Studies Link Social Anxiety To High IQs, Empathetic Ability, & Sentinel Intellig

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http://www.spiritscienceandmetaphysics.com/study-links-social-anxiety-to-high-iq
s-empathetic-ability-sentinel-intelligence/
By Steven Bancarz| A few years ago, a series of studies came out in an attempt t
o sort of debunk people who practice spirituality. The study found that people wh
o have a spiritual understanding of life tend to be more susceptible to mental h
ealth problems, addictions, and anxiety disorders.
A passive aggressive news report from the Daily Mail titled Spiritual people are
more likely to be mentally ill (but at least they think life has more meaning) to
ok a jab at spiritual people as if to say Theyre crazy, but at least they think li
fe is more important to them.
A report by The Telegraph also covered the same story, claiming that spiritual p
eople struggle to cope with things mentally. Now, could it be possible that the
reason spiritually-minded people have more mental health issues and anxiety pro
blems is not because they are looney, but because they are more connected to wha
t is happening in the world?
What if they are more aware of the things that are wrong with society and are mo
re connected to the suffering in the world? What if an anxious mind is a search
ing and connected mind? A very important study came out a few years ago linking
social anxiety to increased empathetic abilities. People who report suffering f
rom social anxiety have an increased ability to feel and interpret the emotions
and mental states of people around them. As the study concluded:
Results support the hypothesis that high socially anxious individuals may demons
trate a unique social-cognitive abilities profile with elevated cognitive empath
y tendencies and high accuracy in affective mental state attributions.
In other words, people who have social anxiety are able to more tangibly feel th
e emotions of people around them. Many many people who consider themselves to b
e conscious or spiritual also report feeling social anxiety and experience things li
ke depression and other mental disorders. But as it turns out, people who suffer
from anxiety may actually be more intelligent.
Studies link anxiety to intelligence
One research study out of Lakehead University discovered that people with anxiet
y scored higher on verbal intelligence tests. People who reported having Genera
l Anxiety Disorder and depression actually scored higher on verbal-linguistic te
sting. Another study conducted by the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya in Isra
el found that people with anxiety were better than others at maintaining directe
d focus while overcoming a primary threat as they are being bombarded by numerou
s other smaller threats, thereby significantly increasing their chances of survi
val.
Whats interesting is that the same research team also discovered that people with
anxiety showed signs of sentinel intelligence, meaning they were able to detect r
eal threats that were not yet detectable to others (i.e. test participants with
anxiety were able to detect the smell of smoke long before others in the group).
Is it possible that anxiety is actually an evolutionary advantage? Could anxi
ety act as a biological superpower that helps us solve problems, avoid threats,
and detect danger?
Another research study from the SUNY Downstate Medical Center in New York reveal
ed that people with severe cases of GAD (general anxiety disorder) had much high

er IQs than those who had more mild cases. The theory is that an anxious mind is a
searching mind, meaning that people with anxiety are constantly analyzing, asses
sing, formulation ideas, reflecting, and processing information.

As Dr. Jeremy Coplan said about his study, While excessive worry is generally see
n as a negative trait and high intelligence as a positive one, worry may cause o
ur species to avoid dangerous situations, regardless of how remote a possibility
they may be. So once again, we have evidence that people with mental health diso
rders are actually more intelligence on average.
And as mentioned previously, a recent study found that people with social anxie
ty exhibit elevated mentalizing and empathetic abilities. Essentially, they hav
e a much higher psycho-social awareness.

What this means

Yes, people who are spiritually minded tend to suffer from anxiety and depressio
n more. But this is because their eyes are open to a world that is in need of r
epair. They literally have an increased ability to feel the emotions of people
around them.
Not to
nxiety
tests,
other

mention, the same people that are assumed to be crazy for having social a
and other mental disorders test higher on certain intelligence tests, IQ
and have an evolutionary advantage in being able to detect threats before
people.

Correct me if Im wrong, but arent people who can accurately feel, interpret, and m
entalize the thoughts and emotions of others and detect threats before other peo
ple called intuitives and psychics? Could it be possible that having social anxiety
and general anxiety disorder is NOT actually a disorder but is a product of hav
ing a stronger intuition, more accurate interpretations on peoples states, a sens
itive energy field, and an increased ability to detect danger?
These scientific studies shine a whole new light on spirituality and social anxi
ety. Dont be afraid to feel what you feel, and dont let anyone call you crazy bec
ause of it. Perhaps what we are calling a disorder is actually a gift.
About the author: My name is Steven Bancarz, and I am the creator of Spirit Scie
nce and Metaphysics. I am working on a new social platform that is being built ca
lled The Conscious Forum to provide the best place online for open-minded people t
o discuss, engage, and connect with one another in a way never offered before.
To learn more, click the photo below:

Sources: Listed within the article

Big thanks to Feel Guide for bringing these studies to light!