09/10/2026
Giftedness is so much more than being “smart.” ❤️ Although numerically it’s categorized as an IQ over 130. Something so important to note…we have difficulty relating (not loving) to those 20 points outside of our own IQ. The majority of the population has an IQ of 100. So, gifted folks can feel very different/alone and may not even know why. In fact, if they are 2e …they might not know they’re gifted.
This is something I wish we talked about more.
When people hear gifted, they often think of high grades, advanced classes, or a child who learns quickly.
But giftedness can also look like intensity.
Polish psychologist Kazimierz Dabrowski described five areas of heightened responsiveness, often called overexcitabilities. Not every gifted person experiences all five, but understanding them can give us a completely different lens for behaviors we might otherwise misunderstand.
🧠 Intellectual
A deep need to understand why. Endless questions. Analyzing, researching, problem-solving and thinking about things long after everyone else has moved on. These are often the kids—and adults—who can’t simply “stop thinking about it.”
❤️ Emotional
Big feelings, deep attachments, strong empathy and an acute awareness of other people’s emotions. They may be profoundly affected by rejection, criticism, suffering or injustice.
✨ Imaginational
A rich inner world, creativity, vivid dreams, storytelling, fantasy and the ability to imagine possibilities others may not see. Sometimes that wonderful imagination can also imagine everything that could possibly go wrong.
👂 Sensory
Sounds, textures, smells, lights, tastes, clothing or crowded environments may be experienced much more intensely. What looks like “being dramatic” may actually feel genuinely overwhelming to that nervous system.
⚡ Psychomotor
A strong drive for movement, talking, activity and stimulation. There may be fidgeting, rapid speech, tremendous enthusiasm or difficulty slowing the body and brain down.
And then there is another layer we don’t talk about nearly enough.
Some gifted people become aware of life’s bigger questions unusually early.
Why do people suffer?
Why is the world unfair?
What happens when we die?
What is my purpose?
Why aren’t people kinder to each other?
That depth can be beautiful.
It can also be heavy.
For some gifted children and adults, this can contribute to existential distress or depression—especially when they can intellectually understand something they aren’t yet emotionally equipped to carry.
And giftedness doesn’t protect someone from struggling in other areas.
A person can be gifted and have ADHD.
Gifted and autistic.
Gifted and dyslexic.
Gifted and struggle with anxiety, OCD, executive functioning or learning differences.
When significant strengths and significant challenges exist together, we often use the term twice-exceptional, or 2e.
This is one reason these children—and adults—can be so misunderstood.
Their intelligence may hide their struggles.
And their struggles may hide their giftedness.
So the child who is “too sensitive,” “too intense,” “too distracted,” “too emotional,” or “always overthinking” may need something very different from simply being told to toughen up.
Sometimes we need to get curious about what is happening underneath the behavior.
At Guiding House, we believe understanding the whole person matters.
Because sometimes what the world labels “too much” is actually a beautiful combination of depth, sensitivity, creativity and intensity that simply needs understanding, support and the right tools to thrive. ❤️
Different doesn’t mean deficient. And intensity isn’t something we necessarily need to extinguish—we can help people learn how to carry it well.
Attached is an article on existential grief that can be associated with giftedness. When we know what is causing the symptoms, we have a better chance in helping them.
When people undergo a great trauma or other unsettling event—they have lost a job or a loved one dies, for example—their understanding of themselves or of
