What is Intellectual loneliness?

 

What is Intellectual Loneliness?

High intellect is ordinarily looked at as an advantage in the world, but for some folks, being smarter than people around them, can also be an extremely isolating experience. This can happen to anyone and isn’t necessarily exclusive to intellectually gifted minds. When one is self-reflective, emotionally aware, when one’s lens is different from their peers, their values unique, and passions that stimulate their brain distinguished from others, it can be overwhelmingly challenging to fit in.

To be intellectual can mean different things to different people. But in the sense we are talking about today, it refers to people who experience life more intensely than others. They observe more, ponder more, and go deeper into subjects that their counterparts close on the surface. They hide complexities within their heart and mind. Additionally, they might refrain from putting their ideas forward in the fear of failing to make them sound sane to other people. Intellectuals are also emotionally intelligent and highly empathetic which can make vicarious trauma a common occurrence in their life.

This phenomenon is a bit scary because of the way it presents; making it difficult to recognize. It merges with regular social interactions and seemingly close ties in people's lives. When in reality, despite these interactions, the individual experiences loneliness. Sometimes intellectual loneliness comes across as lack of warmth in the individual when they take a break from their friend groups due to the need for some processing time post interactions ascribed to the excessive need for cognitive complexity.

On occasions, intellectual loners might think they crave social interactions. But the moment they sit with this group of people that they hoped would quench their intellectual and emotional desire, they could be dumbstruck by their mindless chatter that doesn’t even remotely intrigue them.

Especially, when they are actively searching for a sense of companionship and belonging, intellectual and emotional compatibility can get in the way. However, in some ways, it can filter out the people that won’t make good friends with them anyway, can’t inspire them, and are not at the stage in life they are. It can also assist them in recognizing the topics that spark their interest and make them feel alive. This could set them up for success by directing them on the path of meeting the people who are already doing what they want to do and can offer revelations. Adding to the good news: there are people out there who match and compliment their style of thinking and can make good companions, it’s just a matter of looking and looking in the right place.

Conclusively, the first step in elevating oneself from the malaise emanated from feeling alone while being surrounded by friends is labelling it. The label is an assurance that one is not alone in the certain set of experiences or emotions they are exposed to. Reading about intellectual loneliness can also benefit a person by landing them on platforms created by intellectual loners for the rest of the community. Continuing reading about topics that inspire the mind is pivotal in accessing the desired stimulation. At the same time, it can abet lighthearted chatting with friends when the thirst for complexity is already quenched.

 -Maithili

 

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Nothing wrong with tears

 Nothing wrong with tears Many of us don’t know how to respond to a person who is crying. In the absence of the right skills and tools, we can create a gap between ourselves and our loved ones. The reason responding in a helpful manner is difficult is because nobody teaches us or models it for us. In fact, we stray away from talking about tears and how to respond to them. Crying has always been seen as a sign of weakness, especially in men, making it a sensitive topic to touch. The result is that we react instead of responding. We act out of our own discomfort. We say, “Don’t cry”, or “Strong people don’t cry”, or “This isn’t something to cry about”, “I don’t like seeing you cry”, “You don’t look good when you cry” because we would rather cheer them up than deal with tears. And we sometimes do that with the best of intentions. In fact, we think that we are being supportive. (A popular one is, “how will crying solve the problem?”. This is an interesting one and I hope people s...
Read more

Consistent love: a simple answer to all complex questions

 Consistent love The world runs on these two words. As social animals our basic needs include food, water, air, and consistent love. Time and again it has been reiterated that the mind and body cannot be understood if perceived as mutually exclusive. They are bidirectional forces that impact each other constantly. The pounding of the chest when you’re nervous before an interview or exam. The clarity of mind and pleasure that you get after physical exercise. There is evidence that Cognitive Behavioural Therapy can bolster cell function and therefore the body’s ability to fight diseases   (New port Academy, 2019) . Consistent love and experiencing a sense of belonging can improve your physical health. Not just that, consistent love is the simple answer to all complex and traumatic experiences. But why is consistency so important? The answer to this question might lie in the functions of the brain. Our brain likes consistency, stability, and predictability. When we wake u...
Read more