Antidepressants and intelligence

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Do antidepressant drugs suppress my high iq or cause permament damage on my intelligence? I live with anxiety and it's unbearable nowadays.

That is a valid concern! I have experience with them so I can give some advice and information.

I have taken 5 Anti-Depressants. 3 of them are SSRI, 1 is Mirtazapine (obscure class of drugs), and 1 is a NDRI

Anti=depressants will not affect you intelligence, nor do they have meaningful long term impacts. (edit, as in they leave your system when you stop taking them and side effects/drug effect will dissapear}

I'll do my best to explain how they work, since you may find it reassuring. I am talking about SSRI's.
Their overall goal is the increase the amount of the chemical serotonin within specific parts of your brain.
SSRI's specifically work by targeting the SERT transporter in the brain. The SERT transporter carries back the serotonin molecule into the nerve, where it is absorbed. The anti-depressant molecule fills in the slot of the SERT, leading to the antidepressant being brought back instead (it will do no harm and will not cause any damage).
Generally this effectively prevents your body from absorbing the serotonin in your brain as quickly, leading to more serotonin in between neurons, giving the effect of relieving symptoms of depression and anxiety. It is not well understood how the drug ends up in certain areas of the brain over others, different SSRI's have very similar but slightly different concentrations at certain locations they have in common.

There are other types of anti-depressants, but SSRI's are the most common and have some of the fewest side effects.
As for Intelligence, you will be fine. SSRI's generally do cause the subjective feeling of emotional blunting, but generally it is mild and doesn't significantly impact you or your ability to think clearly. Over time as you become accustomed to the drug the side effects almost always lessen or at least stay the same.

What is nice is that the side effects are temporary, if you were to stop taking it for a variety of reasons the side effects would go away as the drug left your system.

There are also drugs that target anxiety and are not an anti-depressant.
There is also Benzodiazepines like Xanax or Valium, but they are very scary to deal with, especially if you have executive dysfunction or are desperate to relieve symptoms, you doctor will likely not prescribe them until they are needed as a last resort, if they prescribe them right away that's a concerning sign.
3 common ones are Buspirone. Hydroxyzine and Propranolol. All 3 are safe and have side effects that are generally tolerable and minor.
-Truthfully IDK how Buspirone works, but for me it has been incredibly helpful, the side effects in the first 2 weeks were uncomfortable such as nausea the hour after taking it, but i no longer experience any side effects. For others it is hit and miss. Some people respond extremely well and some people feel on edge. You will be able to tell quickly.
-Hydroxyzine is an anti-histamine, it is similar the Benadryl, but also has the added effect of reducing anxiety. It is commonly used as needed and many find it too sedating for every day.
-Propranolol is a beta-blocker and works by telling your heart to beat slower, and also harder. I found it helpful but stopped taking it due to a 1/1000-1/10000 rarity side effect (tinnitus). It is really good for stage fright like anxiety, like approaching someone in public that your nervous to talk to.

I've never heard of antidepressants affecting one's intelligence before.

Hydroxyzine, is an anti-histamine that has anticholinergic properties.

Anticholinergic medicines are linked to an increased risk in developing dementia, especially when taken long-term.

There are also antidepressants that have anticholinergic effects such as the older tricyclic antidepressants and some of the newer ones too such as Paroxetine.

It is wise to be careful when taking these medicines, especially as one gets older.

They don't affect intelligence directly, but sometimes they can affect cognitive performance, for some people. The newer antidepressants have the least negative side effects for a persons cognitive performance.

For some, a big side effect of SSRIs is sexual dysfunction.

I was on a beta blocker for high blood pressure that also reduced anxiety but when I retired my resting pulse rate was too low so I'm now on a calcium channel blocker instead.

I find it helpful to stim on music or listen to the same stuff on repeat over and over again to reduce anxiety.
I also do a lot of gardening as a relaxing anxiety reducing activity.

It is my experience that intelligent people have more issues with anxiety.

Not necessarily true.
Cessation of some antidepressants can cause permanent neurological problems in some people. (But I'm not trawling through the NLM to rediscover the articles for a reference.)

Cpaff...You were on Bupropion?
How did it affect you?
After 2 months I tapered because I couldn't deal with only 4 hours sleep....per week.