Emotional Intensities

Mrs. Trepanier's summary:

Giftedness embodies a complex set of traits or characteristics. Along with higher-than-average intelligence, gifted students usually exhibit emotional intensities. They may become frustrated easily, angry for seemingly no reason, or may become upset quickly. They are passionate and intense, and they may resent being pulled away from an activity or subject of intense interest to them. This may result in an angry outburst, emotional meltdown or total disengagement in the classroom.

This topic, and the closely related one that comes next, create a picture of riding a rollercoaster when peers are riding along a hilly road. Everything is more intense: the excitement at something new, the sadness over a loss, the laser focus, and the extreme distractability. Put another way...

...gifted kids go to 11.

Do you often find yourself more excited, more sad, more giggly, more fidgety, more... everything than your friends?

Do you have trouble turning your mind off and going to sleep? Does it make you upset and even less able to go to sleep?

Do you get so focused on an idea that you sacrifice other responsibilities to follow that idea?

This concept of heightened emotions, both positive and negative, for the most part is an amusing and slightly embarrassing insight into how our mind works. You can probably all think of an example where, looking back, you can laugh a little at yourself for overreacting to a situation .

I still do this as an adult. Knowing this about myself, though, has helped me to deal with it. Sometimes I can feel it happening. Sometimes I can turn myself off of that path. Often, I can at least make myself postpone any decisions until I have time to reflect. And other times I speed right past rational into slightly crazy and work in my wood shop until 3AM because I have an idea that will be perfect for our house (it usually isn't).

This concept can go from silly, slightly funny to scary pretty quickly, though. This combination of the exhausting effect of heightened emotions, the impulsive decision making, curiosity, and the intellect to figure out how to get what you want from a situation all combine to make drug use more common in bright and gifted young people.

A 2011 study that followed over 20,000 people born in 1970 as they grew up concluded "High childhood IQ may increase the risk of illegal drug use in adolescence and adulthood." A Time article based on the study explains, "People with high IQs are more likely to smoke marijuana and take other illegal drugs, compared with those who score lower on intelligence tests..."

I am not telling you this to scare you (well, maybe a little, but this is really important), I am telling you to make you realize that understanding yourself doesn't just help you have a sense of humor about your own quirks, it might help you make the right choice to really important decisions in your future.

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#2 Gifted Students Often Have Emotional Intensities

Why Kids With High IQs Are More Likely to Take Drugs | TIME.com

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