I ask this question as part of my journey to demonstrate that diversity is better than conformity.
The idea, briefly, is that Life facilitates variety or diversity, yet we humans seem to resist this. We are all different, yet we do everything in our power to reduce this variation by trying to force each other to be the same.
This journey was influenced recently by my exploration of neurodiversity and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD or just ‘autism’). In short, I took all the tests and they strongly suggest I am autistic.
Regardless of any unofficial diagnosis, I am intensely curious about the diversity of human ‘neurology’. Note I use the term ‘neurology’ to describe our brain, nervous tissue, spinal cords, and sensory organs. It is how we receive information and interact with the world outside our person.
In my exploration of autism, I realize a lot has changed in the past few years. My ideas of autism are incredibly outdated and overly simplistic. Neurodivergence is just that: our neurology is diverse. In other words,
We do not interpret the world equally.
Pretty simple, huh?
I have, thus, begun to examine my life through a new lens. Rather than there being something WRONG with me, this approach allows me to consider there might not be anything wrong with me at all.
Over a decade of psychoanalytic experience continues to lead me to think I have to CHANGE. Being neurodiverse, or autistic, suggests I just need to accept myself.
This is a vastly different way of looking at things.
In this episode, I list and describe some of my experiences and view them through psychoanalytic and neurodivergent lenses.
Most people would not label me as autistic. But considering that I am, it seems to be incredibly helpful. I wonder how many people might have a similar experience.
If even one person benefits from this experience it will be worth sharing.
So I am.
In this episode, I introduce many topics that I will investigate further in future episodes. These include:
- The stigma around autism
- A simple definition of neurodivergence (which I introduce in this episode)
- Emetophobia (fear of vomiting in public)
- Irrational beliefs
- Masking and coping mechanisms (see also Episode 148)
- The ‘normal distribution’ of neurodivergence
And so much more.
Is autism awesome? I don’t know, but conformity is pretty crappy. Diversity for the win!
I hope you find this episode helpful as I begin to dissect the difference in my experience with psychoanalytic therapy versus considering a neurodivergence self-diagnosis. It has been particularly eye-opening for me and I hope this helps someone.
Please consider subscribing or following so you don’t miss this upcoming exploration. You can also check out the previous 150+ episodes of KEW at www.chrisburcher.com, by following Knowledge + Experience = Wisdom on your favorite podcast app or at the KEW YouTube channel.
Podcast audio stream:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/530563/14048761
YouTube: