excuse like PTSD or anxiety problems all because I can control my thoughts and emotions, then I'm sure I'm on to something. I've had to hold the hands of a just murdered friend to his chest in a medevac humvee so he wouldn't be flailing around on the ride home; I've witnessed the devastation of a car bomb strong enough to put a 3 ft hole in the road, killing 52, wounding 48 out of 100 estimated persons; squashed an eyeball under my foot, kicked a piece of skull plate with hair still attached to it, seen a head with spine still attached to it hanging from a fence, a dick and balls blown off of a person plastered to a brick wall, walked around in a literal blood bath due to that car bomb that required 5 firetrucks to hose off an overpass full of blood and body parts... Yeah, anxiety is an excuse. PTSD is just weak mindedness in individuals. I've lost friends right in front of my eyes. Don't tell me I don't know what I'm talking about, civilian. You've probably aged in safety. No college will teach you what actual experience will.
Mr. Leoncion,
First off, I want to thank you for your service. I appreciate you reading my article as well.
Okay, of course, I disagree with you on what you speak concerning anxiety, but that's the beauty of it, we all have our own way of thinking. Where you are dealing with your trauma, in a strong way (which, I might add, could be seen as calloused and even numb), others deal with trauma by attempting to reconcile what they've been through. The anxiety and PTSD that you speak of is not just overthinking, it is behavior that cannot always be controlled. Some people are not able to shut down their emotions to deal with an issue because they are empaths who feel too deep to ignore the stimulus of the surroundings emotions. Some people may step on an eyeball crying, while others may squash it while angry and still there is one who can walk through mounds of carnage with a steel heart intact, machine, cutting on and off at will.
Shutting down, being tough, steel, concrete, machine.....may not be so healthy in the long run. Calm facades can be deceiving.
Some of these people who you call civilians with a cushy lifestyle may have been through mental battlegrounds with crushed skulls and bleeding torsos littered throughout their mind. Abuse, neglect, civilian trauma, death - how can you categorize your trauma with the next man's burden?
Honestly, whenever I encountered death, a choking child, going on a body search with my father who was a police officer and finding a foot in a shoe...a man having a rear view mirror shoved through this skull etc.....I numbed up too. But it always comes back to you, sooner or later, sir. Maybe you have a hold on it now, but please, be prepared for your future, which could be a little more...anxious.
And....then there are just those who have different brain functioning levels. To be absolutley fair, you are different from those who suffer from anxiety, but not necessarily stronger, just different. If you wish to understand, study more about those with anxiety and PTSD, and you will see they are quite the opposite of weak-minded individuals.