Former Gifted Kid Syndrome

Were you a “gifted kid” growing up? School came easily to you, maybe you were in the Gifted and Talented program. You got straight A’s without studying, and were always seen as the “smart” one. Then, at some point in college or after graduation, things fell apart.

So what happened?

Being a gifted kid isn’t inherently traumatic—but the pressure, perfectionism, and praise for your “potential” can turn into a real mess later on.

A lot of former gifted kids grow up believing:

• If I’m not exceptional, I’m failing.

• If it doesn’t come easily, it’s not worth doing.

• If I can’t do it perfectly, why bother at all?

What I see happen when people come to me for therapy is that the tightly structured school environment that kept you organized and on track is gone. The home environment where other people are grocery shopping, keeping laundry going, and setting meal times is gone. The support system that kept things moving along is now hours or states away, and you find yourself unable to do “adult” things and feeling like a failure.

Then “real” adulthood comes along and really kicks the scaffolding out from under you. Now you’re juggling work, bills, relationships, and figuring out what “success” even means. We get to career-level jobs and there’s no longer achievements to constantly work for and measure our success by. We’re working alongside other high achievers, as well as average achievers, and wondering if it all really mattered at all. Shouldn’t I be doing something amazing with all my potential? This feeling can compound with lifelong perfectionism and lead to gnawing anxiety that has no easy solution.

It might not just be anxiety. It could be undiagnosed ADHD.

Here’s something I see all the time: former gifted kids who are struggling with anxiety, burnout, procrastination, and motivation... and it turns out a big piece of the puzzle is ADHD that went undiagnosed for years.

Why? Because when you were younger, you could coast on intelligence and external structure. But now that everything is self-directed? The executive function challenges that were always there are suddenly front and center. In school, there was enough support and variety to keep yourself going - you can cram for a midterm or write a ten page paper the night it’s due and get your gold star. Now, you show up to work for a number of hours, and there isn’t a sense of urgency, accomplishment, and dopamine rush to keep your brain engaged. It’s hard to get started or be motivated to do the simplest tasks. You start lagging behind and wondering why you aren’t the superstar everyone expected you to be.

You’re not lazy. You’re not broken. Your brain just might be wired differently—and that wiring deserves support, not shame.

Therapy can help you untangle the gifted kid guilt spiral

This is where therapy comes in—specifically Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), which helps identify and shift those stuck patterns, like:

• “If I can’t do it perfectly, I’m failing.”

• “I should have figured this out by now.”

• “Everyone else seems to be doing fine. What’s wrong with me?”

In therapy, we work on setting realistic expectations, building new routines (even for brains that hate structure), and reclaiming your worth from whatever achievement hamster wheel you’ve been stuck on. We dig into the societal expectations and underlying beliefs that are keeping you feeling like you’re not good enough, and build out a healthier way of looking at yourself and the world so you can move forward.

You don’t have to figure this all out alone.

I’m a therapist based in Cincinnati, and I offer online therapy across Ohio and Indiana—so you can show up from your couch, your car, or a conference room. I’ve had people show up on the floor of their closet, or in an empty operating room because that’s the only way they could fit therapy into their day.

If any of this sounds familiar, you’re not the only one. Let’s figure out what’s actually going on under the burnout—and how to build something healthier in its place.

Click here to get started.

What If You Have ADHD and Never Knew It?

Could You Have ADHD and Not Know It?

If you’ve ever wondered, “Do I have ADHD?” and then immediately told yourself (or were told by a parent/teacher/doctor), “No way, I did well in school”… this one’s for you.

You can have ADHD and still be smart, successful, and seemingly “fine” from the outside.

In fact, that’s exactly why it gets missed—especially in women, girls, and high-achieving adults.

I’m Jennifer Branstetter, a licensed therapist working with adults in Indiana and Ohio. I help people who’ve spent years pushing through symptoms they didn’t know were symptoms—until burnout, anxiety, or executive dysfunction finally forced them to stop and look deeper.

Let’s talk about how ADHD hides in plain sight—and what therapy can do about it.

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Signs of ADHD You Might Have Missed

In grad school, we were taught to recognize symptoms with the stereotype of the kid bouncing off the walls. I distinctly remember them saying “These are the kids who will be crawling all over your office.” Unfortunately, this thinking causes us to miss a whole lot of kids and adults, especially those who’ve learned to mask it. Some signs include:

Always feeling overwhelmed, scattered, or behind

Starting a million things but finishing none

Constant mental noise and overthinking

Hyper-focus—losing hours in deep dives, then forgetting to eat or drink

Chronic procrastination, followed by panic-fueled productivity

Trouble with time (underestimating, overbooking, or completely losing track of it)

Emotional dysregulation—everything feels a lot. Especially being sensitive to how others feel about you

Struggling to rest, even when exhausted

You might also have a long history of anxiety, depression, or burnout—and no one ever asked, “Hey, could this be ADHD?”

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Why ADHD Gets Missed in Women and Girls

ADHD in women often gets overlooked because:

It doesn’t always look like hyperactivity—it shows up as daydreaming, anxiety, or basically hyperactivity of the mind

Many girls learn early to mask symptoms by overcompensating, people-pleasing, or becoming perfectionists

They get labeled “smart but scattered,” and teachers will say “she could do so well if she just applied herself!”

Women and high-functioning people in general often don’t get diagnosed until adulthood—after college, kids, a career change, or a health crisis pushes them past their limits and suddenly the compensation strategies don’t work anymore. I was 39 and had been a therapist for over 10 years when I was diagnosed!

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What About Giftedness or High Achievement?

Lots of people with ADHD were considered “gifted” as kids. They may have coasted through school until executive functioning demands outpaced their coping skills. Or the things that supported their executive dysfunction are suddenly gone. For instance, the structure of high school and family life often keep things together, but getting to college suddenly every day’s schedule is different and you are responsible for figuring out what/where/when to eat, when to do laundry, when/how to get the detergent, etc. Things can fall apart, and then you and the people around you wonder how someone so successful is having such a hard time “adulting.”

This is not about effort or intelligence. ADHD is a brain difference, not a failure.

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How Therapy Can Help

Whether you have a formal ADHD diagnosis or you're just starting to connect the dots, therapy can help you:

Identify and work with your neurodivergent brain (instead of constantly fighting it)

Create systems that support you to get things done

Unpack the shame and self-blame that comes from years of masking

Learn how to regulate emotions, set boundaries, and stand up for yourself

Get clarity on whether further ADHD evaluation makes sense for you

I work with adults in Indiana and Ohio who are navigating undiagnosed or late-diagnosed ADHD—especially women, people-pleasers, and burned-out overthinkers who’ve spent years holding it all together. It feels like neurodivergent folks attract each other, as I have had so many clients come to me for anxiety or depression, and we end up finding the root of the problem is undiagnosed ADHD.

You're Not Broken—You're Just Wired Differently

And once you understand your wiring, everything can start to make more sense. You don’t have to blame yourself for being unorganized and stressed out all the time - you can accept that your brain works differently and figure out how to work with it. Our world was built for neurotypicals, so it makes sense why we struggle to fit in. If we see it like a gap in skills, tools, or support, then it becomes a problem to be solved rather than a spiral of shame.

If this post feels a little too accurate, let’s talk.

Online therapy can be a safe place to explore ADHD, unmask a little, and build a life that actually works for you.

Click here to schedule a free consult or call/text 513-461-2045 to get started.

Convenient Online Psychotherapy: Serving Clients in Indiana and Ohio

Accessible Care for Indiana and Ohio Residents

I was born a Buckeye and have been a Hoosier for the past decade or so, living close to the Indiana/Ohio border near Cincinnati. So like many of us, I see doctors in both states. Though I’ve worked in-person in both Indiana and Ohio (as well as Kentucky), since going all-virtual in 2018 I have maintained both licenses so I can serve people like me who are on either side of the border at different times of the day or year.

The Benefits of Virtual Psychotherapy

I have maintained a virtual practice since having an infant at home, noting it worked better for me to have flexibility in scheduling and reducing commute time to an office. I can therefore serve more people and at more flexible hours.

The benefits for clients are all about access. So many people I work with would not have the time to drive to an office in the middle of their day, or after work, in addition to the hour of therapy. Being able to close an office door or go to a quiet room in their house makes it much more likely they’re getting care. I also notice a difference in the level of vulnerability people are comfortable with, compared to when they were in a stranger’s office. I think I’m even more comfortable working from my home office than when I shared an office building with other businesses.

Who Can Benefit from Online Therapy?

Anyone who can operate a computer or smartphone can benefit. I think busy people or those with a lot of anxiety around seeking therapy have been the most helped. Literally if you got way too anxious in session, you could just hang up. That hasn’t happened yet, but it’s a nice option to tell a very anxious brain :) It’s also great for someone who is so depressed they’re struggling to leave the house. Therapy can meet them literally in bed and healing can start.

I’ve had many people who have said they would never have gotten care if we didn’t have virtual therapy. There are some cases where in-person care is more appropriate, and I assess that on a case-by-case basis. And of course, many people prefer to go in-person for their care.

Access for people in rural areas is a huge passion of mine, as I myself would need to drive an hour to get to good in-person care. As a working mom, that just isn’t going to happen. As a client, I like being able to snuggle up in a blanket with a cup of coffee on my own couch to start a session.

Part of my standard practice is to connect with, or refer to, any treating physicians you see in order to collaborate on your care. I can do that virtually the same way I did in-office. Being from Cleveland and previously living in Youngstown, Columbus, and Cincinnati, I usually have familiarity with the local resources or can easily find them. I’ve been able to connect people with local providers in the far corners of Indiana too, thanks to the internet.

How Virtual Sessions Work

After having a consultation call, if you’re ready to schedule then I put you in my electronic health record system and you’ll get a link to the appointment by text and email. Just click the link a few minutes before therapy, and the session will begin. The only parameters are that you’re in a quiet place with privacy so you can get the most out of your session.

Licensed to Serve Both Indiana and Ohio

Many people travel between our two great states. I see several college students coming to Indiana from Ohio, or vice-versa. So we can continue care when they’re home for breaks without interruption. Or some people live in Cincinnati but are from Indiana, so again when they’re home visiting family but need a session, we can meet. Many Southeast Indiana residents commute to Cincinnati for work, and may only have time do their session on their lunch break in Ohio. Being licensed in both states allows care to continue without interruption. I’m also licensed for telehealth in Florida, so if you need a session during vacation (hey, I’ve been there), it’s available.

Why Choose Online Cognitive Behavioral Therapy?

CBT is one of the most effective treatments for anxiety and depression. Being virtual means it’s much easier to fit into your life without interrupting treatment due to commuting, road conditions, etc. One benefit of CBT is consistency early on as we change habits. My EHR allows me to send you worksheets through the portal for you to complete homework between sessions. Online CBT has been just as effective as in-person CBT in my practice.

Start Your Journey to Better Mental Health Today

Are you looking for a therapist licensed in both Ohio and Indiana? Click here to schedule a free 15-minute consultation with an experienced online anxiety therapist from Cincinnati today for online counseling in Indiana and Ohio. Or call/text 513-461-2045.