Discover more from Ruby May
I must confess: I never thought much about the concept of neurodiversity in the past.
It felt like a bit of a ‘trend’ and things like ADHD, more of a symptom of living in these times, where attention is a currency that’s constantly being competed for. No wonder our minds struggle.
Until rather recently that is, when I had to admit to myself what I’ve actually always known: that my brain and nervous system are also most definitely divergent from the ‘norm’ and the challenges around that have this year become much more pronounced, as I journey through the autumn of my cycling years...
I discovered that perimenopause exacerbating ADHD is a well known thing!
I just cannot function in the way that I used to. And looking back at my past, I’ve had so many aha! moments, seeing things through this lens.
After posting a question about self-care and ADHD as a self-employed person and receiving an overwhelming amount of responses from people, I became even more curious about this phenomena:
If so many brilliant, creative people have ADHD, what if it’s a kind of superpower or related to our brilliance, rather than a disability?
Or what if it’s an intelligent response to the dominant culture we live in?
There is something kind of beautiful and dignified about being resistant to the top down structures in our world and being sensitive to this imbalance.
Before I knew it, I was invited to participate in a documentary by a Danish film-maker who is following artist Uwe Henneken around on the journey of his recent diagnosis (I’ll share details of that once it’s released), AND I invited my friend Lennard Hennig to have a conversation with me.
In the video below, Lennart shares his perspectives on neurodivergence as an evolutionary adaptation, the ‘superpowers’ of ADHD, and the connection between ADHD, developmental trauma and heightened sensitivity. We talk about how it might show up differently in men and women (I think much more research is needed around this) and look at the most empowered approach to self-care.
I hope you enjoy it and would love to hear your experiences around this!
And if you want to dive deeper, Lennart is offering a six week course Wired for Wonder, which is starting imminently.
ADHD: an intelligent response to these times?
Oooh, thank you for this. Yes - neurodiversity is a gift we need. Yes, our current way of functioning is traumatising, and those who find it difficult function in it are the canaries in the mine field alerting us to something amiss. I have several family members who are struggling with ADHD, I am enrolling into one of Lennart's online training - thank you!