Don’t assume they’ll always be gifted. Gifted children should never be excused from bad behavior because they make a … They can persist well into adulthood if the gifted child doesn’t get the professional help that they need to overcome these negative thoughts and feelings. Still, there are a number of things that you can do to support someone you love experiencing existential depression as a gifted adult or adolescent. After all, the system as it is was created to provide support for the neuronorm mind, thus it’s never going to fit the gifted mind without some active and creative tinkering. If a gifted person has been invalidated in their own search for meaning, they may exhibit signs of depression which look very much like clinical depression. Have a great deal of energy. You can learn more about her here. You can dive into the literature available on the topic, starting with our articles and ebooks. Here is some of what I have learned, and some key points of what I teach to therapists and coaches in my Gifted Psychology 101 Courses : Through your professional training, you were encouraged to be aware of your own personality style, issues, needs, and struggles, in order to be fully present and helpful to your clients. And if you think you might be struggling with this type of depression yourself, by all means use the following as a blueprint, but know that this is not something you should try to deal with by yourself. In my early 20’s, I sought help from a therapist who very quickly diagnosed me as mentally healthy, since, in her words, I was very knowledgeable about and understood my “issues”. Susan Jackson, The Daimon Institute for the Highly Gifted, White Rock, British Columbia England Randy Lee Comfort, Bristol Joan Freeman, London phone: (44) 171 486 2604 Netherlands Edu Brant, Utrecht phone: (011) 31 20 673 3839 New Zealand New Zealand Association for Gifted Children (NZAGC) Assessors Dealing with Giftedness In some cases, gifted children can run into problems when their intellectual power is not matched by their other abilities. Find out if learning about giftedness would resolve a gifted client’s issues before resorting to potentially misdiagnostic labels. Get them connected with literature, groups, and other professionals that weave together a network of support for them which validates and gives space for them to live out their giftedness in authentic ways. Those who are considered “gifted” are especially likely to experience depression, particularly existential depression, a type of depression that centers around thoughts about life, death, and meaninglessness as the name might suggest. They also have very idealist tendencies, and so may see that the world is falling short of how much better it could be. You can only help them so much through your support, but therapy or some other type of professional treatment could be what they need. The types of thoughts that adults dealing with existential depression will struggle with can vary, though typically they fall into several broad categories; political, ethical, spiritual, and philosophical— among other things. Each helping professional has their own specialty and range of work, which may be perfect for a time, but will not last forever. Twice- or multi-exceptionality is often described as having high ability paired with (contextual) disability. Her climate emergency initiative is I Heart Earth. Helping others will surely help them feel a bit better, too, and help them to see that the world isn’t all bad rather than just trying to convince them verbally. Feel sad about the state of the world. 5 Gifted people are highly sensitive. This often begins when the gifted individual is first labeled as gifted while very young, but the traits that make them “gifted” last until adulthood, and so the existential depression persists as well. • Gifted reported a preference for social detachment. The work of Kazimierz Dabrowski, (1902-1980), provides an excellent framework with which to understand these characteristics. Many gifted adults also retain the heightened sensitivities and overexcitabilities … These are all things that are an inevitable part of human existence, but the traits that gifted individuals exhibit mean that they’re more likely to contemplate these issues in more depth than the average person, and in doing so cause themself distress. If you've ever watched the TV show "The Big Bang Theory," you know the... 2. Susan Jackson, The Daimon Institute for the Highly Gifted, White Rock, British Columbia England Randy Lee Comfort, Bristol Joan Freeman, London phone: (44) 171 486 2604 Netherlands Edu Brant, Utrecht phone: (011) 31 20 673 3839 New Zealand New Zealand Association for Gifted Children (NZAGC) Assessors Dealing with Giftedness We didn’t even hear about IQ testing, unless it had to do with measuring disability. Simply put, gifted adults are more likely to struggle with depression at some point in their life because they were once gifted adolescents. This can add to their feelings of isolation. From that point on not only are the expectations of their teachers increased as a result, but so do their expectations for themselves, which can lead to issues with self-esteem if they’re not meeting those expectations. However, many gifted kids and adults struggle with figuring out what they are doing “wrong” in social situations. I was so confused about my identity, and learning about giftedness has been incredibly healing. What are your areas of intelligence and how do they interact together? Why is this the case, though? From an early age, your precocious child … Other traumas relate to feelings of intellectual, emotional or creative starvation, bullying, exploitation of gifts, schooling mismatch, and extreme pressure to perform. More often, it is a trial-and-error process, and one that takes many twists and turns. Don’t expect one therapist or coach to be the one for you for all time. Learn more about both group courses here and reach out to me if you're interested in joining us. Make sure you get to know gifted-specific professional peers you can refer your clients to, so that you feel supported in doing your best work as well. She's a psychologist, coach and mentor who specializes in providing training & mentoring for coaches and other helping professionals who support the gifted population. They describe their experience of the training process as an immersive, profound, rigorous, and personally and professionally transformative journey (read more about what past participants have said about their experience in their own words). This is a game-changer for me! Gifted-specific traumas usually center around having felt extremely different from others throughout one’s life. It's been important for me to contribute to simplifying the support-seeking process for gifted people everywhere. Every year, I start by having my students complete an interest inventory. If in the end, you discover you are not gifted, that’s equally important to know, so that you can recognize and validate your client's differences. https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/managing-gifted-people.htm Yes, I was knowledgeable about them, and I knew how to discuss them in complex ways that sounded impressive; but at 22 years old, knowing about and being able to discuss my problems did not translate into me knowing how to heal from them. School Placement. High emotional sensitivity, a great characteristic of gifted adults Moreover, gifted adults have a long history of disappointment. Many people are feeling isolated, anxious, and depressed as a result of the pandemic and all the changes it’s brought about. If you're used to working with non-gifted clients, when you have a gifted client, you may feel that their values, needs and self-expression are drastically different from what you're used to seeing and treating. They may need to become comfortable with their giftedness and actually let themselves use the aspects that set them apart. Look for meaning in life. These observations are supported by parents and teachers who notice distinct behavioral and constitutional differences between highly gifted children and their peers. Coaching, Counseling & Consulting Services Also Available by Phone & Skype They think about things in more detail than other kids their age and tend to overanalyze, so when they see injustice in the world they may experience a sense of hopelessness from it. I have often heard clients tell me that they saw a therapist or coach who was uncomfortable with, or even jealous of, their giftedness level. The Gifted Adult: A Revolutionary Guide to Liberating Everyday Genius, Your Rainforest Mind: A Guide to the Well-being of Gifted Adults & Youth, Gifted Adults and Second Childhoods: Revisiting Essential Stages of Development, Telling their clients that giftedness does not exist, Telling their clients that “everyone is gifted in their own way”, so their giftedness is nothing special to look at or consider, Telling their clients that their need to discuss or explore their giftedness is a sign of arrogance or elitism, Treating the client as though their mind is “normal” and thus should follow normal goals, values, and healing course, Missing that gifted people can experience extreme trauma in conjunction with their giftedness (, Misdiagnosing gifted traits such as high excitability and meta-thinking as ADHD or a neurological disorder, Misdiagnosing gifted and traumatized clients with personality disorders, such as Borderline Personality Disorder or Narcissistic Personality Disorder, How to recognize and evaluate giftedness, giftedness levels, and unique giftedness profiles, How to bring up and address giftedness with a client, Resources for client self-discovery inside and outside of therapy, Twice-exceptionality, Misdiagnoses + most common gifted/psychopathology overlaps, How to best guide and support + resources, How to handle the overexcitabilities and intensity in sessions, How to handle differences in giftedness levels between psychologist and client, How to have good boundaries and when to use self-disclosure with gifted clients, How to work with client when the psychologist is triggered by his/her own gifted issues, When to see breakdown as positive disintegration, and when to see it as "clinical"; how to best help in both cases, How therapy, coaching and mentoring can all help a gifted client, and when each is appropriate, Common therapeutic trajectories for clients and how to help them transition from therapy to other forms of support, Client drop out and how to maintain engagement, Common gifted career dilemmas and how to approach them, Helpful resources for gifted career exploration, Tools of positive psychology for gifted self-development, The Benefits of and Difference Between Coaching, Mentoring + Therapy for Gifted Individuals, The Gifted Brain, Giftedness Identification & Levels, Twice- and Multi-Exceptionality, Recognizing Psychopathology Misdiagnosis in Gifted Clients, Personality Development Models, including Dabrowski's Theory of Positive Disintegration, Trauma + Trauma Healing, including Gifted-Specific Trauma, Family Dynamics + Relationships, including Giftedness in Families, Common Therapeutic Models & Therapeutic Dynamics, Career Psychology, including Common Gifted & Multipotentialite Dilemmas, Positive Psychology + Promoting Mental Health. Get our latest articles, workshop invites, and community news in your inbox! Gifted children also may feel isolated from their peers as a result of this label, and they have many traits that can serve as a double-edged sword and make them more likely to struggle with depression.Â. gifted adults are more likely to struggle with depression, support someone you love experiencing existential depression as a gifted adult, therapy or some other type of professional treatment could be what they need, The Covid-19 Pandemic Encourages Scientists to Explore New Depression Treatments, How to Know If Your Sadness is Typical or a Depression Symptom, TMS For Depression: Everything You Need to Know. Have you gone through gifted trauma, and have you healed from it? When I was studying to become a psychologist, I never once heard the word giftedness brought up. This is the first time I have met a person who can understand my mind and my abilities; explain needs and ways to work. Of course, we're here to help via coaching, gifted trauma therapy and other forms of therapy. While not the most mature of behaviors, bullying is a significant problem in the adult population. She writes extensively on giftedness and self-development and you can find her articles here on InterGifted’s blog and on her own blog at Rediscovering Yourself. Coming in June, our gifted energy and body therapist Esther Goldinger will be guiding a... Last year, we started a partnership with Esther Goldinger, an online gifted energy and body... We're currently taking registrations for our next iteration of Gifted Psychology 101 for Coaches, scheduled... We're back with our next installation of gifted improv comedy sessions! So gifted kids do need to be taught to manage their tendencies in order to be respectful to others and capable of engaging in reciprocal conversations and relationships. by Elizabeth Meckstroth and Kathi Kearney Whether the media exposure is accidental, or by choice, families of highly gifted children must be careful, and aware of their actions and responsibilities when dealing with the media and their highly gifted children. Don’t try to think up silver linings, it’ll make them feel more understood if you recognize their concerns. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. In my own case, I finally did find the help I needed, in the form of a mentor who recognized my giftedness; but it took years. https://exploringyourmind.com/gifted-adults-what-are-they-like © The Gifted Resource Center and Lesley Sword, Ph.D Most Prevalent Characteristics of Giftedness 99.4% learn rapidly 99.4% have extensive vocabulary These issues are often resolved not just through cognitive reframing, but must take a gifted-specific replacement approach (filling those needs in the present with the appropriate gifted-specific social support) as well as a somatic-healing approach (resolving issues of fight, flight, freeze and fawn in response to one’s own experience of one's giftedness and the external world’s reaction to it). They also often have a wide range of goals, so sometimes multiple professionals supporting them at once for their various goals makes the most sense and is exactly what they need. If you're not sure, try one more session and see how you feel. I have helped many people over the years to find gifted-specific support, and it is not usually a one-stop-shop process. To learn more about distinguishing gifted traits and challenges from those of multi-exceptionality, a good place to start is James Webb's book Misdiagnosis and Dual Diagnoses of Gifted Children and Adults: Adhd, Bipolar, Ocd, Asperger's, Depression, and Other Disorders. If you feel your gifted client is thinking "too fast" for you, and you're struggling to facilitate discussions smoothly and effectively, let them know that you may not always be able to follow their train of thought as fast as it is, but that it is important for them to feel comfortable expressing themselves at their most authentic pace. In some ways, we all carry our middle schools selves around with us. These observations are supported by parents and teachers who notice distinct behavioral and constitutional differences between highly gifted children and their peers. However, these feelings typically go away and only lead to more of the same hopeless feelings associated with existential depression. Some of those people are gifted adults. In all cases of giftedness level mismatch, referrals to another helping professional with a giftedness level similar to your client's can provide an integrated support for your client. The literature about them is also rare. They’ll also have more trouble focusing while performing tasks. Gifted adults may be surprised to realize that they have not outrun their childhood difficulties. No matter how bright a child is, he or she is still a child, and children, even the gifted ones, need guidance. I attended some gifted programs as a kid.