• Medical

Colourful people pretending to be normal

• 3 Months Ago - 2024-06-18 00:00:00

Sybille Lindner - Her story is
meant to spark your curiosity,
stretch your mind and invite you
along on a thought experiment
that proposes that maybe, just
maybe, people with autism or
attention-deficit/hyperactivity
disorder (ADHD) are not disabled,
but rather represent an
interesting and unique way that
human brains naturally exist.
I have always been captivated by
the more complex interactions
between the mind and the body
and relentlessly researching, I’ve
stumbled upon the undeniable
fact that the mind and body
cannot be separated.
My research led me on an epic
side quest discovering the world
of fascia – the connective tissue
that structures the inner
framework of the body and the
entire reason there are physical
reactions to mental-emotional
processes in the body.
Over time, I developed my own
way of working with my patients
that was a little more sensitive
and a little more layered in
complexity than my original
methods. I now teach this
approach as FasciaWork, as it
doesn't aggravate pain in the most
sensitive of people.
This development in my work
happened parallel to my own
personal discoveries about how
my nervous system works, and I
now understand that I am
neurodivergent – autistic and with
ADHD, a combination often called
AuDHD among the neurodivergent
community. The limited resources
available and the misconceptions
that exist about these topics are
rampant, greatly confusing and
restricting people’s access to
support and practices that would
help them live better lives.
There are so many neurodivergent
people out there hiding their
truth, pretending to be what
they’re not and can never live up
to. Living with daily struggles as
severe as chronic depression and
repeated suicidal episodes, and
many of them don’t even know
that having a brain that works
differently can be a natural part of
themselves, rather than
something wrong with them.
Neurodiversity can be defined as
the natural diversity or variation
of cognitive function in all people.
A ‘neurotypical’ person is
described as possessing the
presentation of brain function
that is most common in the
population, and a
‘neurodivergent’ person is one
whose brain function is most
different from the most common
presentation. Examples of
neurodivergent states are: Autism
spectrum disorder (ASD), ADHD,
dyslexia, dyscalculia, dyspraxia,
dysgraphia and other variations in
how brains work.
The common images of ASD and
ADHD we have as naughty or
disabled children who can’t sit still
or are flapping their hands as they
scream in the corner are very
misguided, and only represent a
tiny proportion of the
neurodivergent population. Also,
many behaviours we accept as
autistic or ADHD are actually
coping mechanisms and trauma
responses, and have nothing to do
with the natural differences in the
brain.
Because we are born with
neurodivergent brains, and know
from a very young age that we are
different, we develop ways to
survive this society that is not
always kind to those who are
different.
When brain functions vary so
much that they differ hugely from
the way most people’s brains
function, this is described as
neurodivergence. Each
neurodivergent person is also
unique unto themselves, even
within categories themselves.
Many neurodivergent states
overlap in function or occur
together, with many preferring to
call themselves simply
‘neurodivergent’. Misdiagnosis is
especially a problem in women,
because historically most
neurodivergent research has been
done on boys and men, and
neuroscience is only now starting
to realise the vast differences
between male and female brains
and the consequences of
misunderstanding that.
Our sensory systems
All neurodivergents have highly
sensitive nervous systems. Issues
like chronic pain, muscle spasms,
joint problems, anxiety,
depression, eating disorders and
digestive issues like irritable bowel
syndrome are common among
highly sensitive people. These
physical challenges also reduce
mental health function, because
of complex body-mind
interactions like the gut-brain axis
and other chemical factors. The
feedback loop this creates – the
mind creating body problems, the
body problems perpetuating the
mind problems – can keep people
stuck in disease and ill health for
many years.
The larger part of the population
has low to medium sensitivity
levels, while the highest end of
the sensitivity spectrum is
occupied by neurodivergents.
There is another category in
between these two – officially
called ‘highly sensitive people’, or
HSP, who are more sensitive than
most, but not quite as sensitive as
neurodivergents. Not all HSPs are
neurodivergent, although they
certainly may be.
Highly sensitive nervous systems
A person with a highly sensitive
nervous system (HSP or
neurodivergent) will have an
increased capacity to sense,
locate, describe and express the
detail of all inner and outer
sensations they experience. They
usually also have a much higher
ability to discern the differences
between subtle details and
changes in their sensation.
Our bodies also have internal
senses – those that help us
identify what is going on inside
our bodies at all times.
We also have social senses – those
that help us function in society by
communicating and interacting
with people. We also have
protective senses, for example
neuroception, which is our
capacity to sense danger or safety
in our environment at any time.
When you are highly sensitive,
your connection to all these
senses determines how you
function in the world. This feels
like we absorb everything from
our environment and we notice
everything going on inside us as
well, meaning our brains process
sensory information differently.
Sensory struggles
Many of the struggles that
neurodivergents face daily are
because of these sensory issues.
Why is it that those who are
highly sensitive often end up
struggling to identify their
sensations, almost like they are
less able to feel them?
1. Trauma
Being born highly sensitive is
traumatising. Children are not
born with the capacity to regulate
their own emotions and stress
responses; they have to learn this
from their parents over time.
Trauma responses start being
ingrained early on while the brain
is still developing, and this has
huge consequences later in life.
2. High self-awareness
Many neurodivergents are also
highly intelligent, have much more
self-awareness, and mentally
perceive the world in a much
deeper way than neurotypicals.
The mental space is where you
feel powerful and in control, but
the physical, sensory and
emotional world is where you feel
overwhelmed and out of control –
of course you’ll mentally cut that
off to survive.
3. Overstimulating world
A highly sensitive brain takes in
everything, and so has a much
larger load of information it must
process. Processing time usually
means “time away from people”,
since humans are the most
overstimulating things in the
world.
Learning ways to regulate our
nervous systems to bring us out of
stress responses is essential for all
neurodivergents and highly
sensitives, and will be a valuable
skill for the rest of their lives. This
is a necessary step in healing
trauma, and finding our way back
to our own selves.
Neurodivergent Life: Simple Tools
and Resources to Guide You Down
the Rabbit Hole; Facebook: FlowForm Rehab & Physiotherapy; [email protected]; 264 81 790 1160