We’ve likely been envious of a highly intelligent or gifted person at one point in our lives. Having abilities or intellect that overshadow their peers, these people often find themselves in the limelight through academic or professional praise.
However, it’s common that many in the gifted community actually don’t view themselves as highly intelligent or overachieving. Emotional burdens, inescapable expectations, and psychological dilemmas are prevalent among many gifted populations. Dr. Joey, a clinical psychologist on TikTok, referenced a study called “Gifted People and Their Problems” to discuss the personality traits and struggles of this unique community.
The first consequence many people in this community face is social isolation from their peers, co-workers, and family members. Constantly thinking from a unique and unobstructed perspective, gifted people aren’t afraid to investigate the typically embarrassing, taboo, or uncomfortable topics of a debate.
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They prioritize knowledge and understanding over social conformity, making their behaviors seem “embarrassing” or “weird” to others. However, they may just not realize the implications of the questions they are asking and whether it might be inappropriate or awkward.
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In addition to social isolation, gifted people often feel loneliness and isolation in intellectual spaces such as corporate firms or college lecture halls. With many of these environments following strict and formal academic processes, gifted people can find it difficult to conform.
Especially in spaces with high-achieving intellectuals, it can be difficult and uncomfortable to creatively investigate problems that have always been viewed from a single perspective.
“Most people don’t think about things so deeply,” Dr. Joey admitted, “or create complex matrices of reasoning around them.” It can be difficult for gifted people to accept other people’s behavior without a reason for why they act that way.
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This “binocular thinking” can increase the struggles gifted people experience in grappling with the harshness of the world. It takes more effort and energy to come to terms with the fact that not everyone is highly emotional, thoughtful, or empathetic in their decision-making.
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“They have to come to terms with the fact that they are actually different,” she said, “and that might feel unfair. Usually, gifted people have a complex relationship with authority and don’t want to have an ‘authority of mind’ over someone else.”
In their pursuit of understanding others and forging new connections, gifted people find it difficult to accept their own differences. With a ton of discourse over “gifted minds” on social media, Dr. Joey warned against dismissing the struggles of this community. “Oftentimes, gifted people experience it as more of a disability than an ability”.
Erasure for this community is only creating and fostering more struggles for them, and Dr. Joey hopes that with time, everyone can be more welcoming, compassionate, and understanding of different worldviews and perspectives. At the end of the day, gifted or not, we all struggle with the human experience, and there’s a comforting unifying message in simply being.
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Zayda Slabbekoorn is a staff writer with a bachelor’s degree in social relations & policy and gender studies who focuses on psychology, relationships, self-help, and human interest stories.
