Yet that is what they complain about. 
First of all, they say that their mind does not let them rest, even at night. 
They are fed up with these doubts, these questions, this acute awareness of things, their overdeveloped senses from which no detail escapes. 

They would like to unplug their mind. 

But above all they suffer from feeling different, misunderstood and hurt by the world of today. 
This is why they often conclude, “I don’t belong on this planet!” 
A constant swarming of thoughts sweeps them into endless associations of ideas, each new idea sparking new ones. 
It goes too fast in their heads. 
They stammer to keep up with the flow or they fall silent, discouraged by the overabundance of information. 

Words are reductive and cannot convey the finesse and complexity of their thinking. 
What they lack most are certainties to rely on. 
Constant questioning makes their belief system as unstable and agonizing as quicksand. 

And it is about them that they are most critical:
– “Why don’t others perceive what is obvious to me? 
– What if I’m the one analyzing everything wrong? 
– What if I have it all wrong?”

Sensitivity, emotionality and affectivity are obviously proportional to intelligence. 
These people are veritable bottles of nitroglycerin. 
At the slightest bump in the road, they explode with anger or frustration, but mostly with grief. 
This world is so lacking in love! 
Split between absolute idealism and extreme lucidity, these intellectual overachievers have the choice between autism and revolt. 
This is why they constantly shuttle between voluptuous reveries and distressing observations, between naivety and despair. 

They despair of finding help because they feel that goodwill is not the answer. 
The advice of those around them pushes them down more than it helps them. 
Ask less questions? 
That’s all they ask! 
But how to do it? 
Accept the imperfection of the world? 
Impossible!
Consulting a psychologist is also problematic. 
They are afraid that they will be taken for madmen and this fear is unfortunately well founded. 

How can people with ordinary mental functioning identify this extraordinary mental functioning? 
The psychological analysis grids in force split up this subtle and powerful thought, making it abnormal, pathological. 

From school on, what they are is seen as a problem. 

The mentally retarded are considered hyperactive and unable to concentrate, because their multi-tasking brain is bored by doing only one thing at a time. 
They are thought to be flitting around, skimming over information at a rapid pace, when in fact they have the ability to delve into many subjects at once. 
Many have been subjected to the litany of “dys” labels that lead them to believe their minds are twisted: dyslexic, dysorthographic, dyscalculic, dysgraphic… 
In adulthood, diagnoses of borderline, schizophrenic, bipolar or manic-depressive are likely to rain down on them. 

Where they would hope to receive help and finally find solutions, the mentally retarded find themselves even more misunderstood and labeled “dysfunctional”. 
That is to say, exactly the opposite of what they would need in order to understand and accept themselves as they are: not dysfunctional but simply different…

Excerpts from the French book : “I think too much”

By Christel Petitcollin