Reader Question: Is Bipolar Disorder Correlated with High Intelligence?

I often do impromptu question and answer sessions on my Julie A. Fast Facebook account.  Here is one from the last session:

Julie, Is Bipolar Disorder Correlated with High Intelligence?

My answer:

I have done my own research into this topic for 20 years now. I believe that bipolar disorder is attached to a certain type of intelligence. After interacting with many thousands of people with bipolar disorder since my diagnosis in 1995, living with a partner for ten years who has bipolar one and talking with thousands of parents and partners in my coaching business I have determined the following: 

1. People with bipolar disorder are NOT more creative than the general population. We are simply more creative when we are manic. As a baseline, I find that our creativity meets social norms.

2. I DO find that people with bipolar disorder are abnormally focused on learning. In my experience, our college attendance rate is at least double the national average of around 38% for ages 18-24 years old. In other words, people who go to college right out of high school. To be honest, I can’t recall ever talking to a person with bipolar disorder who had not at least tried some college. I would put our college attendance rate at 60% or higher. (Our college completion rates are abysmal due to the illness itself! This is why school success is such a big part of my coaching work.)

This is what we used to call book learning intelligence. Thus, I believe that people with bipolar disorder are more intellectual than the general population. Not smarter – we make a lot of mistakes that others don’t make, but when it comes to learning, we are in the top in my opinion.

3. We also tend to travel FAR more than others- this includes when we are depressed, though mania does skew this.

4. We tend to be very, very work oriented. I believe this is why our work problems affect us so strongly. I have never met a ‘lazy’ person with bipolar disorder. Have you? This is not only about mania. We like to work. There are many people in the world who simply work because they have to. I find that people with bipolar disorder express a big desire to work in a profession because they want to.

Please note that I am referring to plain bipolar disorder here. Not bipolar that is attached to other diagnoses.

These are my general observations and I would love to hear what others think!

Julie

Related posts:
BIPOLAR DISORDER AND COLLEGE ATTENDANCE: I WOULD APPRECIATE YOUR ADVICE!
Reader Question: Work and Bipolar Mania
Reader Question: What is the difference between schizophrenia and bipolar disorder?