Why Smart People Hurt: A Guide for the Bright, the Sensitive, and the Creative
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- Create Date：2022-09-23 08:53:39
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Eric Maisel
- ISBN：1573246263
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Summary
The challenges smart and creative people encounter--from scientific researchers， genius award winners， to bestselling novelists， Broadway actors， high-powered attorneys， and academics--often include anxiety， over-thinking， mania， sadness， and despair。
Specifically， the challenges that smart people face， including:
- "racing brain syndrome"
- living in an anti-intellectual culture
- finding ideas worth loving
- dealing with boredom and hypersensitivity
- finding meaning in their lives and their work
- struggling to achieve success
In "Why Smart People Hurt，" psychologist Dr。 Eric Maisel draws on his many years of work with the best and the brightest to pinpoint these often devastating challenges and offer solutions based on the groundbreaking principles and practices of natural psychology。
His thoughtful strategies include using logic and creativity to cope with the problems of having a brain that goes into overdrive at the drop of a hat。 With a series of questions at the end of each chapter， he guides the reader to create his or her own roadmap to a calm and meaningful life。
"Why Smart People Hurt" is a must-read for parents of gifted children as well as the millions of smart and creative people that are searching for a more meaningful life。
Specifically， the challenges that smart people face， including:
- "racing brain syndrome"
- living in an anti-intellectual culture
- finding ideas worth loving
- dealing with boredom and hypersensitivity
- finding meaning in their lives and their work
- struggling to achieve success
In "Why Smart People Hurt，" psychologist Dr。 Eric Maisel draws on his many years of work with the best and the brightest to pinpoint these often devastating challenges and offer solutions based on the groundbreaking principles and practices of natural psychology。
His thoughtful strategies include using logic and creativity to cope with the problems of having a brain that goes into overdrive at the drop of a hat。 With a series of questions at the end of each chapter， he guides the reader to create his or her own roadmap to a calm and meaningful life。
"Why Smart People Hurt" is a must-read for parents of gifted children as well as the millions of smart and creative people that are searching for a more meaningful life。
Reviews
Wendy Tomlinson
，
Thoughtful anecdotes and I appreciated the self reflective questions。 Author had a point of view but it didn’t skew the information presented
Linda
，
An interesting take on life satisfaction。 The author doesn’t do the work for you， but gives you things to think about that might be helpful or at least raise awareness。
Anthony
，
I really wanted to like this book。 It was suggested （and gifted！） to me by a dear friend after a long conversation about creativity， mental health， and other such topics。 I dove right in as soon as it arrived。 Imagine taking a seat in a new coffeehouse in town。 The atmosphere is nice， mostly pleasant， etc。 You receive your perfectly acceptable yet unremarkable drink。 After a few sips， a friendly stranger strikes up a conversation。 The dialogue is， like the drink， perfectly fine at the start， tho I really wanted to like this book。 It was suggested （and gifted！） to me by a dear friend after a long conversation about creativity， mental health， and other such topics。 I dove right in as soon as it arrived。 Imagine taking a seat in a new coffeehouse in town。 The atmosphere is nice， mostly pleasant， etc。 You receive your perfectly acceptable yet unremarkable drink。 After a few sips， a friendly stranger strikes up a conversation。 The dialogue is， like the drink， perfectly fine at the start， though perhaps a little on the overly-positive side of things。 As the conversation grows， you get the feeling that you're being sold something， something flawless and most definitely not "these other things。" By the 20-minute mark， this person is clearly trying to recruit you for whatever group they're representing （religious group， fraternity， etc。） or they're clearly trying to sell you something （remember those folks who sold knives？）。 That's how this book feels。 To the book's credit， most （85-90%） of the questions it asks （both within the chapters as well as the end-of-chapter questions） are good， bordering on excellent。 These questions should be asked and answered by everyone， and I applaud the fact that we are given the opportunity to face these questions。 If the author would have simply made a book called "Some questions regarding creativity， sensitivity， and mental health，" grouped the questions accordingly with brief， objective introductions to each group， this book would be getting regular praise。 Unfortunately， as the book progresses， it feels less like a book and more like an infomercial。 Page 111 is where the complete transition happens。 In one （of many） anecdotal testimonies， someone who we are told is not the author says: "It was at this point， looking for resources that might help her find some peace and comfort， that I encountered Natural Psychology: The New Psychology of Meaning。 Before giving it to her， I read it myself。 It was a great encouragement to me and inspired me to keep doing what I had already begun and more。" Here is where the book lost me （though I still slogged through it）。 The book could have been an insightful discussion on the complex connections between and among creativity， sensitivity， and pain （as clearly stated in the subtitle）。 Instead， at this point （page 111）， the author's true intentions are revealed。 The endorsement for another of his books， conveniently appearing in a testimony that we can't check and can't verify， is a little too gross to ignore。 Also difficult to ignore are the facts that none of the （few） external studies the author references are cited， there's no bibliography， and no works referenced。 The long Kafka quote lacks a citation as well as credit to the English translator （pretty sure Ein Hungerkünstler was originally written in German）。 All in all， as another reviewer put it， it pulls the old switcheroo on you。 In my opinion， the way to benefit from this book is to find it in a library， write down the questions， write down the checklist from Chapter 16， and move on with your day。 。。。more
Pia Bröker
，
The content is not really what the cover said。 Not what I was looking for and not for me。The book's premise is that many smart people have a meaning crisis。 And its solution is so-called "natural psychology"。 The author does not do a good job introducing what natural psychology really is and why it is relevant to the target group （and not every human being， for example）。 The content is not really what the cover said。 Not what I was looking for and not for me。The book's premise is that many smart people have a meaning crisis。 And its solution is so-called "natural psychology"。 The author does not do a good job introducing what natural psychology really is and why it is relevant to the target group （and not every human being， for example）。 。。。more
Stefy
，
Incomprehensible and redundant at points
Frank D
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I expected much from this book after a strong introduction that I could relate to many things in my life。 However， other than a very interesting chapter devoted to mysticism， I found the book to be superficial and repetitive。 There are occasional pearls spread throughout but it is primarily a long commercial for natural psychology that is never thoroughly explained。
Kimberly Baker
，
There are several general topics I disagree with， but the overall premise is good and the questions are thought provoking。
Angie
，
It’s not the author’s proposed worldview （natural psychology） that bugs me; rather it’s his insistence that what he says are “so called” mental health diagnoses cannot legitimately exist as well。
Eugenio Jim
，
Resultó ser un tanto motivacional aunque no es el sentido del libro， pues nos explica y nos da herramientas para identificar manipular la forma en que enfrentamos la vida， siempre con la intención de darle sentido a lo que hacemos。Cierto es que las personas inteligentes enfrentan la vida de manera diferente y aquí lo explican por el lado psicológico y social， pero no trata el libro exclusivamente sobre estas personas， no existe una manera única de ser inteligente， hay una infinidad de aristas y Resultó ser un tanto motivacional aunque no es el sentido del libro， pues nos explica y nos da herramientas para identificar manipular la forma en que enfrentamos la vida， siempre con la intención de darle sentido a lo que hacemos。Cierto es que las personas inteligentes enfrentan la vida de manera diferente y aquí lo explican por el lado psicológico y social， pero no trata el libro exclusivamente sobre estas personas， no existe una manera única de ser inteligente， hay una infinidad de aristas y matices en la inteligencia， de seguro te podrás identificar con las situaciones e ideas que aquí se plantean。 Me interesé en leerlo en especial por estas palabras de su titulo: "The bright the sensitive and the creative" pues así me percibo， pero no se habla tanto sobre la sensibilidad y la creatividad como esperaba。 Fue muy diferente a lo que esperaba leer， pero no por eso es un mal libro。 Cualquiera， sea inteligente o no puede leerlo y sacar provecho de este libro， lo recomiendo。 。。。more
Ian Rogers
，
I had a love-hate relationship with this book。 On the positive side， there were enough revealing， thought-provoking moments that I walked away from it feeling like I'd learned plenty of things about myself and the other smart people around me。 These highlights included why smart people feel stifled by repetitive jobs and overspecialization， have racing minds， feel intimidated by starting projects， bury themselves in junk entertainment， and have trouble deciding on life pursuits or hobbies。 Maise I had a love-hate relationship with this book。 On the positive side， there were enough revealing， thought-provoking moments that I walked away from it feeling like I'd learned plenty of things about myself and the other smart people around me。 These highlights included why smart people feel stifled by repetitive jobs and overspecialization， have racing minds， feel intimidated by starting projects， bury themselves in junk entertainment， and have trouble deciding on life pursuits or hobbies。 Maisel outlines all of these with clear， lucid examples that give voice to problems that I couldn't quite describe before。The downside， though， is that the chapters and prose feel slow， laborious， repetitive， and difficult to read， as Maisel often goes on for longer than necessary。 Most all of his solutions boil down to some form of "Natural psychology will help，" and while he offers plenty of solutions for the problems mentioned here， I wish they were spelled out a bit more cleanly， with a simpler path of action and more specifics。 The ending of the book also veers toward attempting to solve all of the problems in the book through natural psychology and then helping readers to start down that path -- far more of a catch-all than most readers are likely looking for。Bottom Line: I highly recommend checking this book out as a starting point， then using it a jumping-off point for further research and self exploration。 。。。more
Catherine
，
Based on my IQ and mental health diagnoses， I should be smack in the middle of the target audience for this。。。 I just couldn't shake this feeling that it was selling/proselytizing in its presentation of natural psychology。 I understand that the author is a natural psychologist， but the atmosphere when reading felt almost like he was a scientologist （which， to the best of my knowledge， he is not）。 I was ready to be told to get off my meds and hand over my wallet。 Based on my IQ and mental health diagnoses， I should be smack in the middle of the target audience for this。。。 I just couldn't shake this feeling that it was selling/proselytizing in its presentation of natural psychology。 I understand that the author is a natural psychologist， but the atmosphere when reading felt almost like he was a scientologist （which， to the best of my knowledge， he is not）。 I was ready to be told to get off my meds and hand over my wallet。 。。。more
Courtney
，
This book is tough to rate because I didn't feel strongly about it in any way。 It wasn't amazing， earth-shattering， or profound， nor was it awful or too dull。 It was just。。。 fine。 Some parts were actually very thought-provoking and I really enjoyed thinking about them。 I've also taken plenty away from this book such as the "thinking gap" or "available personality" but it was also very repetitive and the main thought （this idea of natural psychology） was never really explained properly。Also， I am This book is tough to rate because I didn't feel strongly about it in any way。 It wasn't amazing， earth-shattering， or profound， nor was it awful or too dull。 It was just。。。 fine。 Some parts were actually very thought-provoking and I really enjoyed thinking about them。 I've also taken plenty away from this book such as the "thinking gap" or "available personality" but it was also very repetitive and the main thought （this idea of natural psychology） was never really explained properly。Also， I am a practicing non-denominational Christian and I thought it was interesting to adapt the thoughts throughout this book to what I know about life and meaningfulness from my faith's teachings。Ultimately， this book made me think but failed to teach me how to actually manage my "pain" as a member of the "bright， sensitive， and creative。" 。。。more
Jackie
，
I do not recommend this book because it just entitles smart people to be victims。 It was painful to read and I almost quit on several occasions， but I gave it chance because occasionally books will redeem themselves。 This one did not。 Don’t waste your time。
Courtney Sims
，
I was intrigued by the approach to "smart" brain problems being normalized as natural extensions of "average" or less active thinking and as natural evolutionary changes in human brains。 There are questions at the end of each chapter to help the reader consider and act on what they've read and a more thorough set of questions to consider in one of the last chapters。 Those seemed fitting and needed for a book like this。 I liked the book。 I didn't expect the entire thing to center around meaning-b I was intrigued by the approach to "smart" brain problems being normalized as natural extensions of "average" or less active thinking and as natural evolutionary changes in human brains。 There are questions at the end of each chapter to help the reader consider and act on what they've read and a more thorough set of questions to consider in one of the last chapters。 Those seemed fitting and needed for a book like this。 I liked the book。 I didn't expect the entire thing to center around meaning-based values， but it was consistent in that with its message。 I think it was a great argument for natural psychology， but I suppose I was expecting something a little less pointed in one direction。 I would have liked to see more perspectives represented and more types of solutions suggested。 。。。more
Esther Dushinsky
，
Eh。 I’m still not exactly sure what the point of this book is。 He mentions sensitive within the title， but doesn’t even discuss any of the emotions that come into play in all of this。
Collyn
，
This is one of those books that is not intended to be funny but definitely is。 It is very much an attempt to assuage the author's own feelings。 I thought I would gain some insight about my students， but let's just say that I did not。 This is one of those books that is not intended to be funny but definitely is。 It is very much an attempt to assuage the author's own feelings。 I thought I would gain some insight about my students， but let's just say that I did not。 。。。more
Amanda
，
Sadly， this book kept promising solutions and strategies， but did not deliver。 In each chapter he would promise further discussion of ideas and solutions， but he never explained ideas in depth nor did he offer meaningful action to help improve one’s situation。 As a smart person in the midst of transitional time in my life， I was hoping for more guidance in how to help myself navigate this experience。 Instead， I was offered little I couldn’t intuit for myself。 Perhaps that’s the point of “natural Sadly， this book kept promising solutions and strategies， but did not deliver。 In each chapter he would promise further discussion of ideas and solutions， but he never explained ideas in depth nor did he offer meaningful action to help improve one’s situation。 As a smart person in the midst of transitional time in my life， I was hoping for more guidance in how to help myself navigate this experience。 Instead， I was offered little I couldn’t intuit for myself。 Perhaps that’s the point of “natural psychology” as discussed in the book， but as presented， it doesn’t actually help me in my current challenges。 In addition， it was staunchly anti-religion， and for not well argued reasons。 I was raised religious， don’t love many aspects of organized religion， and struggle with that regularly， but found myself turned off by how unreasonably critical the author was of ideas of faith （he called it mysticism）。 It just felt like his own issues had taken over his writing to the detriment of his overall message。 。。。more
Nicole Riggs
，
DNF。 Bleh。
Patrick Hanlon
，
A good read， especially at the start and makes the case about the challenges of making meaning。 It was interesting to consider the discussion of our temptation to try changing our environment rather than adapting to it。 Further discussions of natural psychology turned redundant at times， but for the most part the book remained quite engaging。
San
，
How can a book be so boring？ The premise is not strong and only a few points here and there do strike。 Neither replete with schemas to work through or solid research， conclusions， or even an ingenious thought， this turned out to be a very dull， boring， non-compelling， inconsequential book。 The only thing which it does is correctly put to fault the education and the societal structure。 I would have preferred a a more structured approach， which clearly is lacking even in my own review but guess I How can a book be so boring？ The premise is not strong and only a few points here and there do strike。 Neither replete with schemas to work through or solid research， conclusions， or even an ingenious thought， this turned out to be a very dull， boring， non-compelling， inconsequential book。 The only thing which it does is correctly put to fault the education and the societal structure。 I would have preferred a a more structured approach， which clearly is lacking even in my own review but guess I don't feel it as important as to create a meaning-value to it。 。。。more
Michelle
，
Natural Psychology， finding meaning making。
Sarah
，
Overall， the ideas in this book are super helpful。 While the ideas are great， it certainly isn’t a book that’s going to give you all the answers， which is okay。 If you’ve been hurting it’s definitely worth a read。 Just go into it know not everything will apply to you and look for those gems of wisdom that speak to you。
Halley
，
I forced myself to finish this book only so I could be justified in writing a review。 The majority of the time I was reading this book， the word “masturbatory” was flashing in my mind as though in neon letters。 The writing is verbose， as though the book itself is modeling the “self-pestering” to which smart people are allegedly prone。 It reads as though an infomercial for natural psychology， a largely unsupported theoretical model that， as a clinical psychologist， I can assure you is not part of I forced myself to finish this book only so I could be justified in writing a review。 The majority of the time I was reading this book， the word “masturbatory” was flashing in my mind as though in neon letters。 The writing is verbose， as though the book itself is modeling the “self-pestering” to which smart people are allegedly prone。 It reads as though an infomercial for natural psychology， a largely unsupported theoretical model that， as a clinical psychologist， I can assure you is not part of the field’s discourse in any meaningful way。 The only actionable tenets of natural psychology and this book are derived from existential approaches。 Readers would be much better served by skipping this book in favor of anything related to Acceptance and Commitment therapy， an evidence-based psychotherapy that incorporates the same existential principles but which has decades of randomized， controlled clinical trials to support its effectiveness。 Look for writings by Drs。 Steve Hays， Kelly Wilson， Russ Harris and Kirk Strosahl。 。。。more
Greg
，
There are two pretty clear camps among those who have read this book。 You’ll know within a couple of chapters which group you belong to。 If you don’t like it at that point， bail out。 There isn’t something coming later that is going to change your opinion。
Britt I
，
I thought this book was so awful I honestly couldn’t get more than a quarter of the way through it。 Rather than providing useful insight it just gave a rather gloomy look of humanity with no hope in store。
Kate Jaeger
，
While this book offered a lot of really great ideas to think about， it was also quite depressing。 The author is a vocal atheist， and while I am committed to exploring works by people with different beliefs than myself， I was saddened by the overarching theme that intelligent people experience cognitive dissonance when they aren't creating meaning for themselves， whereas I've been able to find great comfort in the meaning and purpose my faith provides me。 Objectively， I am a smart person， but i d While this book offered a lot of really great ideas to think about， it was also quite depressing。 The author is a vocal atheist， and while I am committed to exploring works by people with different beliefs than myself， I was saddened by the overarching theme that intelligent people experience cognitive dissonance when they aren't creating meaning for themselves， whereas I've been able to find great comfort in the meaning and purpose my faith provides me。 Objectively， I am a smart person， but i disagree that meaning needs to be made， rather than found。 。。。more
Megan
，
This was an interesting read。 I feel like it requires discernment though。 Most of what he writes is directly related to his views on natural psychology， which isn't my thing， and I found myself irritated at times。 Still， there were many areas I could personally reflect on and found those aspects beneficial。 I also think it's valuable to read books by people you don't necessarily agree with。 So， I found that this book was a good exercise in my listening skills。 This was an interesting read。 I feel like it requires discernment though。 Most of what he writes is directly related to his views on natural psychology， which isn't my thing， and I found myself irritated at times。 Still， there were many areas I could personally reflect on and found those aspects beneficial。 I also think it's valuable to read books by people you don't necessarily agree with。 So， I found that this book was a good exercise in my listening skills。 。。。more
Kat Downes
，
Oof。 This was a weird， rough read。 Basically， the author is trying to introduce natural psychology as a discipline and makes some interesting points about how an absence of meaning in our daily lives is probably responsible for a lot of the psychological pain we experience。 But， honestly， that could have been covered in about 1 chapter… instead， you’re reading through a winding， mildly incoherent set of chapters。 I kept thinking I should just give up， but I got curious about where it would end u Oof。 This was a weird， rough read。 Basically， the author is trying to introduce natural psychology as a discipline and makes some interesting points about how an absence of meaning in our daily lives is probably responsible for a lot of the psychological pain we experience。 But， honestly， that could have been covered in about 1 chapter… instead， you’re reading through a winding， mildly incoherent set of chapters。 I kept thinking I should just give up， but I got curious about where it would end up based on how it started。 I can’t really recommend the read- you’d probably be better off googling natural psychology and spending an hour or so reading。 。。。more
Beth Gea
，
Me siento un poco entre dos aguas con este libro。Por una parte， me ha gustado mucho cómo presenta y despatologiza muchos de los desafíos que las personas "listas"， como él las llama， tenemos por el hecho de que nuestro cerebro funciona como funciona。 También hay cosas de la psicología natural （término que no conocía） que me han parecido razonables， como el hecho de que somos nosotras las que creamos nuestro propio sentido en la vida y que no tenemos que ir a buscarlo o sentarnos a esperarlo porq Me siento un poco entre dos aguas con este libro。Por una parte， me ha gustado mucho cómo presenta y despatologiza muchos de los desafíos que las personas "listas"， como él las llama， tenemos por el hecho de que nuestro cerebro funciona como funciona。 También hay cosas de la psicología natural （término que no conocía） que me han parecido razonables， como el hecho de que somos nosotras las que creamos nuestro propio sentido en la vida y que no tenemos que ir a buscarlo o sentarnos a esperarlo porque no está fuera de nosotras。 Sin embargo， hay varios momentos en el libro en el que me he sentido como en un anuncio de teletienda en el que me estaban intentando vender la noción de la psicología natural como el único camino que alguien "listo" puede seguir。 Así que， como con todo， me quedo con lo que tiene sentido para mi。 。。。more
Amy Finley
，