Many talented women in film such as Charlize Theron and Natalie Portman are finding more creative fulfillment as executives and producers, not waiting for better acting roles. But what sorts of challenges do women face when changing or expanding their career choices, especially in such a male-dominated business?

Depression can be a profoundly damaging and disrupting condition, spiritually and psychologically corrosive, preventing us from living fully and realizing our talents. But a number of people also say the experience has had real value for them. Psychiatrist Kay Redfield Jamison first planned her own suicide at 17, and attempted to carry it out at 28. Referring to her bipolar disorder, she has said, "I have felt more things, more deeply..."

Shyness, social anxiety, social phobia, introversion - one of the problems in using these labels about ourselves is they are often too unspecific and relative: shy compared with whom? How anxious, for how long, in what situations?

"My therapist gives me permission to accept that I'm human." Actor Claire Danes also explained, "I finally realized after years of therapy.. that you can encourage yourself to move further in a nurturing way." Taking care to "encourage yourself to move further" is, of course, something that people typically choose to manage on their own, but a counselor or therapist can help us do it more fully and effectively.

Gene Simmons commented, "You can't get too full of yourself. The more accolades you get, the more money you make , it tends to dull the senses." Most of us aren't rock stars or large scale entrepreneurs and producers like Simmons, but many people with high ability and talent can suffer from self-criticism that erodes positive self-regard, and a realistic perception of the value of their own work.

A number of people with exceptional abilities have used drugs and alcohol as self-medication to ease the pain of their high sensitivity, or as a way to enhance thinking and creativity. Sometimes they risk addiction.

Many creative people actively pursue fame, or at least endure it, as a way to advance their careers. But fame may also be driven by hidden emotional needs, and can lead to harmful expectations and distorted thinking on both sides.

Arianna Huffington is described by her friend and author Sugar Rautbord as “probably one of the most intellectually seductive human beings on the face of the planet. She has such a powerful brain, and she exudes an intellectuality that is almost sexual." Does that sort of exceptional mind have potential negative consequences, particularly for women?

That horror [in the movie "One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest"] taps into a primal fear: having our mind - particularly any exceptional talents and creative abilities - compromised or taken away because of some medical intervention. Even if - unlike in the movie - it is supposed to help us.

The big questions of vocation, identity, relationships, how we use our talents for ourselves and the world, how we define and nurture authentic happiness - we may never “solve” those questions permanently, but they can be particularly intense in our twenties. Perhaps especially for people who are the most capable and talented.