Neurodivergence

Neurodivergence is the term for when someone’s brain processes, learns, and/or behaves differently from what is considered “typical.”

A quick intro for those that are new at this..

1. Being Neurodiverse

As a person who identifies as neurodivergent (I don’t have any mental disorder nor do I suffer from Asperger’s), my experiences are quite different than those of someone who doesn’t identify as being neurodivergent. In fact, some people may say that being neurodivergent is just a label that we use to describe ourselves (just like there is a term called “goth”). On the contrary, being neurodivergent means that our brain is wired differently than what society tells us as normal. Many of us who identify as neurodivergent have experienced various forms of trauma throughout our lives, ranging from verbal abuse to physical violence.

2. Trauma

Trauma is defined as an event or series of events that causes significant psychological distress to a person. Trauma is different for everyone. Some people may experience traumatic situations when they are young, while others might not until adulthood. But regardless of how it happens, having been exposed to trauma affects us mentally. There are two types of trauma. One is direct trauma, which occurs directly after something bad happens to you, such as getting hurt in a car crash, falling off a cliff, etc. The other type of trauma is indirect trauma, which happens indirectly after something bad has happened to you, such as witnessing domestic violence or becoming an orphan at a young age. Indirect traumas often happen later in life, but they still affect us psychologically.

3. Feelings

Feelings are our body’s way of expressing emotion, whether we know it or not. Most of us develop feelings either early in our childhood years or later in our adult years. When we’re experiencing negative emotions, our body sends out signals to tell us that something is wrong. Negative emotions may cause us to feel sad, hopeless, angry, frustrated, or depressed. If we don’t learn to manage our emotional reactions appropriately, these negative emotions could become prolonged and could create difficulties in our daily routines.

4. Emotions

Emotions are the thoughts, feelings, perceptions, memories, desires, and behaviors that arise from our internal world and interact with the external environment. Our emotions shape who we are, where we go, what we think, and how we act. We can choose to react to the events around us through our thoughts or actions. For example, if we’re sitting down to eat dinner, we may have thoughts about food. These thoughts lead us to get up and begin preparing our meal. However, if we sit down and find ourselves thinking about our childhood or past relationships, it’s possible that we’ll start to cry instead.

5. Stress

Stress is a reaction to a perceived threat, challenge, or demand. It’s both physiological and psychological. Physiologically, stress can cause changes in heart rate, breathing, blood pressure, and temperature. Psychologically, it creates feelings of fear, anxiety, frustration, anger, shame, guilt, and helplessness. Stress can make us feel tired, irritable, nervous, overwhelmed, anxious, worried, panicked, stressed, and irritated.

6. Anxiety

Anxiety is feeling fearful or concerned about future events or things happening now. It’s a common human condition that is associated with many disorders. Symptoms of anxiety include feeling upset, uneasy, afraid, tense, jittery, restless, uneasy, worried, panicky, scared, irritated, distressed, and frightened.

7. Depression

Depression is the opposite side of the coin from happiness. It’s a state of low mood, despair, and lack of interest in doing anything. It’s also known as clinical depression, major depression, dysthymia, or seasonal affective disorder. Depression is characterized by symptoms such as sadness, loss of interest or pleasure in activities once enjoyed, fatigue, weight gain or loss, overeating or appetite loss, sleep problems, chronic pain, and thoughts of suicide. People who are depressed may feel worthless or guilty, unmotivated, unhappy, dejected, or irritable.