Many years ago science and spirituality went hand in hand.
These days Medical Professions are hailed as the pinnacle of and understanding of human physiology. I do have a different opinion. Medical science understands and continues to investigate human biology. For me, that physical body has a spirit inhabiting it. I do get that is a leap of faith for some, but the psyche has never been pinned down to a particular part of the body. It has been said to exist in various places within the body such as the heart and the gut and the brain, wherever the mind may settle, however to actually pin down what the spirit is, has never been done. This does not mean it does not exist. It also means that it should be taken into account when looking at a holistic approach to finding a solution to a human issue.
For instance I have asthma. If I did not have the medication, that scientists have spent time researching and producing, then I probably wouldn’t have lived as long as I have. Looking at the spiritual side of it and understanding it from this platform; life makes me anxious and I have been unsure of ‘living’ in the way society says I should. Does this mean that I should stop taking my asthma medication, no, it means I understand how much my psychology can impact my physiology. When I had my first anxiety / depression episode I was also diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Syndrome. At the time the medical profession did not believe it existed. I always knew it had something to do with my mindset, but could never prove it, even to myself, until I started to get my anxiety under control and also start observing my body and how it reacted to emotional impact. It’s come to pass in years now, especially with my new understanding with my diagnoses, that this is more true than what I first anticipated.
Continuing along the theme of medical professions, when it comes to things such as mental health I do understand that there are particular medications that will work alongside those of us who have neurodivergency within ADHD for instance. However without an understanding of self I don’t think that going on medications is the main or individual solution for the Neurodivergent group. I do get frustrated by how a neurodivergent persons presentation and challenges are always pathologized. I do have a very, very big issue with this. Something such as Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria, currently not a recognised medical diagnosis within DSM-5, but suggested to those patients presenting with particular reactive traits and then whittled down to a pathologized psychological view. What if that again is a reflection of emotional impact on the physical body and stored trauma resulting in issues later on in life. I’m not even going to say impacting just late-diagnosis. And this is my whole point. Being aware of colleagues or friends that have had an early diagnosis in life and yet still suffer with the things that are attributed to rejection sensitive dysphoria, to me just smacks of the fact that it is a personality trait people are more aware of because of the toxic society we live in. And therefore again it’s a personality trait within the neuro divergent collective that has been basically stuck in a medical view and deemed to need fixing. It pretty much boils my blood as I’m sure that you can possibly hear from my words. What if the neuro divergent collective was just a different branch of human? Why is it that we have been so ostracised and being the point of fascination for those from the neurotypical arm? There have been and there always will be those within Society that are neuro divergent. We have been around for millennia. People such as Einstein, people such as Jung, people such as William Blake. However being a Society that holds particular ways of education, ways of societal integration, ways of approaching your every day life in a particular regard and way of being that does not suit everybody pretty much kills the creativity and the innovation that is there from the neurodivergent collective. I do understand that this is a sweeping statement. And this isn’t always the case. But I also realise those of us within the neurodivergent collective who have broken away from the mould of what Society is or should be, have blazed a trail of their own, on their own efforts and for the most time are hard won.
Medical vs Social view I think is something that is highly, highly important and up for discussion within the neurodivergent Collective.
I do hope that those that are or have been diagnosed at an early stage of life now go forward and can grasp opportunities for themselves without fear of retribution against who they are. An example I would like to give is a friends child who has never been given a diagnosis but had always been supported in such a way that they did not feel ‘other’. They are confident and have brusquely headed towards the things that they enjoy, the things that they are good at and absolutely excelled in these areas with the full support of their parents. I do not see this person as having rejection sensitive dysphoria. To me those of us that are suffering the effects within various areas in life with symptoms that can be attributed to rejection sensitive dysphoria, is it comes down to a sense of self and an understanding and an acceptance of who you are and how you are. We are Oversensitive! I do also understand that this is not easy. And I do also understand that there are particular modalities that those of us within the neurodivergent collective will need to access to enable us to get over the amount of trauma that we have had throughout our lives, especially in regards to emotional impact. Along with Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing, one of the main areas for this for me is peer support groups. At the end of the day you get a diagnosis, occasionally you might be able to access additional help, a lot of the time you can only have medication or counselling, not both. And therefore peer support groups are a wealth and a goldmine of support for those of us that exist within this current collective that apparently is on the fringes of society. I also wholly believe that we will be the ones that bring about change within society for the better. Alongside our neurotypical allies this society can be a better place when we work together rather than against each other – and seeing ‘other’.
In Lak’ech Ala K’in. A Mayan saying it means: I am another you. You are another me. And speaks of our oneness as people, our oneness with the Earth, with the flora and fauna that surrounds us and sustains us. This to me reflects what YANA Gaia is all about.