Adults with high intellectual abilities and the myth of success

"You can do anything," "you're very alive," "you have a lot of talent and you don't take advantage of it." These are some of the things that friends with great abilities often listen to. Having a lot of intellectual capacity causes a lot of pressure and expectations, and when we're talking about adults, they increase. "I think great skills can often drown you, "says Haizea Lopez, a 33-year-old Sopelana writer, who was detected three years ago.

Great intellectual abilities are a kind of neurodivergence: these people's brains work differently, and they are more likely to learn, understand, and associate ideas faster. "You're more aware of what's around you, you feel the need to understand everything, and you ask questions that others don't ask," explains Asier Arrieta, a professional at the Psycho Psychology Cabinet in Bilbao.

Diagnosis in adulthood

The most common diagnosis is in childhood, but more and more people are diagnosed when they grow up. This is what happened toHaizea Lopez; her daughter was diagnosed with high intellectual capacity, and then she understood her situation. "When I started looking for information about her, I saw myself reflected," she says.

Naming this difference reassured him: "I felt different, I didn't see things like everyone else. Now I understand myself better, and I have the tools to manage it." "The biggest problem is often because you don't accept yourself," the psychologist warns, who says they use multiple strategies to adapt to work environments and personal relationships, which can cause mental health problems like anxiety or depression.

In the Basque Country, according to the Department of Educationof theBasque Government, 2-3% of the population has high intellectual abilities. In the Basque education system there are specific protocols for the identification and care of students with high abilities, but experts and families say there is still room for early identification and improvement of support.

As far as adults are concerned, however, there are no official statistics. However, high-capacity adult associations and experts say that most of them remain unidentified. "In the Spanish State it is estimated that they could account for between 15% and 20% of the population," explains Arrieta.

This infradiagnostic is even greater among women, as gender gaps affect detectionon the one hand, and many women hide or compensate for their neurodivergent characteristics on the other.

Great Intellectual Skills and Success

At maturity, great intellectual capabilities bring with them a complex reality: potential and vulnerability coexist, which feeds a direct link between capacity and success in the collective imagination. "Success depends on the person," stresses Arrieta. Some seek constant challenges and professional growth, while others choose quiet jobs to "reduce the mental burden. "" High capacity doesn't mean you need to develop and use it, "he adds.

Haizea Lopez has also wanted to break with this stereotype. "In my case, I've had a lot of success at work. I have a lot of hyphen when I write, and I spend many hours on it because I love it." And that's where success comes from, not from having great skills, "she concludes. She believes that maybe success is not in the potential, but in the way she decides how — and how far — she wants to use that potential.