Comment by ace4throwaway

I have an ACE score of 4 and have been marked as gifted at various stages of my life, elementary, high school, college, and other somewhat impressive things during my 30+ year life.

The hardest part about being "gifted" and having a difficult childhood is being able to compete/achieve at high levels consistently. For brief moments I can be amazing at art, relationships, work, social situations, etc. But it all comes crashing down once I get too taxed or triggered. I simply don't have the energy or ability to be functional at the gifted (and even less) level for long periods of time. Even worse the recovery time from being drained is way longer than my close friends who grew up in more stable environments.

On paper things look pretty good for me. But keeping everything in order takes a lot out of me and I'm struggling to find the strength to do more and to live up to my "potential".