神经科学与心理学2016hoagiesgifted.org
资优儿童与成人的存在性抑郁（2009）
Existential Depression in Gifted Children and Adults (2009)
入门 · 约 45 分钟读完前置知识：发展心理学基础、Dabrowski 积极解体理论
导读
这篇论文基于 Dabrowski 的“积极解体”理论，探讨天才儿童与成人中存在的存在性抑郁问题：他们因过早意识到死亡、孤独、人生意义等终极问题而陷入抑郁。文中描述了这类人群的典型感受（如“像被遗弃的外星人等待母船来接回家”）以及应对策略。
HN 关注点：HN 读者中技术人群比例高，许多人自称经历过类似的“天才”标签与存在性危机，讨论焦点在于天才与抑郁是否真有关联，以及“自认天才”是否健康。
HN 评论精选
这几条评论里：质疑 2 补充 1 亲历 1
亲历亲历者印证论文描述，但质疑“天才”标签的普遍滥用
“像被遗弃的外星人等待母船来接回家”——这正是我小时候的感受，我几乎一字不差地这么想过。后来我意识到这些想法只会导致抑郁，于是决定干脆不再去想，也变得冷漠、与自己的情绪脱节。最终我的存在性抑郁导致了自我毁灭行为——也许与文中“寻求新奇和肾上腺素刺激”的应对策略有关。补充一点：我并不认为自己是天才，只是兴趣面较窄并在其中变得擅长。我认为“技术型”的人常被说成天才，因为在外行眼里他们的技能像魔法。
Retr0spectrum查看英文原文
> As one child described it, they feel "like abandoned aliens waiting for the mother ship to come and take them home" This is exactly how I felt. I can remember thinking those exact words when I was very young - although I didn't really start questioning the nature of reality until my early teens. At some point, I realised that these thoughts were only causing depression, so I decided to simply stop thinking about them. I also became apathetic, and detached from my own emotions. Ultimately, my own existential depression led to self-destructive behavior - perhaps this was related to the coping strategy of "Seeking novelty and adrenaline rushes". Edit: I would like to add that I do not consider myself gifted. I simply have a rather narrow set of interests which I have become good at. I think it is particularly common for "technical" people to be told they are gifted, because to the untrained observer their skills can seem like wizardry.
质疑补充实证数据：高 IQ 者其实更幸福，与论文暗示相反
引用一项研究（6870 名英国成年人数据）：IQ 与幸福感显著相关，低 IQ 组（70-99）的幸福感低于高 IQ 组（120-129）。中介分析发现，日常生活依赖、收入、健康和神经质症状是主要中介因素，控制后两者关联减弱了 50%。结论：低 IQ 者比高 IQ 者更不快乐，可通过改善收入和神经质症状等可干预变量来提升幸福感。
eli_gottlieb查看英文原文
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22998852 BACKGROUND: Happiness and higher intelligent quotient (IQ) are independently related to positive health outcomes. However, there are inconsistent reports about the relationship between IQ and happiness. The aim was to examine the association between IQ and happiness and whether it is mediated by social and clinical factors. Method The authors analysed data from the 2007 Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey in England. The participants were adults aged 16 years or over, living in private households in 2007. Data from 6870 participants were included in the study. Happiness was measured using a validated question on a three-point scale. Verbal IQ was estimated using the National Adult Reading Test and both categorical and continuous IQ was analysed. RESULTS: Happiness is significantly associated with IQ. Those in the lowest IQ range (70-99) reported the lowest levels of happiness compared with the highest IQ group (120-129). Mediation analysis using the continuous IQ variable found dependency in activities of daily living, income, health and neurotic symptoms were strong mediators of the relationship, as they reduced the association between happiness and IQ by 50%. CONCLUSIONS: Those with lower IQ are less happy than those with higher IQ. Interventions that target modifiable variables such as income (e.g. through enhancing education and employment opportunities) and neurotic symptoms (e.g. through better detection of mental health problems) may improve levels of happiness in the lower IQ groups.
补充分享走出存在性危机的个人方法：自己创造意义
一年多前我也经历过严重的存在性危机，因觉得人生没有内在目的和意义而难以起床。我的恢复方法是：进化塑造了一个渴望意义的大脑，所以就像满足食欲和社交需求一样，我可以自己创造意义。我决定做一个“生命之链中坚固的一环”——善待他人、尊重生命、让社会更健康稳定。这对我来说就够了。不幸的是，核战争、灾难性气候变化等生存风险不仅让我恐惧，还会抹除我的意义感，想到人类可能因冷漠、贪婪和暴力而灭绝，我唯一能做的就是转移注意力：冥想、朋友、工作、游戏、旅行。如果文明终将毁灭，我至少想享受剩下的时光。
rybosome查看英文原文
I struggled quite a bit with an existential crisis a little over a year ago. The sense of despair I felt over the lack of innate purpose and meaning in life made it hard to get out of bed in the morning. I recovered from this aspect of it by reminding myself that evolution happened to shape me with a mind which craves purpose; so just as I fulfill my need for food, sex and companionship, I can create a sense of meaning for myself to meet this need. The sense of meaning came from being, as Neil degrasse Tyson says, "A good, strong link in the chain of life". I decided to simply be a good human who attempts to be present and care for my fellow humans, to honor and respect life, and to try to leave society more healthy and stable. This is enough for me. Unfortunately, the existential risks which plague us (nuclear war, catastrophic climate change) not only frighten me because of the horrors I would experience, but also because they would erase my purpose. Grappling with the idea that humans could be wiped out due to our apathy, greed and proclivity towards violence is so thoroughly depressing that my only recourse is distracting myself. I meditate, get lost in friends, work and video games, enjoy travel, and try not to think about it. If civilization or our species will be destroyed within my lifetime, I want to at least have enjoyed the time I had.
质疑质疑“天才”框架：努力比天赋更重要，自认天才有害
不知道算不算“天才”，但我确实深受此苦，我猜大多数人都经历过。我不认为自己是天才：我努力工作、读书、积累知识，任何人都能做到。而且即使真是天才，这种心态也不健康——会变得自大，学得更少。总之，统计上我大概率不是天才，而且相信自己是天才本来就不健康，所以就算我是，也不知道为好。
qwertyuiop924查看英文原文
I don't know about "gifted," but I certainly suffer from this. I suspect most people have at some point. I don't think of myself as "gifted." Some people have said I am, but I doubt it: I work hard, I read, I acquire knowledge. Anyone can do that. Besides, even if I am gifted, It's not a healthy attitude to have. You start to get presumptuous, and arrogant, which means that you'll learn less. And I'm arrogant enough: I don't need a swelled head. In short, statistically, I'm probably not gifted, and it's unhealthy to believe you're gifted anyways, so even if I am, I'm better off not knowing. This might be totally insane, but it seems reasonable to me...
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