As society’s guidelines, policies, and limitations increase, our superpowers decrease! Our superpowers are slowly turning into mental health problems. And over the last two years, it has turned a lot of heroes into villains.

“We all have a gift inside to tune into and the responsibility to make it shine if we choose to”. 

I specifically want to talk about four superpowers that a person with high-functioning dyslexia, ADHD, or high-functioning autism possesses. In addition, I want to shed some light on why mental health issues are possibly high amongst the neurodivergent (ND), especially as the diagnosis of ND is on the rise; this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Firstly, this is my observations after 12 years in psychology, business, and education, and coaching adults with neurodiversity; all of the people I have coached have been brilliant and capable. I do not mean to offend anyone who has not experienced ND in the way I’m about to explain.

So what are the four superpowers or themes that I have observed? 

1. A feeling that there is a greater purpose in life – they all have a burning desire to make a difference, not only for themselves and their family but for society as a whole.
2. They all seem to ‘just know stuff’ and are usually right but can’t explain why.
3. Everyone they know describes them as highly confident. They have indirectly mastered the skill of acting confident to overcome nerve-racking times or situations when they feel their ‘learning difference’ will be more noticeable.
4. The last one I’ll mention is, coming up with issues or solutions in meetings or friend debates about life affairs way before anyone sees them.

I have highlighted four of many themes/superpowers that correlate with the mentioned neurodiversity, ‘regardless’ of gender, upbringing, or belief. And I want to discuss how mental health could have such a high correlation with ND in today’s society using these themes as an example.

1. A burning desire to make a difference – yes, people usually want to make a difference for themselves and their families, not the whole world. Now imagine wanting to talk about your enormous plans for humanity, and no one appears to care or even relate to why you would like to do something like that. This burning desire starts young; you can be knocked down all your life with comments like ‘be realistic,’ ‘that’s not normal’, and so on. On the other hand, you never hear people talk about such big plans, so you keep it all inside, wondering if you’re the only one. It is bad enough that you hear negative comments about literacy or focusing difficulties; hearing them regarding the positive aspect of life, too, is confusing!! Like everyone else, you wish to fit in, be loved, and feel ‘normal’ (whatever normal is in today’s norms). So this burning desire gets pushed down, and you start to suppress the oxygen to the fire, slowly dimming the light of leaving a footprint on the world. That is depressing and, over time, can cause depression, avoidance, automatic negative thoughts (ANTs), and self-doubt.
2. ‘Just know stuff’ – ND’s are usually more right brain than left brain, and the right brain is known to know stuff; it doesn’t use words, it observes and analysis. It’s where dreams and innovation happen. Logic, on the other hand, is in the left brain, but that logic needs to come from some “know-how”. Imagine knowing stuff and not being able to back it up (especially in a peer-reviewed, statistical data world we live in; ) or people not believing you, even when you are proven right (it’s not about being right, though). You’re called a fluke or arrogant or hear comments like “you just guessed it” or “you were just lucky’. All your life, hearing this kind of talk can bring someone down and brings disbelief in someone’s ability. When inside, you know you know “the stuff” because of societal patterns and trends. This can make a person look stupid, to add if others don’t understand, it is easier for them to put the person down than to try to understand them! It can genuinely be confusing and cause many NATs and low self-esteem, leading to high anxiety and avoiding behaviours like not sharing knowledge and ideas, leading to more unanswered questions!
3. Coming across as confident to others and in stressful situations – highly confident people have always told me that inside they are not so confident, but on the outside, they seem to be. This can lead to all sorts of thoughts, and imposter syndrome pops to mind here as that is usually the case for people with high work ethic, and ND’s I have worked with have extreme high work ethic! It can lead to all sorts of internal dilemmas and strong NATs.
4. Coming up with issues and solutions way before others – people will look at the person and make them feel like they have spoken a foreign language or clearly say, “I don’t see how you can make that conclusion, it doesn’t make sense,” and so on. But, worst of all, people have shared with me that, weeks or months later, their colleagues or managers come to the same conclusion, and everyone gets it, even celebrates! This is a common occurrence, believe me, and can leave a person doubtful of their abilities and make it all about them that there is something wrong with them when, in fact, their brain is usually five to seven steps ahead!

So, my message here today is to highlight that; just because you’re neurodivergent doesn’t automatically mean you have mental health issues. It means that mental health issues could come from the reactions of society to your rights, needs, wants and desires. I highly recommend finding a like-minded, driven, and respectful community to share internal abilities because they are a superpower, and you’re not the only one who feels like this! Please comment and be kind ?