17 Problems People With High IQs Face on a Daily Basis

Have you ever wanted to be the most competent person in the room? As strange as it may seem, people with a high IQ don’t have it as easy as you may think.

There are many problems that come when you’re more intelligent than the rest. Standing out from the crowd is generally hard, but these people don’t have a choice.

1. High Expectations

When you know you have a high IQ, it’s only natural to have higher expectations for yourself than the average Joe. However, this can lead to people using unhealthy ways to achieve those expectations.

Setting the bar too high, which makes it impossible to achieve, means you will fail even before you try.

2. Anxiety

According to the Anxiety Centre, research suggests that people with a higher IQ are more likely to experience symptoms of anxiety, depression, and bipolar disorder.

They tend to fall into the over-thinking trap, where swirling thoughts about what they could have done better cloud their minds, which can lead to mental health issues.

3. Personal Bias

In a study published by Sage Journals, experts found that high-IQ individuals are just as susceptible to biases as anyone else.

You’d think that people with higher intelligence would have less personal bias when making decisions and judging people, but that isn’t true. They’re also human beings like the rest of us.

4. Long Term Success

Being brighter than others isn’t enough to guarantee lifelong success. World leaders and big-shot CEOs might not have the highest IQ, yet they got where they are through dedication, perseverance, and hard work.

When you have a high IQ, you become used to things that seem difficult to others and are easy for you, which can lead to less hard work and hinder long-term success.

5. Emotional Intelligence

While having a high IQ doesn’t automatically mean you’ll have a low EQ, more intelligent people tend to lack in the department. It’s hard to put yourself in their shoes when you’re so different from others around you.

According to Very Well Mind, low emotional intelligence refers to the inability to perceive emotions accurately and to use them as a guide.

6. Know It Alls

According to the BBC, people with higher IQs sometimes push others too far. They tend to develop overachieving personalities and come off as someone who’s always nitpicking at every mistake the other person makes.

Since the answer is right in front of the smart person, they may find it hard to resist the temptation of calling other people out.

7. Fewer Friends

Experts at Life Hacks discuss how more brilliant people tend to have fewer friends. This is because they tend to be more selective in who their friends are, which automatically gives them fewer options for people they can choose from.

You have to meet their standards of friendship to be close to them.

8. People Don’t Always Get Their Jokes

INC discusses a research study that found that those with higher IQs may have a sense of humor that others may not understand. Their sense of humor may tend to the dry, dark, or morbid.

When you laugh at a horrifying joke, people might give you the side eye at work, but maybe you’re smarter. This also means you’re not always able to get their jokes and might have to fake a laugh occasionally.

9. Difficulty Accepting Feedback

Those people who know they have a higher IQ may not be able to accept someone’s feedback that well. This could be because they think they’re more intelligent than the advice-giver.

According to the BBC, these people tend to undervalue the opinions of others if they feel they don’t meet their standard of intelligence.

10. Knowing More Isn’t Always Fun

Just because you seem to know more than the rest of the world doesn’t make your life easier. In fact, it might make it more difficult.

Not being able to ignore what’s happening around you simply means you have to stay in tune with everything, which can be exhausting and suck the life out of you. Knowing something terrible will likely happen while others are blissfully unaware can be a burden.

11. Constant Comparison

For some people, having a higher IQ may mean they compare themselves to everyone else, trying to determine who is more intelligent. This endless cycle is infuriating and toxic for the people involved.

Some people are compelled to prove their intelligence, which translates into unwarranted comparisons.

12. Messier Lives

According to Psychological Science, brilliant people tend to be messy people. Since their thoughts are firing rapidly, they find it challenging to stay organized, leading to a more messy environment.

However, it’s important to note that this doesn’t give smart people a reason not to clean up after themselves.

13. Laziness

The higher your IQ, the higher your chances of being lazy — or of being perceived as lazy.

The Independent reports findings from a U.S.-based study suggesting that such people look lazy to an outsider because they’re deep in their thoughts and don’t seem to have the time to do anything else, which looks like the inability to want to work.

14. Overconfidence

According to the BBC, when people have experienced praise and academic success their whole lives, they think they’re indestructible and always the more brilliant person in the room.

This overconfidence can lead to their downfall. If you believe you’re the best in the room, you close doors to other people and refuse to listen to their opinions.

15. They Overintellectualize Things

Experts at Psychology Today state that overintellectualization is a defense mechanism in which people reason incessantly about a problem to avoid uncomfortable emotions.

People with higher IQs tend to avoid feeling things by using their logic and reasoning to avoid feeling negative emotions.

16. They Forget the Fundamentals

Since more brilliant people have had an easier time grasping concepts that might be difficult for others, they also tend to overlook the basics and jump ahead. They don’t think learning the basics is important because it’s too easy for them.

This can cause trouble because a weak foundation tends to crack.

17. Stereotyping

According to The Atlantic, a downside to having a high IQ is that you fall prey to stereotypes more easily. When you read too much into a situation, you tend to make appropriate conclusions based on what you know.

This can form solid boxes in your head that you try to fit people into and can cause you to hurt and offend others while losing out on socializing with them.