I was something you might call a "child prodigy" - went to a gifted elementary school, was still limited academically so was pulled out to homeschool, did dual enrollment 15 credit hours/semester for a couple years, got a full scholarship through Grad school for Business Analytics at UNCC. I then became rapidly disillusioned with my life, dropped out, and from 16 onward have been working random entry level jobs living paycheck to paycheck.

Most of my free time is spent playing strategy games and self-reflecting. I am obsessed with metacognition, and for better or for worse have effectively been a hermit for the past 8 years quietly building out my understanding of my mind and untangling the emotional and intellectual "spaghetti code" that I was left with after living a very lonely and completely outlandish life. I like to think I'm in something of a springboard position - I'm very competent in a wide variety of domains but due to the isolation hole I've dug myself into there's no telling when I'll be able to break through and germinate. I've run face first into many of the glaring societal issues that have destroyed community for a lot of people. I've been very resentful of these issues for much of my life, but I like to think I've moved past this and try my best to maintain a dispassionate outlook on my condition. I don't know that there's much to do other than bide my time and keep quietly searching for a path out.

My entire early life I was told over and over that I was intelligent, gifted. It was proven over and over with IQ tests and unit test scores with no studying and programs and standardized measures like the ASVAB. I couldn’t convince myself to do my homework no matter how much I wished - but my principal pulled me into his office to tell me I ranked highest in the school by far and one of the highest in the district or state. That I wasn’t just gifted, I was exceptional.

What followed, and to some degree preceded, was brutal abuse, neglect, trauma, loss, injury, and more. I almost died many times. It was horrific, and it shaped our development into what we are now.

We are a DID system. With disabling memory issues. We have half a dozen diagnoses, physical issues among them. Permanent damage to this body from what we went through. We are alive, but so different than what we were meant to be.

That’s the thing - I can feel the pull towards achievement, towards using our gifts. Sometimes, something will remind me of them, and all of a sudden I can feel that deep well of potential to change things - but the dissonance between that sense of purpose and our mundane, limited, painful, brutally empty life is impossible to integrate. Right now I feel that depth, that pull, and I don’t want to ignore it.
Does…anyone else relate to any of this? Struggle with how deep that well is, how little of it they’ve used? Am I the only gifted who went through the unimaginable?

I just… want some answers.

Hello, I have thought about something interesting and thought that I might share this.

From little on we have been taught to express ourselves with words in order to describe reality, but words are solely descriptions and therefore highly subjective. And I don’t know what it is per se or how people approach this but there is this certain kind of capacity that allows an individual to experience reality deeply far beyond words. It is highly ‘difficult’ to really compare ones inner world with the ones of others to find some kind of consensus plateau with words to create a mutual understanding but I guess that it is the best one can do in order to create order and close gaps in ‘understanding’.
I always thought when it comes to relations to other people that it is kind of depictable with circles and radii. This capacity I spoke upon is comparable with the radius of the circle and whenever two circles meet, the relation is set once the outer circle line hits the core of another individual, bluntly speaking the individual with the greater radius can map out the whole other circle while the circle with the smaller radius is only restricted to the outer parts of the circle. The inner parts of the circle can be compared to the main mechanics of an individual, the raw ‘potential’, unfiltered expression if one might call it that, the further out the radius goes the further it is what is expressed of ones individual mechanics, when you now go back to the analogy that I have presented with the relation you can see that a individual with a comparatively smaller radius is only restricted to see what an individual expresses and that individual will never have the ‘raw’ potential to see further.

After being told how smart i am just to become an adult and be mediocre, I realized that I was never actually that smart to begin with. But I want to change that. I get all my thoughts and opinions from other people but I want to start thinking for myself. I also feel like I'm only bookmark but my intelligence is lacking everywhere else. Im not street smart nor do I have awareness nor do i have social intelligence. Those are much more difficult and intangible to improve on but I want to try. I also have doomscrolled so much that I genuinely am less smart than before. I can't even read anymore. I don't want to put all my self worth in being smart again but I feel so stupid these days and I want to do something about it. I can't even talk properly anymore. I have nothing in my mind because of how much I doomscroll. How do I actually become smart and improve my intelligence? Does reading help as much as people say it does?

Hello everyone! I believe this is my (45F) first time making a post on Reddit... More of a lurker or answering on others posts. I guess I just earned my OP wings :)

I'll provide some background that will clarify, hopefully, the motivation behind this post. Also, sorry in advance for the quality of my English. It's my 3rd language and it's self-taught so...

TLDR : Looking for a gifted person to join our micro firm that does accounting, taxes and corporate strategy (Canada or Quebec).

My Gifted Backstory :

I've spent the first 30 years of my life being brainwashed into accepting that I was retarded and crazy. Not the funny kind but the actually severely intellectually impaired one. It sounds silly saying that today but back then, it was the only reality I've ever known and nothing exterior never dismissed that. Other factors contributed to solidify the validity of it all... I could never keep a job, dropped out of school at 16, struggled hard to socialize and never fitted anywhere. Didn't feel retarded but I was probably too stupid to understand because if they were wrong, I would have been able to function like a normal person, right ?

Fast track to age 30, I was victim of a violent event that changed the course of my life. In my 2nd major depression, in such pain, that I went and checked myself into a hospital psych emergency. It was time that I faced reality.

An Angel must have been watching over me because I didn't know at the time, but you can't leave once you pass those doors. And regardless of diagnostic, the mention "psychiatrized" gets added in your medical records forever. It's quite serious. Can't get medical of life insurance afterwards, good luck with jobs or other background checks, etc. They kept me for 2 days and during that time, 5 psychiatrists questioned and studied me extensively. Barely allowed to sleep and, in order to evaluate me, they cooked the hell out of me to get everything out. At the end, they made me sit on a chair facing all of them and it felt like the movies when a panel of officials give the verdict.

What they told me ?

• I was actually too smart and others couldn't understanding me. So to them, my intelligence level was the problem and not theirs.
• Not only was I not impaired nor crazy, but they evaluated my IQ between 142-145, near genius level (their words, not mine).
• I should write a book about the things I told them. That I could, among other things, help save people suffering from major depression.
• That they never give patients their results in this manner, with a grand panel, but they wanted this to mark me as much as possible so I would believe them and I would feel they meant every word. To break the brainwash.
• That they felt very stimulated to have had the chance to study a live case like mine.
• They ended with: We are kicking you out and we will erase you ever entered this facility so your medical record stays clean. To never show myself into any similar facility ever again because I didn't belong there.

I was such in state of shock, I didn't speak a word for a full week. Why am I sharing all that ? I guess so you don't feel alone and also that for what comes next. It doesn't matter how ugly it was or how much you struggled to navigate this world. You just need to find the right place for you. And there is. You just haven't found it yet.

Looking for an accountant

School bored me. Jobs bored me. I needed something that makes me use my brain however I see fit (to it sees fit really haha). When I found it, I've never let go until it was done. I've spent 13 years in University studying accounting and small business management and strategy. I am a licensed Chartered Administrator specialized in Accounting, Fiscal law and Corporate Strategy. I run my own very small firm located in Quebec, Canada. It's perfect for my type of brain. It's hard, focuses on problem solving. We're helping people but through, majorly, their business data. My brain makes a difference in people's lives. My capacities have an impact. And I wouldn't trade it for the world even if it's really demanding more often than not. It gives me purpose. Somewhere I can feel I belong.

But as you can imagine, finding teammates is extremely difficult. My way of functioning just doesn't blend with the normies. I'm ADHD (diagnosed) and probably some level of autistic/ asperger (not diagnosed). Normal people love structure. But structure is the death of the likes of us. To shine and perform, our brains need to have an environment adapted for it rather than having to adapt to it.

I'm burnt from work, from too much for far too long and I can't find help that actually reduces my workload instead of burdening me more. No one can follow my speed or reasonings. It feels lonely but also a lot rests on my shoulders. We are a small team of 2 full time (my husband, smart but not gifted, and I), plus 2 part-time helpers. Everyone works remotely for the majority of the work. I don't care when things are done as long as it's in time for deadline.

I don't need an exact second copy of me (but a CPA would be nice addition). What we care about loyalty, honesty, skills and dedication far more than titles and diplomas. I can coach for whatever is missing. Also need someone who can deal with me. I'm am not toxic or difficult to be around per se, but I'm quite transparent and good at my job. As a result, when being around me a lot, none-gifted people tend to struggle since people aren't that honest usually or get self-esteem issues (ridiculous but it is what it is). With only a high school diploma, no Uni and no title, I landed a position of a Vice-President Finance and Strategy, at only 32 and being a female. Also started my firm years before finishing Uni.

So this morning, I had the idea that I need a second one of me. But where the heck do you find that ? r/Gifted.... maybe? Quite the long shot but if this post resonated with you, and you're located in Canada, even better in Quebec, and have either knowledge, experience or diplomas in accounting... Message me.

Wish me luck!

Hi I’m a 17 year old and I found out a couple of months ago that my iq is 130, but if I’m being honest I kinda suck at everything in school, I don’t really try either but even when I do I can’t get myself to do it right. I have ADHD and I had depression sense I was a kid, apperantely those two things are connected to my iq somehow. When I talked to my therapist about intelligence and iq she said that almost everything I describe screams that my iq is high, I have a good pattern recognition and I can tell how people feel by looking at they’re faces for a few seconds or less, I learn complex guitar songs like playing god by polyphia and psychosocial by Slipknot, and I’ve been getting into learning Japanese and playing chess for fun lately because tbh I’m bored. But if I want to and try I can learn math just depends if I try, a proof is that I learned a whole unit in 3 days in math and managed to get 78 on the test, not an amazing grade but good for 3 days worth of work. I notice almost everything and anything around me but I still can’t shake off that feeling of not being smart enough, idk what to do it’s getting into my head and I can’t even explain how much it reflects on by day to day life.

Ik this is a bit of a different post but ..

I’m currently a college freshman at a T20 selective SLAC that is known for being weird/quirky. I think the biggest thing I’ve noticed since coming here is that.. I’m not special nor am I smart. Everyone was in a gifted program and everyone is smart/intelligent. For the first time in my life, I’ve realized that I’m not smart compared to so many people. Throughout my life, I’ve breezed through everything without lifting a finger. I didn’t care about school and was still able to get an A regardless of how much I paid or didn’t pay attention. I’m not special for skipping a grade and I’m not special that things I like come naturally. 

Idk. Kinda just have a lot of imposter syndrome especially since it’s midterms and I realized I can’t coast through school anymore. 

Hi everyone! 😊 I’m hoping to hear from parents who have been through a similar experience and can share some advice.

My son is only 6 and was recently assessed as gifted. His WISC is extremely high scores across the subtests, and his WIAT too. Honestly, as a parent, I’m still trying to process everything.

His teachers have been in contact with us and are willing to help provide the support he needs at school, which we’re really grateful for. But if I’m being honest, I’m feeling a little anxious about what comes next.

I was just a regular kid growing up, and I’ve always believed that the most important things I could teach my son were respect, love, kindness, good values, and practical life skills. I’ve also encouraged him to enjoy being a kid and explore different interests. He does piano, choir, basketball and football, so we’ve always tried to give him a balance of learning, sports, activities and just enjoying childhood.

But now that we know more about his abilities, I sometimes worry that I might not be able to give him the academic support he needs as things get more complex. He’s only in Year 1 but is already doing long division and multiplication and excelling at school with history with his great memory. I’m happy to see him learning and enjoying it, but I also find myself wondering how to keep challenging him without putting too much pressure on him or taking away the joy of learning.

I want to make the right decisions for him, but I honestly don’t know what the best path looks like yet, or whether we even need to think that far ahead.

For parents raising gifted children, how do you navigate day-to-day life? How do you support their academic needs while making sure they still have time for sports, friendships, play and just being a child? How do you know when to push, when to step back, and which educational opportunities are actually worth pursuing?

I guess I’m learning that being a parent of a gifted child comes with its own set of questions and uncertainties.

I’d really appreciate hearing your experiences, lessons learned, or even things you wish you had known when your children were younger. I’m still figuring this out, and it would be reassuring to hear from parents who have walked this road before. Thank you!

Desde que soy muy pequeño había vivido en un entorno adverso en cuestión de maltrato tanto físico como psicológico por parte de mis padres y duró hasta la adolescencia siempre viví desmotivado e inseguro sin razón para hacerlo desde la secundaria sospeche de que era un superdotado y les comenté a mis padres solo recibí burlas y comentarios sobre lo estúpido que era me desmotive y dije el tema hasta ahí, hace poco volví a investigar del tema y veo que muchas cosas que sufren encajan perfectamente en mi caso pero al sufrir en un entorno adverso en ves de desarrollar mis habilidades, terminé ocupándolas para sobrevivir y hasta la adultez me vine a topar con los problemas de haber vivido así he tenido una vida bastante llena de errores básicamente siento que arruiné mi vida desde hace mucho así que estoy tratando de rehacerla aunque ya sea muy difícil. Lo único que quisiera es saber alguna opinión de qué puedo hacer para descubrir si lo soy o mejorar mi vida igual perdón por la mala redacción solo lo escribí como desahogo

Was shocked and disappointed when i got back my IQ test results.

When I was young I was a something like a prostitude then my sister went to the woods and started twirling and she went crazy I told her your soup bowl has a fucking hole on it and it spills then she told me I am the one who is crazy, then It was raining and my lip got blood on it but not injured and I didn't slipped from the rain drops, then some guy payed me to enter a room with a bunch of guys and my lip got better. Turns out they were medical engineers.

Now I am a gysah.

What do I do?

I want to change my life but being famous could ruin making a family later

and I think I have the intelligence to instill skill in my children even though they would probably grow up rich [nepo baby ]

I know this can be hard to believe but I used to isolate and use the computer as a literal new born baby in the 90s

I knew how to use windows 98, 2000, xp, etc

I had a gun pulled on me turned the situation around and got a haircut and got paid $20

Also I can do half court shots in basketball sometimes and I barely practice

Also when I was 9-12 years old on a regular qwerty keyboard on 10fastfingers I could do 120 WPM perfect accuracy

Man my lore is crazy but it's true but I do a lot of stupid shit and mostly due to my own fault and others theft and my altruism

I am broke xD

But I had a dream of immense wealth and I think god and the universe will conspire to make it happen

But the greatest thing was the love I gave out and the spiritual experience I had of unconditional love + bliss

Now adays most people are always looking to use others .. I'm not like that so that was sooo beautiful

Despite my intelligence I regularly do stupid and risky things all the time :( I get bored lol ... I wanna sky dive

I wish I had a cool genuine friend