Neurodivergence or Mental Illness: Where is the Line Between Different and Disorder?
I recently discovered an intriguing paradigm shift that is happening in mental health communities. Certain professionals and lay people are advocating for a broadening of the term neurodivergent.
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Traditionally applied to autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and similar sensory and processing disorders, the concept of neurodiversity is very much a sociopolitical one. It shifts the focus away from ideas of disability, disease, and disorder, and towards the idea of simply different. While this shift seems subtle, it is vital and empowering.
If a person has a disorder or disease, they need to be treated and hopefully cured of their affliction. Essentially, they are broken and need to be fixed. However, if a person is simply different, they do not need to be changed, altered, or pigeonholed into normality or health. Neurodivergent shifts the focus from pathology to natural variation.
Neurodiversity and Empowerment
Advocates encourage us to apply this idea of neurodiversity to “disorders” such as Bipolar, Schizophrenia, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and many others. In essence, they encourage us to embrace the differences that come with mental health struggles. They suggest that perhaps it is society that needs to change on the fundamental level to allow for these people, not the people who must change on a fundamental level to accommodate society.
I find this concept appealing for many reasons. It is empowering. It acknowledges that society overall is flawed and ableist. Most importantly, to me anyway, it acknowledges the potential benefits of these disorders.
Difference vs. Distress
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I don’t yet know if I fully subscribe to this theory, as the line between difference and distress still needs to be more fully explored. Some differences, after all, can make basic functioning impossible or even kill you. The philosophy behind mental illness, naturally occurring variations, and the intrinsic sickness of society has not been thoroughly or fairly explored deeply enough to satisfy my analytical mind.
Personally, I tango with depression and anxiety regularly. PTSD has sucker-punched my functioning and potential. Even autism routinely creates significant issues that make my life more difficult. I understand on a very intimate level that these mental differences can be damaging and by no means a bed of roses. I do, however, also believe that these differences are an integral part of my identity, success, and functioning.
I have not necessarily progressed this far in my goals in spite of my mental health differences, but in many ways because of them. Each difference, even when it could be termed a struggle, has provided a unique set of proclivities and perspectives that has allowed me to function in my daily life and make progress toward my personal goals and happiness.
Autism
Autism is a “disorder” that is already widely accepted by many in society more as a neurodivergence than a mental illness. Research is beginning to shed light on how the differences that occur in autism may, in fact, be advantageous. Or at the very least, how the unique perspectives and processing patterns are a double-edged sword of strength and struggle.
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Hypersensitivity is a great example. Many autistic people are unable to ignore common sensory input (such as background noises, the feeling of fabric, or even common environmental smells). On the negative side, this means a person is more likely to experience sensory overload during daily tasks. Their brain will attempt to process all incoming data, become overwhelmed, panicked, or simply shut down.
On the positive side, though, the autistic brain has the capacity to perceive greater amounts of information. This means autistic people have a better eye for details, are less likely to make mistakes in repetitive tasks, and more likely to be attuned to environmental threats.
Another commonly found benefit to the autistic brain is the ability to think outside the box. While autistic people may not come up with as many creative ideas, they are more likely to come up with extremely unique ones. So much so that some researchers have labeled this proclivity for creative problem-solving an adaptive advantage.
Autism in My Life
I can personally attest to both the autistic tendency to be uniquely creative and the advantages it offers. Because my mental health differences are in direct conflict with how society operates, I usually find myself on the poor side of life. I have a reduced income, few resources, and the number of social supports I can rely on can be counted on one hand.
Because of this, I frequently have to “MacGyver” things. “Bed frames” made from thrift store desks, “meat patties” made from oats and eggs, “air conditioners” made out of garbage cans. Again and again in my life, I have been presented with needs that far outweigh the resources at hand. But my autistic brain has looked beyond the obvious, assessed the materials available, and come up with a solution to meet the need.
My autism is a direct and vital part of what allows me to homestead off-grid, create content for Different Functional, and even function on a daily basis. It is what allows me to make something out of next nothing. Because of this, my autism is also a huge part of why I believe in my ability to cope and handle whatever life throws at me. It has gifted me with the confidence and hope I need to keep moving forward no matter the circumstances.
PTSD
On the surface, PTSD would seemingly quite clearly fall into the mental illness category. It’s caused, after all, by external events and it results in a slew of symptoms that can result in extreme distress for the person experiencing it, make functioning extremely difficult, and greatly impair the ability of the person to be successful in society.
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On the other hand, trauma alters your biology. Your neurochemical levels, the physiological structure of the brain, various body systems all can undergo permeant changes as a result of trauma. Research is also beginning to show that these changes are intergenerational. Trauma creates changes so significant that they can be passed on to the next generation who never even experienced the adverse event that cause the initial changes.
With this evidence, it is no wonder that some are encouraging us to think about PTSD and other trauma-related disorders as a type of neurodivergence. After all, it literally rewrites the pathways of the brain and even the genetic code. We have quite literally become different.
This is where the question of disorder or divergence begins to become very relevant, though. While many autistic traits and “symptoms” may be potentially beneficial, isn’t PTSD just all distress, horror, and nightmares?
While all of these symptoms are a definite part of PTSD, there are also some positives associated with PTSD and trauma experiences. Various studies have led to the creation of a concept currently termed Post Traumatic Growth which identifies the positive changes that can occur after encountering and surviving trauma. These changes include increased appreciation for life, deeper and more meaningful relationships, richer spiritual life, changed priorities, and a sense of personal strength. In many cases, there is good that comes with the bad.
PTSD in My Life
While PTSD and Post Traumatic Growth are not necessarily considered one in the same, they are two sides of the same coin. Just as various autistic traits and “symptoms” can have both positive and negative effects, I believe that some PTSD symptoms can also have both negative and positive effects.
For example, a core diagnostic feature of PTSD is “persistent avoidance of stimuli associated with the traumatic event(s).” Essentially you go out of your way to avoid encountering anything that reminds you of the trauma. It is true that this particular symptom has made my life much more difficult than it may have otherwise been. When you go through decades of trauma, you would be surprised by how many things remind you of the trauma. Trying to avoid these things not only puts a kink in your day, it puts a kink in your life.
Here's the thing, though, at its base, persistent avoidance is a continued echo of your body’s fear response. It is saying that shit is so scary we should never see it again. And let me tell you, nothing is quite as motivating as fear.
I am not generally motivated toward anything. You could argue that this is due to my various mental health struggles. But, I see a lot of “mentally healthy” people who aren’t that motivated either. They do the basics needed to survive and never achieve much beyond that. So I’m not so sure it’s my mental health struggles that take away my motivation.
What I am sure of is that my PTSD has provided me a lot of motivation away from things. Away from homelessness and starvation, away from abuse and pain, away from instability and stagnation. Because I have spent most of my life running away from things, I have also inadvertently been running towards things. My fearful fleeing has landed me smack dab in the middle of a life full of safety, stability, love, and growth.
Without my PTSD, I probably wouldn’t have accomplished much. I would have encountered a lot of the “typical” struggles humans encounter and just brushed them aside, never really dealing with them, never really becoming better, happier, or healthier. I do not necessarily like the scars, struggles, and pain that came from my trauma. But I wouldn’t be who I am today or in such a happy, healthy place if I had not experienced it.
Anxiety & Depression
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Finding positive research about anxiety and depression is a bit more difficult. There are a handful of studies that suggest depression may help improve decision making and may even be a genetically intended state that allows for deep rumination. Viewed through this perspective, reduced interest helps to remove distractions and reduced activity ensures your focus stays on your thoughts. It might even be suggested that the negative mindset and tendency to perceive and react to punishment over reward could help you make decisions that will avoid highly negative consequences.
Whether any of this is true or not is quite debatable. Studies on improved decision-making run the spectrum, showing that depression hurts, helps, and does nothing to affect decision-making. Even the article suggesting depression was a genetically beneficial state provided reasons this theory might be flawed.
When it comes to anxiety, the research shows that it is super helpful for identifying threats. Being anxious, after all, means you are threat focused. Because it is based in fear, anxiety also has the potential to be motivating. Essentially, you are worried about everything that could go wrong, which means you are aware of threats and are motivated to avoid them, and are likely even prepared to deal with them if they do happen.
Anxiety & Depression in My Life
I can definitely verify the fact that anxiety is motivating. While my PTSD has helped me with large life changes (career moves, purchasing land, etc.), it is my anxiety that gets stuff done on a daily basis. I clean the house because I am worried about getting bugs and mice. I do a good job at work because I worry about getting fired.
Without anxiety pushing me, I’m pretty sure my life, house, and job would be in utter shambles. Money only motivates me because of the safety and sustenance it can provide. Cleanliness and order are only motivating because they keep the pestilence and sensory overload away. All the things that motivate me only do so because of the negatives avoided. Take away my anxiety, and my motivation to perform necessary, daily life tasks goes with it.
Interestingly, I have also found depression to be highly motivating for many of the same reasons. Stereotypically, we think about lack of motivation and depression going hand in hand. In many ways, they do. You have so little energy and so much apathy it is very hard to get motivated to do anything.
But, if you have been depressed, you will know that depression sucks. It is one of the most horrible, crushing, suffocating feelings. If you’ve never been depressed and you’re curious what depression feels like, listen to Episode 13 of our podcast, Depression: An Exploration of Lived Experience and you will get an inkling of the nastiness that is depression.
Which is why I do my best to never feel that way again. I have made so many life changes, diet changes, and personal changes to avoid depression. I minimize the hours I work at outside jobs so that I do not become suicidal and hopeless. I eat healthy and avoid certain foods to keep the lethargy and tearfulness at bay. I exercise regularly to keep my neurochemicals doing what they’re supposed to do. Without depression, I would be nowhere near as healthy and I would be wasting an inordinate amount of time building someone else’s pyramids while my dreams went unchased.
Mentally Ill or Neurodivergent
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As I said, I still don’t know where the line is between neurodivergence and mental illness. There is pain and turmoil associated with both. Some of it comes directly from my own body and brain working seemingly sub-optimally. Some of it comes because society is biased and bullshit and is constantly beating me down, trying desperately to fit the square peg that is me into the round hole that society thinks I belong in.
Whether self or society, though, many of my “symptoms” and “disorders” do act as double-edged swords. A single symptom can have both positive and negative impacts on my daily life. A single disorder has both impeded my ability to succeed and paved the road for success.
It’s for this reason that I find myself drawn to the label of neurodiversity over illness or disorder. It encompasses not just the deficits but also the strengths. It acknowledges that nothing is simply good or bad. That I am not good or bad. I am simply different. And it is because of these differences that I am able to function as effectively as I do and live a life I love.
What do you think? Chime in below and let me know your thoughts on shifting the paradigm from mental illness to neurodivergent.
