Chill Out! Helping Gifted Youth Deal with Stress: What Are Some Specific, Practical Ways to Teach Stress Management?

What causes stress in gifted youth and what specific skills do they need to manage it? Although stress is a real presence in all people's lives, it can be more intense for the gifted because they are usually more sensitive, introspective, and emotional. Growing up gifted is a qualitatively diff...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inUnderstanding our gifted Vol. 18; no. 2; pp. 9 - 12
Main Author Bradley, Terry
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Open Space Communications LLC 2006
Subjects
Academically Gifted
Adolescent Development
Adolescents
At Risk Persons
Coping
Developmental Stages
Expectation
Interpersonal Relationship
Personality Traits
Stress Management
Stress Variables
Youth
Online AccessGet more information

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Summary:What causes stress in gifted youth and what specific skills do they need to manage it? Although stress is a real presence in all people's lives, it can be more intense for the gifted because they are usually more sensitive, introspective, and emotional. Growing up gifted is a qualitatively different experience, which can manifest itself in the complex way a gifted individual feels and emotes. In addition to the normal stressors of adolescence, with giftedness comes asynchronous development, higher expectations, lack of academic challenge, over scheduling, perfectionism, difficulty finding true peers, and extreme concerns about justness and fairness. Fortunately, research on risk and resilience in gifted children shows that gifted kids have many inherent qualities that may also contribute to their resilience. This can certainly serve as a protective factor. Educating the youth about stress management skills may enable them to cope even more effectively. In this article, the author offers some specific, practical ways to teach stress management to gifted youth.
ISSN:1040-1350