Hello my friends,
Welcome back to your weekly mental health check! This week’s topic: the increasing rise in neurodiversity. This can mean anything where our brain processes things differently from what is perceived as “normal” (often labeled under the autism spectrum, ADHD, or dyslexia). Are we getting better at diagnosing? Are neurodivergent patterns of thinking on the rise? Or has our environment changed so fast that we simply can’t keep up?
Of course, AI could be useful, for example in the case of dyslexia. Do we still need to correctly spell and know the grammar for a text when AI can do it all for us? Well, for our own self-esteem it is important to have a sense of control and knowledge. And people with neurodivergent patterns are often particularly sensitive, introspective individuals who suffer when the outside pace gets too fast and starts to feel out of control. Neurodiversity is not a deficit – on the contrary, it is a gift. The most creative people are those who think differently. Who pay attention to details no one else has noticed. But our world (for example workplaces, schools) wants to compress us into predictable, norm-fitting, controllable, efficient machines. Children start daycare when they are a few months old and learn rigid rules. Schools want children to sit still for hours and adhere to the pace of the syllabus. Workplaces require workers who stick to specific times and procedures.
We are all individuals!
A key to work with our individual differences (rather than against them) is to find your niche, what makes your individual talent thrive. For example, I could never write an article like this early in the morning. I’m a night owl, and only then full of energy and ideas. In the mornings I can barely get by. Shame I live in Germany, where life starts before 8 am. But I have found a passion that I can make work outside “business hours” in Germany. On the other hand, we need to adapt to the ever-changing, increasing digital environment. One way to master this is by training our ability to concentrate. Of course, life makes this super hard: I notice myself how I often reach for my phone, how much longer I use social media than I intended, and how much this affects my ability to concentrate.
So how can we not just survive but actually thrive in a world that works against us? We need to train our concentration and also our flexibility to adapt to the world. Instead of scrolling on social media and reaching for your phone at every possible moment, try this: read one article or book chapter without interruption. Find projects in your spare time where you control the setting and the pace. Accept that sometimes the world will be overwhelming. And celebrate that you are different.
Stay tuned for next week, where we will look at the power of the superwoman.
Take care – and take charge!
See you next week,
It’s me, Jules, your biggest fan
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