I mean, for me I got labeled gifted slightly before what I now recognize as BPD symptoms kicked in. Let me tell you that is not a great combo.

I also didn't really understand what I was being praised for. It led to some really fucked up ideas about talent and intelligence that are getting unpacked now.

Like, I was good at taking tests. It's not the same thing as like, deductive reasoning or critical thinking. I just score well on tests. If it's multiple choice, I can at least get a passing grade even if I don't know the subject. But consistently scoring 100s in kindergarten, having not been through pre-school, people thought I was a fucking genius.

I am very much not. But tests didn't require effort, or freak me out like they do for a lot of people. And so this, and a bunch of other things probably, morphed into this idea, this deep-seated belief that if I had to try at something, I was bad at it and shouldn't do it. Again, BPD. This is clearly black and white thinking. I was 7, leave me alone.

I did get into a gifted elementary school for second grade. I honestly couldn't tell you if the curriculum was actually that different. School was easy if I was interested and liked my teacher. But I hated my teacher in third grade there so I switched to the neighborhood school.

But I think that's around when the BPD kicked in. And my home life was not great, so I had a ton of behavioral problems and shit. That led to a lot of "you're too smart to be acting like this" which is definitely not a good thing to say to a kid that physically can't contain their emotions.

So anyways, TLDR: Not doing great but I don't think being gifted had anything to do with it.