Top 10 Biggest Struggles Gifted People Face
While intelligence and talent can lead to an easier path in life, they are not end-all, be-all solutions to all common problems people face.Many people believe that gifted individuals are already well off in society, but that is not always the case. There are struggles that gifted people face, many of them unique in comparison to neurotypical individuals.
Due to the general perception and high expectations projected onto gifted people, there exists a stigma that discourages productive discussions about the problems that gifted people deal with. As a result, they may hide their problems, making them even more difficult to address.
Some of these problems are precursors to other problems.
Procrastination is something most of us face, but gifted people, too, struggle against procrastination, and often to a worse degree.
It also comes with different root causes, some of them unique to or happening more with gifted people. For example, whether it's a school or work setting, a gifted person may find the work so easy that, out of boredom, they decide to postpone the work until the last minute. For others, it's high standards set by other people or themselves, which is associated with fear of failure. There are a lot of causes that result in procrastination, including many here, which will be elaborated on in this list.
Sheer raw talent combined with low conscientiousness are ingredients for failure, especially in academic institutions. Ever thought that school was so easy for you that you managed to pass every (or almost every) class with flying colors all the way up to getting a high school diploma? Then suddenly, things get harder for you in college? You get all proud solving that ugly-looking math equation within 15 minutes but cannot figure out the first step on a simple proof? Time to drop out of that math class...
Gifted people are used to comprehending most subjects quickly, which leaves them little to no opportunity to develop resilience or proper study habits by the time they stumble upon a difficult problem. Higher-level subjects usually require more time to ponder about, sometimes taking months to grasp. This can affect their identity as being the smart person, bringing them into a spiral of negative emotions or even mental health issues.
Or, perhaps you were someone who is prone to procrastination, finishing the work at the last minute with a solid C+ grade and then going on with your business. "If only you had applied yourself." is a sentence that most gifted people hate to hear, and to the person thinking that sentence might motivate them, it otherwise causes a counterproductive effect.
For more average people, being the smartest person is something some desire, but in reality, it can be isolating. You do not get to relate with your peers and their struggles, which leaves you more vulnerable to being excluded or misunderstood. You try explaining a concept that seems simple to you, but for other people, they cannot figure out how to put the puzzle piece in the picture or they misinterpret the concept despite you rewording it repeatedly in layman terms. You cannot seem to find anyone who is as curious or ambitious as you. You often find yourself asking why they cannot comprehend the nuances of life.
All of these things make you feel isolated. Naturally, people want to flock to others who have similar traits. Unfortunately for gifted people, they are in the 99th+ percentile, which means, especially for Western countries that normally seek to help disadvantaged children, finding someone similar to them is like finding a unicorn. As a result, gifted people may end up concealing their abilities in order to fit in with other people.
The problem becomes even larger for profoundly gifted people, especially if they have skipped multiple grades. This leaves little opportunity to develop social skills with peers that are of similar age. While connecting with older people with vastly different life experiences sounds fun, it becomes more isolating, as they are placed in a group that is not age-appropriate for them.
This is more of a mix of good and bad compared to other struggles on this list. Being highly sensitive, while seen as an undesirable trait, can be beneficial. It is important to note that this refers to an elevated response to stimuli in general. Everyone is wired differently, but gifted people are wired in a way that their characteristics lay on the more extreme side.
Because of this, they may process things deeply, which leads them to develop clever solutions and perceive situations from multiple angles, but some stimuli can easily overwhelm them with anxiety. Additionally, given the heightened emotional sensitivity, gifted people tend to be much more self-aware than most people, especially if they are younger.
Unfortunately, they may not have the mental faculties for dealing with such high emotional awareness. This may also lead to an existential crisis.
Being told that you're so smart all the time definitely contributes to a perfectionist mindset. Gifted people are used to being complimented for their smarts, and they feel obligated to be the best they can at every aspect, which only sets both the gifted person and their connections up for not only disappointment but failure.
They fear they will disappoint people who hold high expectations of them. This pressure to expend every effort to do everything to maintain face is also why gifted people burn out quickly, especially if they are people pleasers. On the other hand, they may find ways to distract themselves in an attempt to avoid the feeling of failure, or in short, procrastination.
Normally, when people think about gifted people, they are much more likely to figure everything out in life, have a much more stable and high-paying career, etc., but that's not always the case.
Due to the other issues listed above, a combination of procrastination and FOMO (fear of missing out) can lead to underachieving in academics. Gifted students may deliberately underperform either because they want to fit in with their peers or because the work is too easy for them. There are other reasons besides these two mentioned, such as low self-esteem (which may lead to self-sabotage), bad family life, mental health issues, etc.
This particular problem is rooted in the high expectations of people. Gifted people have trouble asking for help because it shows vulnerability, which people will then see as incompetence.
It's not uncommon for gifted people to be shamed for admitting that they lack something that they are competent in. As a result, gifted people tend to be more independent (or at least appear to be), which unfortunately comes with the sacrifice of lacking connections.
Boredom is an emotion experienced universally, but gifted people deal with boredom quite differently.
As a result of finding things too easy or understimulating (tasks that the normal cohort does not find too challenging or too easy), a lot of gifted people will face more boredom and thus will seek thrilling experiences in order to escape societal constraints. Consistent routine is like trying to mix oil and water, since there's no pleasure to derive from it due to the lack of novelty. Because most gifted people tend to be creative, they feel the need to add more spontaneity into their lives.
It's not uncommon either for gifted people to doubt their own abilities, especially if their path of life is not the traditional route.
Due to being perceived as intelligent, they may think otherwise, even going so far as to call themselves a fraud. To mitigate this, they may develop habits of perfectionism or avoid tasks that may risk them showing their incompetence.
Goes among young gifted people in high schools and colleges. Given that gifted people are normally complimented for their intelligence, their identities will center around being "the smart kid/person," and this can have unfavorable consequences.
Unhealthy habits may arise from compliments in multiple ways: For one, they may strive for high grades, fearing even small bits of failure due to the expectations of others out of guilt. For the second one, one may feel entitled and bully others for their incompetence, while on the other hand, they may respond more covertly, giving out microaggressions to someone less fortunate as a way to cope with their insecurities, both of which only feed into their loneliness.
We can put this low on this list due to the natural tendency of just wanting to feel understood. Nevertheless, some people can be real jerks, and gifted people are not excluded from this trait.