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by Nicole A. Tetreault, Ph.D.  High emotional capacity is a blessing and a curse. Without high emotional intelligence individuals like, St. Teresa of Calcutta would have not impacted our world so profoundly. We need these individuals to open our eyes to be more empathetic, caring, and develop creative solutions to better society. Even with all of St. Teresa of Calcutta’s massive progress, she suffered silently with her faith and the venerability of the human condition. Gifted individuals with a high emotional intelligence are told they are too sensitive that they just need to get over it, and that they take too much to heart. In reality, highly gifted emotional individuals can’t get over it or stop being too sensitive in a quick manner, their brain is wired differently. Gifted individuals have expanded brain regions and networks for emotional processing, insula and cingulate cortex, allowing them to feel all dimensions of emotions (fear, anger, sadness, disgust, surprise, anticipation, joy, and trust, identified by Robert Plutchik) and ponder the deep emotional complexities. Importantly, sensory information (touch, taste, smell, tactile, hearing, and seeing) along with memories are coded and decoded in the expanded regions for emotional processing thus a heighten sensory response can elevate emotional content of an experience or memory. We know that gifted individuals experience the world with an elevated intensity and their brain wiring and neuroanatomy are the core of their expanded ability for processing information. It is paramount we embrace the range of human neurodiversity. Gifted individuals with a high verbal IQ self-reported they had increased worry and rumination compared to age matched individuals. At a glance, a gifted individual with an expanded vocabulary evaluates words, language, and meaning in a more complex manner which, can amplify their thought process, emotions, and experiences. A gifted individual may have all 464 meanings of the word run at their fingertips, may ruminate on the beauty of language, and create poetry like Maya Angelou. Many emotionally gifted individuals have a profound commitment to make the world better which, may exacerbate their emotions and intensity. Social justice is a core value that weighs on an emotionally gifted individual and when the balances are uneven this may be very challenging for the individual as well as for others since the perceived evaluation is imbedded in their anatomy and drive. For example, a gifted child on the playground that experiences a classmate cheating in a game of dodge ball, may cause a rage of furry if the cheater is not disciplined. The injustice on the playground may carry with them throughout the day and may have difficulty letting go, since the gifted individual is prone to worry and rumination. An increase in anxiety and depression was self-reported by gifted individuals compared to the national average. It is hypothesized that their increased emotional ability may be a precursor for increased accounts of anxiety and depression. Gifted expansive empathy is seeing, feeling, and embodying things more deeply and is at the center of the gifted experience. In a recent study individuals that experienced social exclusion activated anterior cingulate cortex and anterior insula, indicating that physical and emotional pain illicit similar neural networks. Is too much empathy a bad thing? In a recent study, researchers found that too much empathy can actually be disadvantageous since, it can hinder processing other information and be linked to negative emotions. The flip side, individuals must experience the broad range of emotions and in our society, we over identify that individuals need to be joyous and happy all the time. In reality emotions, thoughts and, bodily sensations fluctuate moment to moment. Importantly, the moment, feeling, experience, and situation need to be evaluated for what it actually is rather than what it is expected to be. A gifted individual can find peace in the truth of the moment rather than what is expected. Tuning into the moment mindfully can aide in their understanding and self-healing. Specifically, while individuals practiced a mindfulness meditation while watching other’s pain, it allowed for an adaptive mechanism for suffering. Here are ways to help support an emotionally gifted individual and strategies to navigate the complex world. Listen to their needs and feelings. A profoundly gifted individual needs to be heard and the act of listening and acknowledging their stories, feelings, and bodily needs is the first step in understanding the depths of their emotions. Understand that language for a gifted child has a million meanings. Gifted individuals with an elevated emotional processing have profound verbal ability. Choose your words carefully and make sure when you use a word, you both understand the same meaning. Patience when they respond and let them ponder the why. Allowing the individual to respond within their own time frame and being patience is crucial. No two brains are alike and processing speed of emotional information is unique to every individual. De-identify as only their problem. Get them engaged with like-minded individuals to help them understand that they are not alone. Being part of a tribe and group that holds similar beliefs and values, guides them to understand they are part of a collective, bigger than themselves. Cultivate and empower them that they can make a difference. Give them hope that they can make a difference. It is through our difficulties and suffering that great change happens. Start small and grow. Making small change is better than no change at all. My son, Spence, is increasingly worried about global warming and the state of our planet and he decided to reduce his carbon footprint by becoming a vegetarian. Help them establish things that are out of their control. Guiding them to understand that they can only be responsible for themselves and that they can make change by their behavior and actions. Help them recognize that each day is different, and they can realize some are better than others. The impermanence of life. Reality check. Sometimes life sucks and it really sucks. Like the fact that the Arctic is melting and as a society we need to come together to aide in the problems of global warming. Have them practice loving kindness meditation for self-compassion. Cultivation of self-compassion is good for healing and wellness. Remember the words of St. Teresa of Calcutta, “Do not wait for leaders, do it alone, person to person.” References Ashar YK, Andrews-Hanna JR, Dimidjian S, Wager TD. Empathic Care and Distress: Predictive Brain Markers and Dissociable Brain Systems. Neuron. 2017 Jun 21;94(6):1263-1273.e4. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2017.05.014. Epub 2017 Jun 8. PubMed PMID: 28602689. Karpinski RI , Kolb AM, Tetreault NA, Borowsk T. Forthcoming 2017. High Intelligence: A Risk Factor for Psychological and Physiological Overexcitabilities.” (Manuscript under review). Laneri D, Krach S, Paulus FM, Kanske P, Schuster V, Sommer J, Müller-Pinzler L. Mindfulness meditation regulates anterior insula activity during empathy for social pain. Hum Brain Mapp. 2017 Aug;38(8):4034-4046. doi: 10.1002/hbm.23646. Epub 2017 May 15. PubMed PMID: 28504364. Ohtani T, Nestor PG, Bouix S, Newell D, Melonakos ED, McCarley RW, Shenton ME, Kubicki M. 2017. Exploring the neural substrates of attentional control and human intelligence: Diffusion tensor imaging of prefrontal white matter tractography in healthy cognition. Neuroscience. 2017 Jan 26(341)52-60. Penney, A. M., Miedema, V. C., & Mazmanian, D. (2015). Intelligence and emotional disorders: Is the worrying and ruminating mind a more intelligent mind? Personality and Individual Differences, 74, 90-93. doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2014.10.005 Schmälzle R, Brook O'Donnell M, Garcia JO, Cascio CN, Bayer J, Bassett DS, Vettel JM, Falk EB. Brain connectivity dynamics during social interaction reflect social network structure. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2017 May 16;114(20):5153-5158. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1616130114. Epub 2017 May 2. PubMed PMID: 28465434; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5441802. James T. Webb, Ph.D., ABPP-Cl, Edward R. Amend, Psy.D., Paul Beljan, Psy.D., ABPdN, Nadia E. Webb, Psy.D., Marianne Kuzujanakis M.D., M.P.H., F. Richard Olenchak, Ph.D., Jean Goerss, M.D. 2016. Misdiagnosis and Dual Diagnoses of Gifted Children and Adults ADHD, Bipolar, OCD, Asperger’s, Depression, and Other Disorders (2nd edition). Tucson (AZ): Great Potential Press. Plutchik, Robert (1980), Emotion: Theory, research, and experience: Vol. 1. Theories of emotion, 1, New York: Academic  Dr. Nicole A. Tetreault is a neuroscientist, researcher, author, meditation teacher, and speaker who specializes in neurodevelopment and neurodegenerative disorders. She received her Ph.D. from California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Neuroscience. Dr. Tetreault has authored many peer-reviewed scientific papers on the topics of gifted experience, neuroinflammation in autism, brain evolution, neuroanatomy, brain development, behavior, and cell function. Most recently, she has focused her efforts on studying the neurodiverse experience, encompasses the brain and body connection, by investigating the latest neuroscience, psychology, and physiology research. She is completing her first book, Feeling Color: A Field Guide to Diverse Minds, which explores groundbreaking research of the human mind and is a collection of stories of our most creative and neurodiverse minds.
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 My name is Molly Isaacs-McLeod, JD, LL.M., president of Gifted Unlimited, LLC. Welcome! I am glad you are here! Gifted Unlimited has been in the making for some time now. We are delighted to be taking our initial steps as a new provider of quality, research-based content that speaks to the gifted community and, in some cases, well beyond. In addition to publishing, we look forward to providing opportunities for gifted individuals to build community- virtually and in real life- via local and regional events, podcasts, and social media. The sharing of resources and the normalizing of the gifted experience is crucial to our well-being as individuals and as a group. We are thrilled and honored to announce the summer debut of our first book, ABCs of Raising Smarter Kids, alliteratively written by multiple award-winning author, Joanne Foster, Ed.D., and intriguingly illustrated by Christine Thammavongsa. Please click on the link above to read more about ABCs, and to sign up to be notified when preorders may be placed. We hope you will visit often. We are accepting submission of manuscripts for books, as well as material for our blog page. Stay tuned for exciting announcements to come- new books, community building events, speaking schedules, etc. |
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