Gifted Unleashed

Nadja Cereghetti

Do you suffer from imposter syndrome? Have you been called „too much“, „too intense“ „too sensitive“? Do you just hate inequality? Do you have difficulties finding your career path because you are a multi potential person who has a 1000 ideas and 500 projects... all at the same time? Do you have a weird evolved sense of humor? Do you suffer from dyslexia but are fast at grasping new concepts? Do you have a hard time fitting in and sometime feel like a minority of one? Well you are not alone! This is why I am here. I felt the urge and need to have a place to collect all the interesting stories, concepts and ideas which inspired me over the last couple of years. But more importantly, I stumbled across a very interesting and surprising finding! It might help you realize that what you‘ve always thought what is „wrong“ with you, is actually what is right with you! Together we will explore the topic of giftedness, neurodiversity and twice-exceptionality (2e). You do not need an IQ test to listen but an open mind and a natural portion of curiosity. Welcome to Gifted Unleashed, the Podcast for Gifted and 2e Adults. (Formerly known as Unleash Monday)

#19 in the Top 100 autism All time chart

...more

1 Listener

All episodes

Best episodes

Top 10 Gifted Unleashed Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Gifted Unleashed episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Gifted Unleashed for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Gifted Unleashed episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

Making Neurodiversity Work at Work! Meet Organizational Psychologist Ludmila Praslova

Gifted Unleashed

02/13/22 • 44 min

Ludmila N. Praslova, Ph.D., SHRM-SCP uses her extensive experience with global, cultural, demographic, and ability diversity to help create inclusive and equitable workplaces. She is a Professor of Psychology and the founding Director of Graduate Programs in Industrial-Organizational Psychology at Vanguard University of Southern California. Prior to her academic career, she built and led successful intercultural relations programs in global organizations. Her current consulting is focused on supporting organizations in creating systemic inclusion informed by an understanding of neurodiversity. Her other areas of expertise include organizational culture assessment and change, workplace justice and civility, and training and training evaluation. She is a contributor to Fast Company, Harvard Business Review and SHRM blog, the editor of the upcoming book “Evidence-Based Organizational Practices for Diversity, Inclusion, Belonging and Equity” (Cambridge Scholars), and the editor of upcoming special issue of the Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research on Disability inclusion in the workplace: From “accommodation” to inclusive organizational design.

TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE:

Diversity at work includes different aspects such as race, gender but also neurodiversity.
Autism Autism Doesn’t Hold People Back at Work. Discrimination Does. (HRB)
The unemployment rate amongst college graduates with Autism in the US is 85 %! The discrimination might not be intentional but it is systemic!
If you met one Autistic person, you have met one Autistic person.
There is a misconception that autistic people are not empathic. However, autistic people might be so overwhelmed with empathy that they don’t have energy to express it or it might be too overwhelming to express.
Autistic people might develop trauma patterns due to the way people react to them over and over again.
Having an Autistic diagnosis can be empowering and helpful for self advocacy.
Moral injury can happen at work and we need to address it! This might be more prevalent in neurodivergent people. Sign up for the newsletter to be updated on the results on the study!
Even if you didn’t now things earlier, you know now and you can implement and change from this day forward! Your life experience is what it is and now you can move from this point forward!

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

Connect and learn more about Ludmila and her work on LinkedIn | Twitter

Organizational Psychology at Vanguard University

Read her articles: Autism does’t hold people back at work. Discrimination does. - Harvard Business Review | Neurodivergent people make great leaders, not just employees - Fast Company |

Would you like to work with me 1:1 as your gifted and 2e coach? Please send me an email at [email protected] or find more information about my coaching offer on my website giftedunleashed.com/coaching

Support the show

https://www.giftedunleashed.com

1 Listener

Overcoming the Curse of Competence and Embracing Failure! Meet Dr. Matt Zakreski

Gifted Unleashed

06/23/24 • 46 min

Unlock the secrets to navigating the maze of giftedness with our guest, Matthew Zakreski, affectionately known as Dr. Matt. As a clinical psychologist and professional speaker, Dr. Matt sheds light on his personal journey from being identified as gifted in second grade to becoming an advocate for neurodivergent individuals. Together, we explore the trials and triumphs of gifted education, the concept of the performance cliff, and the challenges of imposter syndrome. Dr. Matt’s unique insights provide a compelling look into the often misunderstood world of the gifted community.
Discover the critical role of failure in the learning process, especially for those grappling with the "curse of competence." Drawing from his experience as a professional speaker, Dr. Matt shares how embracing failure has been paramount in pushing beyond comfort zones and achieving meaningful progress. We also examine the Yerkes-Dodson law, which highlights the necessity of optimal engagement at varying levels of difficulty. Through personal stories and relatable examples, we illustrate how gifted individuals can turn struggles into stepping stones.
Join us as we dive deep into the intensity and interconnectedness of the gifted mind. Hear the moving story of a child's emotional response to the Australian wildfires and learn why self-care is essential. We address imposter syndrome head-on, offering strategies for overcoming it through self-compassion and recognizing one’s unique strengths. Our candid discussion includes real-time experiences, such as a technical mishap during recording, to underscore the power of vulnerability. Stay connected with our podcast community, and learn how you can support and grow with us at giftedunleashed.com.

Support the show

https://www.giftedunleashed.com

Living the Giraffe Life! Meet Lucinda Leo

Gifted Unleashed

04/11/21 • 50 min

Lucinda Leo is a hypnotherapist and coach based in Brighton, England. Although she always knew she was bright, Lucinda grew up believing that her intensity and quirks were totally separate and detracted from her intelligence. She became so good at camouflaging her ‘weirdness’ that she ended up in a job that leached her soul and surrounded by people who didn’t get her. It wasn’t until Lucinda went looking for ways to support her intense and sensitive children that she discovered her giftedness and began to create a life that celebrates her vibrant and intense true self. Lucinda's now passionate about helping other intense and gifted individuals discover and embrace their authentic selves.

TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE:

It helps to know if you are a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) and if you are living with Overexcitabilities (OE)
Gifted people do not need to be Highly Sensitive People or living with Overexcitiablities and Intensities, but there are a lot of overlaps and it would be recommended to also look into the topic of giftedness.
Hypnotherapy can help you unlearn bad habits. Gifted adults who usually have great imagination tend to respond very well to hypnotherapy.
With hypnotherapy you can redirect neurological pathways to unlearn unfavourable behaviours.
Our conciseness is not necessarily made up from only one part, but might have various different parts
Therapeutic paradox: The more you are afraid of something, the more you might be attracting this outcome
Embracing your different inner parts can lead to increased wellbeing as gifted adults learn to embracing all their complex facets of their full self.
Giraffes are vulnerable when they are babies. But then they grow up to be strong and tall and can put a lion in its place!
Giftedness has nothing to do with superiority, it is a difference in learning and thinking style.
Gifted people tend not to think linear, the are skip thinkers and meta thinkers.
Self-understanding is a big important piece to a joyful life
You have permission to be the full you! Try out all the things and be quirky and use spreadsheets as much as you like!

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

The Giraffe Life for hypnotherapy & coaching

Laugh Love Learn blog about life in an intense family

Lucinda Leo’s YouTube Channel about intensity

Paula Prober Your Rainforest Mind

Elaine N. Aron’s book The Highly Sensitive Person

Marshal B. Rosenberg Non Violent Communication

Marie Kondo’s book The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up

InterGifted

Support the show

https://www.giftedunleashed.com

How tidying your space helps you organise your thoughts! Meet Alice Bauer

Gifted Unleashed

01/02/22 • 61 min

Alice Bauer was born under the zodiac sign of Virgo and she is an orderly and organized type of person by nature. She is curious, inquisitive and likes to develop herself in all areas of life. Her interests are wide-ranging, including yoga, travel, art and music, but she is particularly fond of interior design. Already in her childhood she was constantly browsing through her mother's home magazines only to rearrange and reorganize her room afterwards. In 2007 she graduated university as an interior designer.

In spring 2017, she had a very enriching, life-changing experience decluttering her life by listening to the audiobook "The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up" by Marie Kondo. While she had a wonderful, beautifully decorated apartment and had accumulated all sorts of possessions from the various decades of her life so far, she still always felt like she was living like a student, not like an adult. She wanted to live the way she had always dreamed of: like a lady. She decided to give her apartment a drastic detox. Within two weeks, she took every single item she owned into her hands and examined it for its importance in her future. She has parted with half of her belongings and it still feels great! She wanted to give others this revelation of satisfaction and order in their lives and therefore she completed the KonMari Consultant Trainee Course in Los Angeles in 2017. She is now officially a Certified Master KonMariTM Consultant and is working in Switzerland and Austria.

TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE:

Tidying is an act of self love. The process of tidying can support you to figure out who you want to be and what brings you joy in your life.
Tidying can be a form of meditation.
Most people do not ask themselves how they want to live in their space. Create a vision to help you stay focused and motivated to get through the tidying festival.
The KonMari MethodTM is simple but not easy. It follows 6 basic principles: Commit yourself to tidying, start by creating a vision, declutter first, tidy by category not location, follow the right order and always make the decision based on the question does it “spark joy?
Tidying helps you to get to know who you are. In order to love yourself you need to embrace all sides of you, the good and the ugly.
Tidying can be freeing and empowering.
If you need support, hire a tidying coach!
Sometimes chaos is needed for a creative process. But sometimes we need to tidy in order to organize our thoughts. Understanding where the balance lies for you is the goal.
Only keep in your home and in your life what “sparks joy”, let go of all the rest! Life is too short!

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

konali.ch | Alice on instagram

The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo

Atomic Habits by James Clear | The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron | Bullet Journal by Ryder Carroll

Messy - How To be Creative and

Support the show

https://www.giftedunleashed.com

Find Hope and Joy with Aileen Kelleher! The gifted and 2e therapist for families based in Chicago

Gifted Unleashed

08/29/21 • 48 min

Aileen Kelleher is a licensed clinical social worker and therapist in Chicago. She specializes in working with gifted and twice exceptional children, adults and families.

TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE:

Being able to have some distance from your thoughts, being able to not over identify yourself, your sense of self with the thoughts that come into your head and knowing not everything you're thinking is a fact or the truth.
Mindfulness practice can help you to start to observe your thoughts without judgment.
Giftedness often comes with one, two or more overexcitabilites (OEs) as defined by Dabrowski as intellectual imagination, sensory, psychomotor, and emotional intensities.
Children with imagination intensities for example can find an escape in video games where they create whole new worlds.
Gifted children often times are treated by adults or by parents as if they are on par with adults. They are being treated as if they have the ability to manage their emotions the way adults do. But they really don't. If anything, as we know, through asynchronous development, gifted kids probably have less capacity than other kids at their age to manage their emotions sometimes.
As a gifted adult you sometimes have to peel back the layers or undo some of the things that you've developed as coping mechanisms that are no longer serving you because you had to get through a world and a system that wasn't built for you.
Gifted people often set very high standards for how they believe they should perform or how they believe they should act.
Gifted kids can feel like they're wrong because they're different as opposed to they're just different.
If you're a parent of a gifted kid, get involved in the gifted community because parents are a wealth of information.
It is important to get the whole family involved as intensities and sensitivities of all family members should be addressed.
When the parents start to heal, the kids start to heal and vice versa and everyone kind of relaxes around one another.
It is difficult for 2e children to find an educational fit.
The main issue of why this idea of being different is so hard for kids and adults, because we want to fit in. We're wired to connect and to belong.
Social perfectionism, means that you feel like you have to look perfect in social situations in order to be accepted. But the way people connect is often through their vulnerabilities.
Most of the families don't like the term gifted, it causes an insecurity because what if you don't live up to that standard?
Trauma stores and manifests in the body.
If you are a gifted adult know that you are worthy of love and belonging the way you are! You don't have to earn it. You don't have to be smart enough. You don't have to be talented enough. You don't have to be creative enough.
Show your vulnerability! As your vulnerability is an asset and their sensitivity and intensity are assets. There’s not something wrong with you! 💝

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

Aileen Kelleher’s website: aileenkelleher.com and Instagram: @aileen.imagines

Overexcitabilities

Support the show

https://www.giftedunleashed.com

How do you become a SENG Board Member? Meet Finance Chair Carrie Pokrefke

Gifted Unleashed

07/18/21 • 45 min

Carrie Pokrefke is an Audit Manager for BECU, the nation’s largest Community Credit Union, based in Seattle, Washington. She is an accomplished and experienced leader with over 20 years of experience in financial services as both an internal auditor and as a state and federal regulator. She enjoys building inclusive, high-performing teams through developing and mentoring employees, building relationships, and connecting people. Carrie serves on the SENG (Supporting Emotional Needs of the Gifted) Board of Directors and Executive Committee as the Finance Officer and is also Co-Chair of the Development Committee. She is a trained SENG Model Parent Group (SMPG) facilitator and presented at the 2020 SENG Annual Conference. Carrie loves to travel and has achieved her goal of visiting all seven continents. Besides traveling, she is a photographer, drummer, painter, writer, and humanitarian. Carrie enjoys public speaking. Carrie was recently selected to BECU’s 2021 Building Inclusion and Leveraging Differences (BILD) Council. She serves on the National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions’ (NAFCU) Compliance/BSA/Risk Network Steering Committee and the Northwest Credit Union Association’s (NWCUA) Awards Committee. She holds a Bachelor in Science in Banking and Finance with a minor in Speech Communication from the University of Southern Mississippi.

TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE:

It is normal for gifted people to feel stupid! Doubting you are gifted is a good indicator of giftedness!
Imposter Syndrome is something a lot of gifted adults struggle with. It helps understanding it and taking it for what it is!
It can be hard for gifted people to see their own giftedness, yet they usually have no difficulties seeing giftedness in other gifted children and adults.
The giftedness journey is usually a continuous research for more resources and insights into the giftedness theory and experiences.
The gifted population has this tendency to want to fit in. Being identified gifted can feel like you are even further away from the normal populations simply from a statistical standpoint.
Gifted adults may have perfectionism tendencies.
The word “gifted” has this connotation that things are easy for us, but things are not always easy and it's not always a gift.
It's important for us to roll with the word gifted. There are people who want to change it, but the value in labelling it is that we know which rabbit hole it is!
If you are gifted, finding a therapist who understands or is gifted themselves is really helpful.
Usually you realize that most of your friends are also gifted!
Understanding one’s giftedness and neurodivergence helps to become a better leader!
SENG stands for the Supporting Emotional Needs of the Gifted and was founded by Dr. James T. Webb in 1981.
There is a gap in reaching the gifted adults!

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

Carrie Pokrefke LinkedIn photography website and Instagram

ShareYourMeTooStory

SENG.org

Dabrowski’s

Support the show

https://www.giftedunleashed.com

Live Life Authentically! Meet John Syc

Gifted Unleashed

11/21/21 • 46 min

John Syc’s background includes his own 2eAm (twice-exceptional autism male) discovery leading to his own call to action for integration and a life commitment to the path of higher levels of consciousness in tandem with psychological wholeness. His lifelong personal journey, a psychological and social work advanced educational background, and over ten years of being a psychotherapist provide insight that he shares with his clients on their journey.

Presently, John offers 60-minute or 90-minute coaching sessions Internationally through a video-conference-based medium (e.g., Zoom).

You can reach out to John if you are ready to begin your journey’s call to action at [email protected].

TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE:

Neurodivergent children and adults may have a hard time fitting in and might be subject to bulling.
Not all gifted people do well on a standardised IQ test. Some people have very spiky gifted profiles.
Trauma can mask giftedness and it influences how you present yourself fin the world
An neurodivergent diagnosis (such as autism) can give answers on why your life is the way it is!
The DSM 5 is the standard for mental health and is a pathological assessment. However, not all divergent thinking patterns are pathological.
Gifted psychology is not a thing in the mainstream psychology (yet).
There is autism burnout and autism fatigue. Energy management is therefore very important for people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD)
The world is a socially constructed system. If you do not fit in it doesn’t mean it’s pathological!
John created online service to serve 2/e autism male (2eAm).
Let’s Talk 2e adults’ conference is the first of it’s kind you can purchase access forever, use my affiliate link

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

John’s website: johnsyc.com

Dabrowski's theory of Overexcitabilities (OEs)

InterGifted.com

Join the Let’s talk 2e adult conference with my affiliate link here

Unleash Monday Community - Join the waitlist to be the first to know when doors open!

UnleashMonday.com

Support the show

https://www.giftedunleashed.com

With Understanding Comes Calm! Let’s Talk 2e with Julie Skolnick

Gifted Unleashed

01/17/21 • 51 min

Julie Skolnick is the Founder of With Understanding Comes Calm, LLC, through which she guides parents of gifted and distractible children, mentors 2e adults, trains teachers on how to understand and address 2e strengths and struggles.

Julie serves as Secretary to the Maryland Superintendent’s Gifted and Talented Advisory Council, is an advisor for “The G Word” film. She is the SENG Maryland liaison, a SENG Model Parent Group (SMPG) trained facilitator and on the Simultaneous Supports committee for the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC). Julie is also an invited member of the Gifted Homeschoolers Forum Professional Membership Committee.

Julie is also the mother of three twice exceptional children.

TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE:

Giftedness is much more than the intelligence part, it is essentially heightened awareness
2e (Twice Exceptional) means gifted + a learning disability / difference
2e kids need to know about their neurology to understand who they are and to thrive in social settings
Only when you understand yourself, you can understand various situations
Gifted people do best when they are with gifted people
2e does not cancel itself out: The strength may mask the challenge and the challenge might mask the strength
With understanding comes calm!
Being 2e is not a shortcoming, look at it as a Superpower
Executive Functioning difficulties are challenges for example with processing speed, working memory, organisational skills
ADHD & giftedness can look similar in therms of executive functioning
Overexcitability can be in one or more of the following areas: intellectual, emotional, imagination, sensual, (sensory) and psychomotor
Gifted people have bigger antennas so there is more data the gifted brain has to crunch through
Perfectionism, Imposter Syndrome and Gifted Underachievers are all part of the gifted profile
Start from your strength! Use a strength based approach. Do what you love, not focusing on what is hard for you. If you don’t start with what you love, you will never get to do it! You got to focus on your strength first!
You do not have to watch the News! Protect your sensitive self. These are crazy times and you are allowed to protect yourself from the negative News. Instead, do something kind for someone else and do something kind for yourself.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

With Understanding Comes Calm | Instagram | facebook

2e resources

Let’s Talk 2e | Conference for Educators |

Support the show

https://www.giftedunleashed.com

Meet “recovering social misfit” & communication coach Craig Gustafson

Gifted Unleashed

09/13/20 • 44 min

Craig is an amazing person! He spent most of his life in the navy and travelled the world. But only when he retired from the military and worked in corporate America, he realised he was different. It turns out Craig is on the Autism spectrum with Aspergers and this is the reason why reading facial expressions and other communication cues do not come naturally to him. But he realised that communication and interactions between people is so important that he started learning and applying the science of human interactions and communication. Today he is in the process of launching his own business of helping young people and people with Aspergers to learn how to communicate better. In today’s time this is even more important as we start loosing the in person connection due the increasing use of social media and social distancing. We can all learn from Craig and his message of having a face to face conversation with people around you and start to truly listen and engaging.

TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE:

Everyone can learn to communicate better. It is a skill and like any other, can be taught and learned.
Every person deserves to be able to communicate well.
Be kind to everyone, especially to the people who are not your favourites!
When you improve your communication skills, your relationships and hence your quality of life will improve, too.
Society wants to conform us to a system. If you don’t conform, you are ostracised.
You can be friends with someone without agreeing on everything.
The most important thing when communicating is to be able to read the other person’s emotion and being empathic. It is important to understand the meaning and the context something was said in, not just the words.
Knowledge isn’t the same as understanding.
The more connected we become, the less personal our interactions become.
Put your phones down and have a conversation with the people you are with.
Our mind is set up to keep you safe not to make you happy. We often make decisions based on fear.
Journaling helps you to communicate with yourself. Listening to yourself is confronting.
Discovering and overcoming your own limiting believes is key. You are the only one standing in your own way.
Be careful how you speak to yourself! Speak to yourself only like you speak with other people.
Everyone wants to be seen, it is our human need.
Be aware of what you say and how you say it. Make it fun! Smile when you pick up the phone!
There is only one race: the human race!
Your ability to do good is greater than you realise. Together we can make a real big impact!

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

Contact Craig via email at [email protected]

Cathy Heller and her Podcast Don't keep your day job

The Science of People

Zig Ziglar

Seth Godin

Mel Robbins

Book: The third door

Book:

Support the show

https://www.giftedunleashed.com

A lot of Complexity! Meet Lotte van Lith

Gifted Unleashed

09/12/21 • 45 min

Lotte van Lith is a lecturer, instructor and senior trainer on the psychology, practice and art of personal and creative development (amongst others at the School of Thinking at Free University of Brussels and the Buckminster College). In her own company, A Lot of Complexity, she guides intense and driven adolescents and adults in their personal and creative development and regularly organizes vivid seminars and courses on topics ranging from sense making and creative giftedness to emotional development. She often gives presentations and is known in the Netherlands and Belgium for her work with the theory of positive disintegration. In 2021, her book "Intens mens" is published.

TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE:

Gifted people have difficulties working for someone else. They don’t like norms & rules, they need creative space
Gifted children in a non-gifted setting struggle because they don’t receive the educational resources they
Gifted children can get disillusioned at school. Gifted children try to understand the environment instead of getting to know themselves and try to cope with the differences
One big aspect of giftedness is the emotional wellbeing of gifted people . It's part of being human and very important for the creative & personal development
Giftedness can be described as complex thoughts & thought processes, incl. complex emotions
If gifted people are in an environment where they are not mirrored there are emotional & motivational consequences
It is important to know about your own giftedness as you need context to understand your experience
A coach specialized in giftedness is aware of the complexities and neurodiversity which means that this person probably did not receive adequate mirroring and thus may struggle with trying to understand what is happening inside and outside that person as a consequence of being different
Dabrowski’s Theory of Positive Disintegration (including the OEs), is about emotional and personality development
Positive Disintegration comes with an existential crisis which creates the conditions to experience deeper values. It is an individual trajectory about psychological development
People who are gifted, tend to drive towards creativity, a potential to be creative, to think & to act creatively and to find creative solutions
It's important to have a safe & brave space for gifted people to be vulnerable and to be able to challenged to be more
Give yourself the opportunity to be just a little bit curious about who you are and what your experience entails