People Who Basically Black Out When They’re In A Big Group Usually Have These 2 Rare Traits
epic_images | Shutterstock Social anxiety can make you feel like you basically black out when you are forced to be in a big group of people. And while that doesn't particularly sound good, people who struggle with it usually share two impressive and rare traits.
Of all the psychological disorders, anxiety is the most common in the United States. About 18% of the population, or 40 million adults, suffer from the disorder. Social anxiety specifically affects 15 million people, or nearly 7% of the population.
When you look into why so many people suffer anxiety, it's no surprise. American society, in particular, is chock full of prejudice and bias. It can be hard to feel accepted. Thus, large swaths of the population feel anxious.
People who basically black out in a big group of people usually have these 2 rare traits:
1. They have high IQs
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A study out of Lakehead University made some pretty interesting observations of the unexpected benefits of social anxiety. According to researchers, those with anxiety disorder scored higher on verbal intelligence tests than those who did not report anxiety.
People with verbal intelligence, according to Psych Central, use language-based reasoning, such as speaking, reading, or writing, when learning or trying to solve a problem. It's basically a fancy way of saying they are book smart. That might have you scratching your head because you'd think people with high verbal intelligence would be extroverts who spend a lot of time talking to a whole lot of different people.
As it turns out, researchers theorized that people with social anxiety generally have more stress when it comes to how they are perceived by others, making them more likely to be high achievers. They also tend to overthink, leading to a need for more information.
Additionally, a study at SUNY Downstate Medical Center in New York found that people with severe anxiety had higher IQs than those who did not suffer anxiety. The researchers concluded that intelligence and worry seem to have evolved together as a means to ensure humans would survive.
"While excessive worry is generally seen as a negative trait and high intelligence as a positive one, worry may cause our species to avoid dangerous situations, regardless of how remote a possibility they may be," said lead researcher Dr. Coplan.
"In essence, worry may make people 'take no chances,' and such people may have higher survival rates. Thus, like intelligence, worry may confer a benefit upon the species."
2. They are more empathetic
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You might immediately think that someone who has social anxiety would care less about other people and how they're feeling, but that actually couldn't be further from the truth.
As Psych Central noted, people with high anxiety are generally more observant, and that makes them more aware of other people's actions and behavior. Those are traits necessary for people with high emotional intelligence.
Researchers at the University of Haifa's Department of Psychology in Haifa, Israel, looked at the empathic tendencies of people with social anxiety and found "elevated mentalizing and empathic abilities." Those suffering from severe anxiety also had higher social awareness and were more sensitive and attentive to the states of mind of others.
Their social anxiety may have stemmed from the fact that they so thoroughly feel the feelings of others. And for people who are more sensitive to the feelings of others, anxiety goes hand in hand with anxiety.
They say ignorance is bliss, so in a way, awareness can be its own kind of torture. Being sensitive to everyone around you is kind of a nightmare and often manifests as anxiety. People with anxiety may not see it this way, but it could be something of a gift.
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