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 vulnerability 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 deep emotional complexities. Importantly, sensory information (touch, taste, smell, tactile, hearing, and seeing) along with memories are coded in the expanded regions for emotional processing; thus a heightened 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. A gifted person with an expanded vocabulary evaluates words, language, and meaning in a more complex manner which can amplify thought, emotions, and experience.
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 balances are uneven this may be very challenging; perceived injustice can persist and provoke rumination.
An increase in anxiety and depression was self reported by gifted individuals compared to the national average. It is hypothesized that increased emotional ability may be a precursor for higher accounts of anxiety and depression. Gifted expansive empathy involves seeing, feeling, and embodying things more deeply. Studies show individuals who experienced social exclusion activated anterior cingulate cortex and anterior insula, indicating physical and emotional pain can utilize similar neural networks; other research suggests too much empathy can hinder processing and be linked to negative emotions.
On the flip side, individuals must experience a broad range of emotions; society often overemphasizes that people must be happy all the time. Emotions, thoughts, and bodily sensations fluctuate moment to moment. Evaluating the moment as it is, rather than as expected, can help a gifted person find peace. Specifically, when individuals practiced mindfulness meditation while watching another’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; 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 individual has a million meanings. Gifted individuals with elevated emotional processing have profound verbal ability. Choose words carefully and ensure shared meaning.
Patience when they respond and let them ponder the why. Allowing the individual to respond on their own time and being patient 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 so they understand they are not alone; being part of a tribe guides them to see they are part of something larger.
Cultivate and empower them that they can make a difference. Give them hope; through difficulties and suffering, great change can happen.
Start small and grow. Small change is better than no change. Personal examples can help channel concern into action.
Help them understand when things are out of their control. Guide them to focus on what they can influence through behavior and actions.
Help them recognize that each day is different and they can realize some are better than others. Understand the impermanence of life.
Reality check. Sometimes life is difficult; acknowledging reality can be part of coping with big feelings.
Have them practice loving kindness meditation for self compassion. Cultivation of self-compassion is beneficial 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. 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. PMID: 28504364.
Ohtani T, Nestor PG, Bouix S, Newell D, Melonakos ED, McCarley RW, Shenton ME, Kubicki M. Exploring the neural substrates of attentional control and human intelligence. Neuroscience. 2017 Jan;341:52-60.
Penney AM, Miedema VC, Mazmanian D. Intelligence and emotional disorders: Is the worrying and ruminating mind a more intelligent mind? Personality and Individual Differences. 2015;74:90-93.
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. PMID: 28465434.
James T. Webb et al. Misdiagnosis and Dual Diagnoses of Gifted Children and Adults. 2nd ed. Great Potential Press.
