Cliff's notes:
Existential depression is a depression that arises when an individual confronts certain basic issues of existence. Yalom (1980) describes four such issues (or "ultimate concerns")--death, freedom, isolation and meaninglessness. Death is an inevitable occurrence. Freedom, in an existential sense, refers to the absence of external structure. That is, humans do not enter a world which is inherently structured. We must give the world a structure which we ourselves create. Isolation recognizes that no matter how close we become to another person, a gap always remains, and we are nonetheless alone. Meaninglessness stems from the first three. If we must die, if we construct our own world, and if each of us is ultimately alone, then what meaning does life have?
Needs �(TNS) of the Gifted Adolescent
For Knowledge: To know and comprehend the nature or meaning of phenomena as opposed to simply inferring or believing. This need profiles in the gifted adolescent psyche in three ways:
The need to understand myself (in the immediate sense and in the greater existential sense of "what is my place in the cosmos?")
The need to understand physical and spiritual phenomena
An often unmet reciprocal need to be understood by others
For Communion: To be able to exchange thoughts and emotions or share something in common involving strong emotional or spiritual exchange.
For Expression: To be able to transform into words or manifest an emotion or feeling without words through music or art or some other nonverbal means.
At the core of the experience is the gifted teen's absolute need for knowledge for communion and for expression. The analysis revealed that the gifted adolescent is at risk for varying degrees of depression when any or all of these needs are stymied. In particular, meeting communion needs - for meaningful spiritual and emotional exchange - proved problematic for the gifted teen who is often isolated because of extraordinary innate cognitive and emotional complexity. The results from this study have strong implications for specific developmental support and for appropriate therapeutic intervention.
End Quote.
Don't know what to tell you. �Hmm. �You're in school. �There's an online forum like this that's made by and for gifted teens and young adults. �It's called Gifted Haven.�
Cogito is a gifted teen's talent search forum, for some inspirational peers. �(online). Thing is just to find somebody who wants to listen, right?! �Or talk!
I'm working through some things on this list. �My grandfather just died. �My hubby's aunt too. My four year old is processing the idea of death in front of me. �It's intense. �He's not being intense, dramatic, or morbid about it, but a little too clear in trying to process it. � His reaction got to me. �A little bit sad and afraid but also he was more grossed out deep inside that these things really happen. �I've never seen that. �I've only seen people be sad about what the loss means. �It's been a deep experience seeing all this with him around. �Talk about the Serenity Prayer. �Lucky for us I'm old enough not to worry so much about being deeply understood, and he's young enough for at least his doting parents to mostly understand him still. �Correction, I have more important things in my life, people in my life, who currently supersede my desire to be understood. � So, we've got that advantage over a gifted adolescent. �And we don't struggle with freedom issues at this point, being new parents and young children. �LoL, you want help with your problem and I just talk about me. �Ah, I thought of a way to tie it in together. �Existential depression isn't sadness, it's just the awareness that you're a rat in a cage. �I second the motion that you make your own amusement, and talk to someone older that you trust, maybe get professional help, but also go check out those two forums to seek some water of your own level.
