"The average person believes themselves to be above average"
Existential Depression in Gifted Children
11–20 of 185 posts
Re: Existential Depression in Gifted Children
#12Let's all get in a circle and talk about our experience as gifted children.
Re: Existential Depression in Gifted Children
#13Not sure why the emphasis is on children especially. This seems to affect thoughtful people of all ages.
Or maybe, in that thoughtful, existentially-depressed way, the author is just understatedly asserting that adults are just big children. That would probably be overthinking it.
Re: Existential Depression in Gifted Children
#14Gifted children are intense? Has the author ever actually been around children? They're all intense. That's the nature of children!
Of course, they may simply all be gifted until they're hammered into their little social boxes; I've often thought that. Some of us weirdos just can't be hammered as efficiently, or break before bending or something.
Re: Existential Depression in Gifted Children
#15Not sure why the emphasis is on children especially. This seems to affect thoughtful people of all ages. Or maybe, in that thoughtful, existentially-depressed way, the author is just understatedly asserting that adults are just big children. That would probably be overthinking it.
I think he author chose children to simplify the somewhat complicated theory of positive disintegration.
He's also probably assuming the reader has some background on PD and knows what it is a psychological theory not at all correlated with age.
Re: Existential Depression in Gifted Children
#16The book that taught me to spiritually make sense of a world that is a constant let down was "The Master and Margarita" by Bulgakov. The author wrote it in secret while living with totalitarianism and meaninglessness in Stalinist Russia.
If you're not in the mood for a book, there's a great mini-series adaptation that was produced in Russia in the 2000s that takes about a week to watch. It does an almost perfect job of reproducing the book. I don't think it's available online.
Re: Existential Depression in Gifted Children
#17"The average person believes themselves to be above average" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illusory_superiority
Read the article before spouting off.
Re: Existential Depression in Gifted Children
#18I faced some of these issues during my early teens. It went away after that. Now I am 29 and facing the mid life crisis that the author has mentioned. It's a confused state of big dreams and crushing reality.
Re: Existential Depression in Gifted Children
#19"The average person believes themselves to be above average" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illusory_superiority
Not relevant here. I am not sure if you read the article.
Re: Existential Depression in Gifted Children
#20A well written piece. The excessive use of "gifted" works against its intentions though. By referring exclusively to "gifted" children the author is throwing up a wall. Everyone has different levels of care and thought when it comes to the world around us.
Well put; thank you for not jumping on the "hurr durr look at the special snowflake language" bandwagon.