TKDmom Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 Bipolar disorder among gifted populations? Every time I read about certain overexcitablilites in gifted people, I'm struck by how much they sound like BPD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wapiti Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 No, I don't. I know quite a few extremely intelligent people, but I've only known one who is BP. IMO, OEs are a bit similar to SPD, just a lesser degree. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 No, I don't think so. I do think that often gifted kids get mislabeled as having a disorder when what's really going on is that they're stuck in a learning environment that's a bad "fit". My brother, who is high energy, a visio-spatial learner, and highly gifted was labeled "ADHD" growing up. The school insisted on Ritalin but he would go off it during the summer and was fine. Once he graduated high school (by the skin of his teeth), he refused to take it any longer. That was in 1999 and he has been totally fine. Clearly, he did not, in fact, have ADHD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKDmom Posted July 19, 2011 Author Share Posted July 19, 2011 No, I don't. I know quite a few extremely intelligent people, but I've only known one who is BP. I think I have a skewed view, since both qualities run in my family. :tongue_smilie:So most of the people I know who are BP are also highly intelligent (of course I know many more highly intelligent people who are not BP). I'm just curious if anyone else sees any similarities between the two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaichiki Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 Bipolar disorder among gifted populations? Every time I read about certain overexcitablilites in gifted people, I'm struck by how much they sound like BPD. I really hope not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maus Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 Bipolar disorder among gifted populations? Every time I read about certain overexcitablilites in gifted people, I'm struck by how much they sound like BPD. Or OCD or ADHD. Maybe it's like what a professor I once took a class from(Human Development) once said. He was talking about creativity rather than giftedness, but he said there is a fine line between what we consider creative thinking and what we consider crazy thinking. He illustrated with nested circles, which I can't really reproduce here, but the center circle was "normal". The ring around that was "creative." The outer ring was "insane." He said the difference from really creative to insane was sometimes just a small step away. My mom and I had a conversation about this a few years ago, and she mentioned she had read something about artists who had been diagnosed bipolar who had chosen to quit their medications because they had found without the "ups," they weren't creating anything. So, I'd speculate that maybe the same parts of the brain are involved. However, I also think those disorders are over-diagnosed in the gifted, as per "Misdiagnosis and Dual Diagnoses of Gifted Children and Adults." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleIzumi Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 However, I also think those disorders are over-diagnosed in the gifted, as per "Misdiagnosis and Dual Diagnoses of Gifted Children and Adults." :iagree::iagree::iagree: That book is like the handbook to my kids. I was diagnosed as bipolar when I was younger, but I've been off medication for years with no issues that way. :001_huh: I rarely took my meds as a kid anyway. I also fit ADHD very, very well. It could just be that the gifted brain somehow affects those areas of the brain more. Wasn't there an "Einstein theory" about how smart kids have glasses and asthma because those parts of the brain are used for other things int he gifted population? (I probably butchered that theory, lol.) I have one kid with strong ADHD-Inattentive symptoms, and one with MANY OEs who was in therapy for sensory issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissKNG Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 However, I also think those disorders are over-diagnosed in the gifted, as per "Misdiagnosis and Dual Diagnoses of Gifted Children and Adults." This is a great resource if one of your kiddo's OEs is the psychomotor OE. When I received the first "ADHD" comment about my big girl, I read this book and it gave me clear examples as to why it's NOT ADHD and just one of her OEs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EthiopianFood Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 :iagree::iagree::iagree: That book is like the handbook to my kids. I was diagnosed as bipolar when I was younger, but I've been off medication for years with no issues that way. :001_huh: I rarely took my meds as a kid anyway. I also fit ADHD very, very well. It could just be that the gifted brain somehow affects those areas of the brain more. Wasn't there an "Einstein theory" about how smart kids have glasses and asthma because those parts of the brain are used for other things int he gifted population? (I probably butchered that theory, lol.) I have one kid with strong ADHD-Inattentive symptoms, and one with MANY OEs who was in therapy for sensory issues. OT, but people with bipolar are often misdiagnosed with ADHD. I would imagine it could work the opposite way. Having lived with someone with bipolar, I think it is a matter of the therapist only seeing the individual in certain states, rather than truly seeing the whole picture (or cycle, if any). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKDmom Posted July 19, 2011 Author Share Posted July 19, 2011 I do think that often gifted kids get mislabeled as having a disorder when what's really going on is that they're stuck in a learning environment that's a bad "fit". Yes this makes sense. I always wished that I had more power over my learning when I was a kid. I nearly failed several classes because everything seemed so pointless.... Or OCD or ADHD. Maybe it's like what a professor I once took a class from(Human Development) once said. He was talking about creativity rather than giftedness, but he said there is a fine line between what we consider creative thinking and what we consider crazy thinking. He illustrated with nested circles, which I can't really reproduce here, but the center circle was "normal". The ring around that was "creative." The outer ring was "insane." He said the difference from really creative to insane was sometimes just a small step away. My mom and I had a conversation about this a few years ago, and she mentioned she had read something about artists who had been diagnosed bipolar who had chosen to quit their medications because they had found without the "ups," they weren't creating anything. So, I'd speculate that maybe the same parts of the brain are involved. That's really interesting. I like that explanation. So you're saying I should value my children's "creativity" rather than rolling my eyes at how "weird" they are. ;) However, I also think those disorders are over-diagnosed in the gifted, as per "Misdiagnosis and Dual Diagnoses of Gifted Children and Adults." I checked out that book once from the library and it was helpful for me to see that my children's (and my) idiosyncrasies were really just gifted traits and not anything close to OCD/ADD/BP... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 As the mom of a very intelligent young man that has had an alphabet soup of diagnoses, including bipolar at one time, many of which we knew were incorrect (bipolar most noteably), I can say that my ds that I believe is gifted does not share any similar personality traits with his brother. Our intelligent Aspie suffers from so many issues that he is incredibly difficult (ocd, adhd, high anxiety, sensory issues). Our ds that is gifted has one of the most delightful personalities of all our children and is a joy to be around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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