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Gifted Child Burnout

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Gifted Child Burnout

Stress is something that everybody encounters, however, for gifted children, the stress

they endure remains persistent their entire school careers. A gifted child is defined as, “Students

with gifts and talents perform - or have the capability to perform - at higher levels compared to

others of the same age, experience, and environment in one or more domains” (National

Association for Gifted Children, 2022). They are usually met with a lot of praise early on due to

their achievements in and out of school. Then they usually overwhelm themselves with advanced

academics and extracurriculars to develop their talents. These continuous stresses of pressure and

high expectations have been linked with long-term effects that harm the childrens’ mental health

and IQ scores (Cooke, 1983). Consequently, gifted youth tend to grow out of childhood

prematurely (Elkind, 1981), only experiencing a small amount of being an actual child. These

negative symptoms are a result of the burnout that these gifted children experience. Ultimately,

early advancement as a child may lead to burnout causing vital consequences for their future.

Stress Vs. Burnout

Stress and burnout are commonly used interchangeably and have been found to be

related; however, they are still different, psychological experiences (Fimian, 1989). A definition

of burnout pertaining to school is, “...a response to school-related stress, which becomes chronic

when students stably perceive a discrepancy between their individual resources and their

personal expectation of success” (Salmela-Aro et al., 2017). The most discernible difference is

that stress is having too much pressure and responsibilities that drain someone physically,

mentally, and emotionally (Melinda, 2018). On the other hand, burnout is not experiencing or

having enough. People feel empty, unmotivated, and apathetic (Melinda, 2018). People who are

experiencing stress usually have a loss of energy and people who experience burnout tend to
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have a loss of motivation (Melinda, 2018). Lastly, a lot of individuals know when they are under

a lot of stress; however, people do not always notice when burnout is happening to them. In spite

of the fact that these two terms are very similar, they are not the same experience and one is

much more severe than the other.

Symptoms of Burnout

Burnout has become much more prevalent around the world since the start of the

COVID-19 pandemic (Davidson Institute, 2021). Although many people experience burnout

because of a variety of reasons, gifted children’s advanced capabilities increase the intensity or

duration of burnout. Some of the symptoms of burnout deplete physical, mental, and emotional

batteries. (Fimian et. al, 1989). These debilitative symptoms are often connected to the

educational system and the expectations that exist from being gifted. Every gifted child is

different, however there are several signs that are characteristic to burnout. Changes in eating

habits, sleeping habits, and attitudes towards education are some of the red flags that often show

during burnout. (Davidson Institute, 2021). The biggest sign that parents notice is that their

children are losing the “light in their eyes” which shows that they are experiencing burnout.

Although hope may be lost, there are an assortment of ways to aid children who are experiencing

burnout.

Prevention of Burnout

To bring back the passion of a gifted child, the adults in their life have to support them

and be able to provide them help by being able to identify and try to prevent burnout. This

psychological state can occur from executing the same tasks over and over again (Davidson

Institute, 2021). To help break the cycle of boredom, educators should be able to provide a more

engaging lesson plan that piques their interest. Also to give more control back to the child, they
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should be able to build their own schedule and not be forced to do things they do not want to do.

For parents of gifted children, they need to be there emotionally and mentally for them. Children

are not fully developed and cannot put a name to some of the emotions they are feeling. Parents

also need to be teachers and educate their children coping skills for whenever they are burnt out.

There is no definite way to cure burnout, however the support system for gifted children should

be present and be able to provide insight to get children living again.

Risk Factors of Gifted Burnout

The most common type of burnout is related to a person’s career; nevertheless, anyone

who is unappreciated and overworked can develop burnout (Melinda, 2018). Other factors that

can put people at risk for burnout include lifestyle changes and personality traits. With gifted

children, they often work too much and they hardly have any time to relax and socialize with

other people. A lot of gifted children are usually perfectionists (Davidson Institute, 2021), and

they feel that none of their work is ever good enough, which builds stress. Another risk factor is

that their academic work is no longer challenging them and the material has become repetitive

(Melinda, 2018). Ultimately, these causes of burnout can come from any aspect of one’s life,

proving that everyone is susceptible to this exhaustion.

Personal Significance

I was categorized as a gifted child during my elementary and middle school years. My

family and I just immigrated from the Philippines and teachers told my parents that I exhibited

very promising talents. The expectations were high and I put a lot of pressure on myself so I

would not disappoint my family. A lot of other immigrants can relate to the idea that their parents

sacrificed a lot of themselves so their children could have a better future in another country. As a

child that pressure was given to me and I added even more so I succeeded. Everything felt
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limitless and easy. The beginning of my ninth grade year was when I felt the first crack in my

perfect porcelain palace. Assignments started getting harder and I started acting so apathetic to

all my classes. I started getting more panic attacks and I felt so out of control. Throughout the

year I just learned to let go and be able to say no. My schedules were no longer full and I began

enjoying my high school experience. Grades stopped controlling my self-esteem and I felt like I

was in the driver's seat of my life. This sounds like a cheesy commercial for a type of

antidepressant, however, as soon as I stopped trying to meet every expectation, I started to act

like my authentic self.

In the new era, humans should be able to help each other out and expand instead of

constricting the social and academic worlds of gifted children. At the most basic level, children

are still children and they should be given a normal childhood. They should be free to learn and

explore themselves without the pressure of the world around them. The most intelligent youth

should be given a space to express themselves without the chance of being burnt out. Youth

should be challenged, but not overwhelmed and bombarded with responsibilities. Everything is

better in moderation and giving children the option to pace themselves will provide a structured

route towards flourishing.

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References

Cooke, R. (1983, May 29). Stress Effects of IQ scores on Study. The Boston Globe.

Davidson Institute. (2021, July 12). What is Giftedness? | Gifted Definition & Meaning.

Davidson Institute. https://www.davidsongifted.org/gifted-blog/what-is-giftedness/

Davidson Institute. (2021, August 26). How to Help with Burnout in Gifted Kids | Davidson

Institute. Davidson Institute.

https://www.davidsongifted.org/gifted-blog/burnout-in-gifted-children/

Elkind, D. (1981). The Hurried Child. Reading, MA; Addison Wesley.

Fimian, M. J., Fastenau, P. A., Tashner, J. H., & Cross, A. H. (1989). The measure of classroom

stress and burnout among gifted and talented students. Psychology in the Schools, 26(2),

139–153.

https://doi.org/3.0.co;2-e">10.1002/1520-6807(198904)26:2<139::aid-pits2310260205>3

.0.co;2-e

Melinda. (2018, October 23). Burnout Prevention and Treatment. HelpGuide.org.

https://www.helpguide.org/articles/stress/burnout-prevention-and-recovery.htm

National Association for Gifted Children. (2022). What is Giftedness? | National Association for

Gifted Children. Nagc.org.

http://www.nagc.org/resources-publications/resources/what-giftedness

Salmela-Aro, K., Upadyaya, K., Hakkarainen, K., Lonka, K., & Alho, K. (2016). The Dark

Side of Internet Use: Two Longitudinal Studies of Excessive Internet Use,

Depressive Symptoms, School Burnout and Engagement Among Finnish Early and

Late Adolescents. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 46(2), 343–357.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-016-0494-2