00:00 Introduction and Guest Introduction

00:42 Paula Prober's Journey into Gifted Education

02:29 Transition to Therapy and Blogging

05:53 Understanding the Rainforest Mind

08:19 Challenges and Traits of the Gifted

13:03 Self-Acceptance and Overcoming Myths

19:30 Therapeutic Approaches and Self-Care

26:26 The Role of Physical Activities and Tango

33:21 Therapy for the Rainforest Mind

36:21 Navigating Loneliness and Relationships

43:39 Spirituality and the Rainforest Mind

49:45 Career Challenges for Gifted Individuals

55:38 Coping with the Current Climate

59:58 Finding Your Purpose and Joy

01:02:36 Understanding Giftedness

01:04:04 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

📩 Subscribe to the Gifted & Grown Up newsletter for tools, insights, and support—for gifted adults and the people who love them. 👉 Join the newsletter

📄 In this episode, I talk with Paula Prober, psychotherapist and author of Your Rainforest Mind, one of the first books that helped me truly understand what it means to be a gifted adult.

We explore what it means to have a rainforest mind, how giftedness shows up in adulthood, and why so many gifted people feel like they’re too much—or never enough. We talk about relationships, grief, intuition, and the difference between intellectual understanding and emotional validation. This conversation hit me on a deep level. It wasn’t just informative—it was personal.

🔑 What We Talk About:

• What a “rainforest mind” actually is


• The emotional needs of gifted adults


• Grieving the past when you discover you're gifted later in life


• Giftedness and trauma: where they intersect


• Navigating relationships when you’re “a lot”


• Why gifted adults often seek depth, meaning, and solitude


• How to recognize that you’re not broken—you’re just complex


• The power of naming your experience

📚 Resources Mentioned:

A Short Guide to Love and Relationships When You Are Sensitive And Smart — Part One

A Short Guide to Love and Relationships When You Are Sensitive and Smart — Part Two

A Short Guide to Love and Relationships When You are Sensitive and Smart — Part Three

Your Rainforest Mind by Paula Prober on Amazon

Journey Into Your Rainforest Mind - Audiobook

Paula’s Blog

Find Paula on Instagram

Find Paula on Facebook

✨ Want more?

Listen to the companion reflection episode where I unpack my emotional reactions to this conversation—why it moved me, and why I think we need more gifted feelers in the world.

🔗 Reflection Episode – Paula Prober

💬 Submit your questions, comments and reflections to Chad and Paula here.