A friend of mine's husband who is gifted suffered from Bi-polar several years ago and was successfully treated with medication. He no longer needs it and has stabilized very well.
I think there could be a correlation, but whether it's due to extremes of excitability or some kind of cognitive reciprocity I have no idea. I myself am HG and have always been prone to emotional intensity as well as OCD and anxiety like behaviours.
I look at it this way. What is giftedness on a neurological level? More neurons firing? So if you have all that extra wiring hooked up, you won't just be "typically" sad, you'll be REALLY sad. The same can be said for any emotion: fear, anger, joy, etc. The more circuits there are firing, the bigger the emotion.
I remember DD10 having an extreme meltdown when she was about 4 over something that would not provoke such a reaction in a typical kid, and DH just couldn't wrap his head around it. I tried to explain "it's because she's smart" ...he got really annoyed (not being gifted himself and having any frame of reference to judge from).
sigh.
Anyway, know that you're not alone. This is an intense road. If your feelings and behaviours are extreme enough to interfere with your life and possibly cause you or someone else danger, then you should seek some help (like my friend's husband). On the other hand, if you're just intense and feel ostracized and alone because of it, not to worry, because you're not alone
