Neurodivergence and the Cost of Creativity

A welcome letter to my fellow neurodivergent writers.

Even though my diagnosis did not come until the age of thirty-five, I knew from a young age I experinced the world differently compared to my peers.

In the workforce, I’ve been called combative and aggressive because of my direct communication style. As a parent, I’ve struggled to be fully present with my children because loud sounds grate against my senses and put me in a dissociative state. My temper easily flares at inanimate objects and technology when they refuse to operate correctly. These challenges have led to not being promoted, chunks of amnesia and missed opportunities for friendship and community.

Being neurodivergent comes at a high cost to the individual in some many forms; monetarily, creatively, emotionally, mentally, and even at the expense of community. 

Every creative has access to both external and internal resources, but not the same amount. The amount of resources a creative has depends on a variety of factors such as, but not limited to: familial structure/responsibility, socioeconomic status, mental illness, learning differences, age, race, trauma, and even religious expectations.

These same factors influence the amount a creative person can experience opportunity and creative output because creativity is an internal resource. It is also a finite resource. Combine this with a neurodivergent individual who experiences the world in high-def and taxing on the nervous system, it's easy to imagine how this might affect or cause challenges for a neurodivergent creative. 

It is for this reason I have created Pages & Plots to explore the intersection of where writing, publishing and mental health meet. My goal is to share my personal experience and what I learn as I navigate the world of writing as a neurodivergent individual.

Please keep in mind, as I share my journey, my writing and experience is my own. Not a single person with the diagnosis of autism, ADHD, OCD, or even PTSD experiences the world exactly the same way. Looking into the future, I would like to add interviews from fellow neurodivergent writers and authors to this page to provide a wider lens of the creative/neurodivergent experience. 

If you are someone balancing your creative endeavors with your mental health, I hope you’ll join me and I’m glad you're here.

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