Pondering the Edges: Neurodivergence, Misdiagnosis, and What’s Wrong with This Picture?

I’ve been pondering these ideas for a while now, and sometimes they just hit differently. Full disclosure: I’m diagnosed neurodivergent myself, realising it through my then-9-year-old son about six months before my own ADHD diagnosis three years ago (april 2023). Since then, it’s unpacked across family - nieces, nephews, sister, cousins emerging from the woodwork - and rippled to friends too. Beat mate even since childhood. One thought spirals to another, questioning the system.

Here’s my hypothesis: What if undiagnosed neurodivergence ramps up stress, worry, and lands folks in the “other illness” categories that miss the mark? Hypothetically, human conditions are just our best guess - true until the next insight shakes it up.

I’m pro-neurodiversity: If it clicks, pursue that diagnosis for clarity. But the bandwagon? Jumping on trends for convenience or excuses? That’s different from real self-discovery. Philosophically, “pathology” might just be spectrum stuff amplified by unaccommodating environments.

Look at autism self-ID trends exploding online lately. Studies (2020-2024, like in Autism in Adulthood) validate it as a starting point for masked adults; a 2022 survey showed 70%+ felt empowered. Validity’s mixed - high accuracy with tools like RAADS-R (80% overlap with clinical dx), but risks misattributing trauma. With 3-year waitlists? What else can people do but explore?

Self-validation’s human - we all seek patterns in chaos, no harm focusing on neurodivergence if it fits. YouTube, TikTok? They’re digital early “diagnosis” hubs. Visible expressers push boundaries (gatekept as “not in the club”), while others thrive label-free.

Stats show we cluster in creative/tech spaces where traits shine; official minority numbers might be 25% underreported, making confident visibles the iceberg tip. ADHD misdx: Underdiagnosis in adults (women delayed years), overlaps with anxiety/depression, overdx in kids. Symptoms mimic sleep issues to seizures.

Then, people I’ve known: young heart attacks, off-kilter medical chases like masking procedures. Extend it - premature ends from impulsive choices spiraling to incarceration or worse, unchecked ADHD traits clashing with an unyielding world. Echoes Radiohead’s “Fitter Happier” (‘97) - medicated conformity critique. 30 years later: What’s wrong with this picture?

Undiagnosed neurodivergence fueling breakdowns? Pathologising variations, ignoring systemic flaws?

Just observations, hypothetical and philosophical - no judgments. How about You? Self-ID shift your world?

It sure as hell shifted mine.