Gifted children are victims of depression as often as other children. The sooner the parent or concerned adult can intervene, the better, since the depression is not likely to just go away without treatment. Two predominant types of depression are common in gifted children.
Gifted Children and Existential Depression
Existential depression is confronting the problems of existence such as life, death, disease, and freedom and questioning the meaning and significance of the individual. Because the gifted child is apt to learn about life, death and disease very early on, she may have more difficulty coming to terms with the finality of losing loved ones and ultimately, losing one's own life.
Depression of this type is often helped by therapy and counseling. Also, helping the child to work through his feelings about what he learns can be effective at minimizing his negative thoughts on the harsh realities that are much more palatable to the mature, adult mind.
Very young gifted children, even some in the preschool years, have been known to experience night frights, nightmares, irrational fears, crying jags and similar behavior when dealing with trying to understand death, the concept of eternity, and similar thoughts. Reassurance in the form of talking about her fears, showing love and support and providing a counseling alternative if needed are the best ways a parent can cope with this phenomenon.
Gifted Children and Clinical Depression
Clinical depression has a tendency to run in families and has a genetic component. It can arise at any point in the life cycle and once it surfaces, it is more likely to affect the person again in the future. Clinical depression tends to occur during high stress times, hormonal changes and major life events. Most often, this type of depression will require counseling and often medication to get the person back to normal. As suicide more frequently occurs during bouts of clinical depression, the symptoms should never be ignored or denied.
Children, teens or adults who experience a withdrawal from previously enjoyed activities, who have difficulty with appetite, sleep patterns, activities of daily living and who feel sad much of the time are likely to be depressed. Contact the individual's doctor for a consult and a referral to a mental health clinician.
Gifted teens commonly experience bouts of angst that borders on depression. This can be the result of feeling like an outcast or a freak in comparison to other kids of the same age. Gifted teens know they are different from their friends and they experience very different and more complex emotions, based on their asychronous development. They are often exposed to most experiences at an earlier age that their peers and some of these early exposures can be more traumatic. When volatile feelings emerge, help is needed.
In summary, gifted children are generally as prone to all types of depression when compared to normal children. Existential depression is born from the child being exposed very early to advanced concepts like death and disease. Clinical depression, which tends to have a genetic basis, is also a common concern for the gifted. Keeping communication flowing with the child and seeking help from a medical professional when the parent cannot resolve the problem is vital to the developing child.
Therese Haberman - With a MS degree and 25 years in HR mgmt, in 2005, Ms.Therese began a writing career specializing in children and HR.
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