T'is a puzzlement. It seems to me that if thee a genius be it's EASIER to navigate your way through life than for us average folks. And yet?

I don't know! You do ask some thought-provoking questions though. 

I had heard that greater intelligence is associated with depression. My guess would be that this is because when one is highly intelligent one is more able to look around and see suffering, pointlessness, hopelessness, futility etc. To see perhaps that however much of a contribution we make, it's all a drop in the ocean. 

I believe I know the answer to this, but I’m having a very hard time expressing it.  It took several hours just to narrow it down to the following (hopefully semi-coherent) response...

 

One would think that being a genius would be a blessing.  Unfortunately, that’s not usually the case.  Many times genius is a burden. 

Geniuses tend to think more vibrantly than “normal folks” do.  Their minds are always taking them on journeys that “normal folks” can’t comprehend.   Many tend to live in a world all their own; a world without boundaries, where thoughts and ideas can germinate and flourish freely, unhindered by the limits of reality.   This can make them more disconnected with “normal folks”.  Geniuses don’t exactly fit in with “normal” society.  They’re different.  They’re hard for “normal folks” to understand. 

Many geniuses tend to be poor at social interaction.  For some it might not register as being logical, others might not be able to comprehend it.  This can cause then to feel shunned, lonely.  Some geniuses are good at interacting socially, but their way of thinking makes them oddballs.  Others might find them “out of their league” (they can’t understand them).  

Some geniuses can handle this “talent” life thrust up on them, some can’t.   

"The greater our "fellow feelings" (our desire to help others) and the greater our intelligence, those so gifted are more likely to see more situations worthy of our active concern and therefore we are more likely to take on more responsibilities than we should (can handle)." 

That comes from a book that all freshmen were required to read before the first convocation at the start of our college career---The Intellectual Life.

And failing to heed that warning can cause a genius a lot of problems.

Thirty or so years later, I went to the Johnson O'Connor Testing Foundation to have my "natural" aptitudes tested. (Much more information at their website: https://www.jocrf.org/testing.)

It was very interesting  (I have previously shared at least one on here---the natural ability to think abstractly vs concretely, one of which is usually the dominant ability in any given individual.)  

I showed the results to a psychologist friend of mine---his comment was that the challenge for us mental 18 wheedlers was that we needed to make sure all our wheels were going in the same direction.

No, that's unlikely.

When mice are presented with an unsolvable maze, they tend to lie on their backs and nibble their fore paws. 

When a human is faced with an unsolvable personal problem, he is unlikely to be interested in addressing the world's problems---no matter how important they are from an objective perspective.