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  #1  
Old Jan 07, 2015, 02:38 PM
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Poohbah
 
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One of my friends showed me this. It talks about what it means to be gifted and mentions how this can cause issues and possibly lead to depression.

Can You Hear the Flowers Sing? Issues for Gifted Adults « SENG

Can anyone else relate to this?

Some other articles I found on the subject:
Gifted Adults, Intense Emotions, Depression and Anger | Gifted Adults | Gifted for Life | Personal Growth for Gifted Success
Misdiagnosed Depression in Gifted Adults | Gifted Adults | Gifted for Life | Personal Growth for Gifted Success
http://psychotherapyservicesforthegi...ed-adults.html
http://psychotherapyservicesforthegi...olescents.html

Some parts ring true for me, some parts don’t. Curious about what others have to say on this topic.
Thanks for this!
sideblinded, tealBumblebee

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  #2  
Old Jan 07, 2015, 03:41 PM
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sideblinded sideblinded is offline
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connect.the.stars

Thanks for sharing these articles. I was real fascinated with the sensitive traits associated with gifted adults. I can see why it would so hard to deal with relationships. I can relate to a lot of it but not all of it either.
  #3  
Old Jan 10, 2015, 11:41 AM
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Poohbah
 
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Glad you found them enriching!

Hoping that anyone who notices they have traits of giftedness can seek other forms of guidance & support to understand themselves better rather than just trying to treat the symptoms of depression.
  #4  
Old Jan 10, 2015, 12:08 PM
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Open Eyes Open Eyes is offline
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I have been told I am gifted at different points in my life. I did not see myself as gifted or all that different. My T has explained this in depth with me and much of what you have posted falls into what he has said to me. I think understanding what this means can be very helpful when someone is younger. It can help in reducing the stress that comes from being able to see what others simply cannot. I was always extremely "visual" and I thought everyone was like that, the truth is many simply cannot visualize and instead need to see something to understand it or appreciate it. I could hear a song and play it on the piano without anyone teaching me how to play a piano. I could draw and paint faces that were expressive without anyone showing me as well.

When something just comes together and makes sense and seems easy, one doesn't realize that for others this "easy' just is not there.

The reason it is good to understand this as young as possible is that one can avoid becoming depressed if they are exposed to others that can recognize this and help the individual cultivate it.

I grew up in a time where everyone was expected to learn a certain way and be able to remember and perform within a guideline and getting graded in a way that expressed "achievement".

However, we are all different and many have different "gifts" that come from their family history and genetics where they do have something they "can" be good at that makes "sense" to them. We don't all fit into a designated "box", and therefore cannot be determined "worthy" based just on that box alone.

For example, I saw a special about a very young boy that is so intelligent he is learning and interacting on College level with high honors way beyond what a child his age would be capable of. However, when he was just a toddler he became withdrawn and unresponsive. Then one day his parents got a toy that was mathamatical in nature and put it in front of him to which he responded to profoundly and came alive in every way. Once they saw that they continued to present him with similar toys that had that quality about them and he continued to respond in extremely positive ways and began to show amazing abilities unlike any other, basically he was infact a prodigy.

It may have turned out very differently had these parents not experimented the way they did and he could have stayed withdrawn and unresponsive.

I raised a daughter who had/has dyslexia. While my daughter learned differently, she did in fact have a high IQ, and talents of her own as well. Luckily, I was able to learn about how she is different so I could support her while she was growing and learning, learning the way her brain learns differently.

The thing that is important to understand is that each of us has "qualities" that "can" be nurtured and developed in a way where we can feel more "fulfilled" as a person. If we are able to understand this "fact" it really can reduce the stresses created that come from just being "unique" in whatever way we are "unique".

Last edited by Open Eyes; Jan 10, 2015 at 01:02 PM.
Thanks for this!
connect.the.stars
  #5  
Old Jan 12, 2015, 11:10 PM
Anonymous2891232
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Thanks for posting this. I am gifted and in a lot of ways it has left me socially isolated as an adult. I tend to live in my own world and have complex interests. I have to challenge myself constantly or I feel bored. It is both a blessing and a curse to see and feel things so very deeply.
Hugs from:
Anonymous200265, connect.the.stars, Open Eyes
  #6  
Old Jan 19, 2015, 05:34 PM
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Poohbah
 
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OE, I agree it is good to pinpoint these different learning styles early on while children are still developing so that a nurturing and accepting environment can be built for these kids.

I highly doubt I am gifted. But just from reading this article (it is rather long), I am fascinated by the fact that many who did not discover their giftedness as children have grown to become estranged adults who can no longer become classified as gifted due to a different way of measuring one’s talents.

Discovering the Gifted Ex-Child

I think the article has a point that there needs to be a focus on the internal processes to classify giftedness, not just mere achievements at face value.

I wonder if the underlying root of depression is simply not feeling understood? Much similar to your comment about needing to fit “expected learning styles,” gifted children/adults never feel like they fit in to the system. If your own (possibly brilliant) method to tackle problems is not met with a degree of comprehensiveness or acceptance, that element of “misunderstood” can have a huge impact on one’s self-esteem. Doubting oneself, not feeling normal, wondering if you are the only person with these ideas or problems, it just seems like the recipe for depression.

In other cases with abusive family or relationships, that whole different world of “misunderstood” and not having a “normal” family limits the number of people you can relate to or share your concerns with. Isolation, loneliness, having no one who can listen and understand you, is that what depression is? You start to wonder what the purpose of your life is.
  #7  
Old Jan 19, 2015, 06:20 PM
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It's not unusual for a young adult not to "know" what their purpose in life is. Keep in mind now, the brain is not fully developed until age 25, the last thing to develop is the decision making part of the brain. I have lost count now how many have recalled their late teens and early twenties and think about some bad decisions they had made and then wonder "why" they made such poor decisons at the time. Often they are looking back with their brain first of all fully developed and second of all more life experiences so ofcourse they will wonder about "why" they made bad choices, or did not choose to do more. I have a cousin and when he was your age he had no idea he would end up being a gifted surgeon and figure out how to actually build an esophogus for child that did not have one, nor did he know he was going to perform plastic surgeries on very important world leaders either, or that he was going to give burn victims and cancer victims their smiles back or damaged faces or other damaged areas back either. I remember when he was so shy and somewhat lost, now he has helped build and organize major hospitals and surgical teams. At 22 he sure did not see all these achievements taking place in his life.

However, that being said, not everyone is going to have that kind of big acomplishments, often many accomplish things many never even hear about, but they do make a difference in "some way". My husband knows a guy that was just a bagger at a supermarket and he ended up designing a better way for bags to be separated and now he is very wealthy because all the stores began using what he invented. He was not even college educated, nor was he what others would consider particularly brilliant either.

The important thing to keep in mind is to expose yourself to different things and allow yourself time to develop because at some point you can come up with an idea or lifestyle change that you really end up enjoying, something that right now is not something you can see "yet".
  #8  
Old Jan 20, 2015, 12:18 PM
*Laurie* *Laurie* is offline
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Yes. Kay Redfield Jamison discusses this subject in some of her earlier books.
  #9  
Old Jan 23, 2015, 06:06 PM
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BLUEDOVE BLUEDOVE is offline
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This has answered a lot of questions and confusion
for me,as I always felt the 'odd one out'.
Hugs from:
connect.the.stars
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