Alex forwarded me this link about existential depression in highly intelligent children:

It has been my experience that gifted and talented persons are more likely to experience a type of depression referred to as existential depression. Although an episode of existential depression may be precipitated in anyone by a major loss or the threat of a loss which highlights the transient nature of life, persons of higher intellectual ability are more prone to experience existential depression spontaneously. Sometimes this existential depression is tied into the positive disintegration experience referred to by Dabrowski (1996).

Existential depression is a depression that arises when an individual confronts certain basic issues of existence. Yalom (1980) describes four such issues (or "ultimate concerns")--death, freedom, isolation and meaninglessness. Death is an inevitable occurrence. Freedom, in an existential sense, refers to the absence of external structure. That is, humans do not enter a world which is inherently structured. We must give the world a structure which we ourselves create. Isolation recognizes that no matter how close we become to another person, a gap always remains, and we are nonetheless alone. Meaninglessness stems from the first three. If we must die, if we construct our own world, and if each of us is ultimately alone, then what meaning does life have?

Why should such existential concerns occur disproportionately among gifted persons? Partially, it is because substantial thought and reflection must occur to even consider such notions, rather than simply focusing on superficial day-to-day aspects of life. Other more specific characteristics of gifted children are important predisposers as well.

This is not just a bunch whiny crap, it's also a really bad misdirection of resources. More intelligent people are significantly less likely to be deperessed, period. They have it easier in life, especially in our cognitively demanding modern world. If intelligent people in a certain age group are more likely to suffer a certain specific type of depression, so fucking what? They're less likely to suffer other types of depression which more than makes up the difference.

I hate this kind of "smart kids need extra help" shit. No they fucking don't. They're smart - they need less help. Really stupid kids are the ones who need help and will still need help in 60 years when they're stupid old people. Only spoiled brats who've always gone to elite schools and never had a manual labor job could think otherwise because they've been pretty well isolated from truly dim-witted people whose lives really are a struggle.

Our world is far too full of government agencies and NGOs which want to nanny us and setting up more dedicated specifically to nannying the more intelligent among us is just pure bullshit. It makes about as much sense as dedicating your life to seeking donations to help athletic guys get laid because we are more likely to intimidate women. Please stop creating organizations whose sole purpose is to make the lives of those who already have easier and more pleasant lives even easier.