# Mental Illness & Intelligence



## Crazy Cat (May 8, 2010)

Yesterday my husband asked me if mental illness and intelligence have any connection.  He seemed surprised that I suffer from several mental afflictions, yet I'm "not stupid".  He said that he felt I'm above average intelligent.

So he couldn't understand how someone can be intelligent and have mental anxieties; i.e. self-esteem issues, body issues, general depression, self mutilation issues, etc.  I surmised that mental illness is sort of like crossed wires in part of the brain and has nothing to do with how smart a person is.

I'm just curious if there are any studies that agree or oppose this idea or if this is a common misconception.

Adriane            :cat2:


----------



## Murray (May 8, 2010)

That is a very interesting question CrazyCat. I have no idea, but certainly don't think that having a mental illness means that someone is less likely to be intelligent. 

P.S. I love your signature:lol:


----------



## Andy (May 8, 2010)

I think that if anyone thinks that then it is just an assumption on their part. Mental illness can affect anyone, daft-genius it does not discriminate.


----------



## Daniel (May 8, 2010)

Crazy Cat said:
			
		

> So he couldn't understand how someone can be intelligent and have mental  anxieties; i.e. self-esteem issues, body issues, general depression,  self mutilation issues, etc.



My guess is that since he is a guy, he is making the same mistake that Stoics and other philosophers used to make, believing that human reason alone can rule over emotions. This has been called Descartes' error.

Some examples of smart people with depression, anxiety, etc:



> Perhaps such figures help explain the recent finding that *"depression  and other forms of mental distress" were a serious problem in a study of  more than* *3,100 graduate students at the University of California at  Berkeley.* According to the study: "Nearly half of all survey  respondents (45 percent) reported an emotional or stress-related problem  that significantly impacted their academic performance or well-being."  Another 67 percent reported feeling hopeless at times, 95 percent  felt overwhelmed in graduate school, and *54 percent said they had felt  so "depressed that it was difficult to function." *About 10 percent  had seriously considered suicide, and one in 200 had actually attempted  suicide in the last year.
> 
> Chronicle  Careers: 3/24/2005: A Ph.D. and a Failure





> 74% of students surveyed    by the MIT task force said they had an emotional problem that  interfered with    their daily lives.
> 
> USATODAY.com - Suicide at MIT raises parents' ire





> There are many high profile individuals who experience mental illness. I  feel like I'm in good company.
> 
> Maybe you are too?
> 
> ...





> There are many theories that try to explain the correlation between  perfectionism and giftedness. Perfectionism becomes a problem as it  frustrates and inhibits achievements.
> 
> D. E. Hamachek identified six specific, overlapping types of behavior  associated with perfectionism. They include:
> 
> ...





> There is some indication that individuals with OCD may exhibit a slight advantage in general intelligence.
> 
> Cognitive-behavioral therapy for OCD - Google Books





> The one thing John Nash and I have in common is overlapping psychiatric  illnesses. Last week, I had the opportunity at the American Psychiatric  Association’s annual meeting to listen to both John Nash talk about his  recovery and an expert expound on the neural basis of creativity. At the  APA, Nancy Andreasen MD of the University of Iowa pointed out that  Newton was a wild and crazy guy who had a psychotic break at age forty,  that Albert Einstein was an eccentric who had a son with schizophrenia,  and that James Watson was a bit of a loose cannon who also had a son  with schizophrenia.
> 
> http://forum.psychlinks.ca/psycholo...ames-watson-creativity-and-schizophrenia.html


There's even stigma against above-average  intelligence, e.g:



> In order to gain popularity, gifted children will often try to  hide  their abilities to win social approval.
> 
> "In this culture, there appears to be a great pressure for people to be   'normal' with a considerable stigma   associated with giftedness or talent."
> 
> Intellectual giftedness - Wikipedia, the free   encyclopedia


----------



## David Baxter PhD (May 8, 2010)

NAMI: National Alliance on Mental Illness | About Mental Illness



> Mental illnesses are serious medical illnesses. They cannot be overcome through "will power" and are not related to a person's "character" or intelligence. Mental illness falls along a continuum of severity. Even though mental illness is widespread in the population, the main burden of illness is concentrated in a much smaller proportion-about 6 percent, or 1 in 17 Americans-who live with a serious mental illness. The National Institute of Mental Health reports that One in four adults-approximately 57.7 million Americans-experience a mental health disorder in a given year


 
Understanding Mental Illness



> How much do you know about mental illness? Here are some of the common myths -and truths.
> 
> *People with mental illness are violent and dangerous.* The truth is that, as a group, mentally ill people are no more violent than any other group. In fact, they are far more likely to be the victims of violence than to be violent themselves.
> *People with mental illness are poor and/or less intelligent.* Many studies show that most mentally ill people have average or above-average intelligence. Mental illness, like physical illness, can affect anyone regardless of intelligence, social class or income level.
> *Mental illness is caused by a personal weakness.* A mental illness is not a character flaw. It is an illness, and it has nothing to do with being weak or lacking will-power. Although people with mental illness can play a big part in their own recovery, they did not choose to become ill, and they are not lazy because they cannot just "snap out of it."


 
Is there a correlation between High IQ and Mental Illness? Show me the Research!? - Yahoo! Answers



> I am working on my PhD in counseling and have found the ERIC database and Sage database to have vast research journal articles on intelligence and mental illness.
> 
> http://www.eric.ed.gov/
> 
> http://online.sagepub.com/


----------



## Murray (May 8, 2010)

"Many studies show that most mentally ill people have average or above-average intelligence."

This doesn't surprise me at all. It is actually in line with what have always believed.


"Mental illness is caused by a personal weakness."

This is the negative attitude that I come across most often from people. It seems to be a pretty common belief.


----------



## Retired (May 8, 2010)

My view is rather simple: the human body is  managed by a series of electro chemical reactions, and when one or more of those reactions function abnormally, there is illness.  Diabetes, cardiac arrythmia and depression are thought to be abnormalities in specific electro chemical systems that can usually be corrected by modifying these systems with medical interventions.



> So he couldn't understand how someone can be intelligent and have mental anxieties



Following the same rationale, people who have diabetes or cardiovascular disease or thyroid dysfunction would be of lower intelligence, a notion most would consider to be absurd.


----------



## Crazy Cat (May 16, 2010)

Thanks for those answers.  I appreciate the help.  I am a total research-hound but lagged on this one, so thanks for doing the work (or forwarding it).

Very, very interesting.

Adriane


----------



## Emilyn (May 16, 2010)

well think about it, there's been plenty of amazing minds that had mental illnesses.
Beethoven, Emily Dickenson, Van Gogh, Abraham Lincoln etc, 
so maybe there is a connection of mental illness and intellect 
maybe it makes us smarter LOL


----------



## Crazy Cat (May 16, 2010)

I definitely think there is a connection between creativity & mental illness.  Not necessarily "good" creativity, but creativity nonetheless.

I know for me, I get very, very annoyed with people who have no common sense.  Stupid questions that I see as obvious really irk me as well as impulsive actions that were not thought through.  My husband is a great example of this.  He doesn't think past what his immediate action is.  He also cannot see the connection that everything you do effects someone else.

We get into arguements about things that have happened in the past because they were never resolved - he says that past is the past and only look forward.  I say you can't go forward without resolving the past.  I don't know....it could be his "easy" way (in his mind) of getting out of saying he's sorry.  (for the record, MAJOR issues - emotional issues & betrayal & lies that changed the course of my life drastically.  For example...I filed for divorce a few years ago - he begged me not to do it and promised the world.  I took the bait and then three months later he actually told me he lied....of course, this was after he completely cleaned out the bank account & stocks).  

Anyway, I can remember as far back as I can into childhood that lack of common sense on other's parts really annoyed me.  By my parents especially.  Probably because I figured they should know already.

Adriane


----------

