created by barbasol1099 on 10/04/2021 at 02:39 UTC
6 upvotes, 8 top-level comments (showing 8)
Neurodivergence is an inclusive term that has gained popularity in recent years. I especially see it used in reference to ADHD and autism, but I've seen depression, obsessive-compulsivity, and schizophrenia also included under the new term. Do the professionals using the term use it for a subset of previously-called mental illnesses, while still using mental illness for other subsets? As a blanket replacement for mental illness?
Comment by StupidLemonEater at 10/04/2021 at 03:04 UTC
14 upvotes, 3 direct replies
It's a neologism that seeks to de-pathologize neurodevelopmental disorders in favor of a social model of disability.
Or, in more ELI5 terms, some people with autism or ADHD or other "mental illnesses" don't like the implication that something is "wrong" with them. They believe that (some) people with these conditions can be functional members of society and do not need to be "cured." In other words, they don't want to be seen as "disabled," they want to be seen as "different."
To my knowledge this is pretty much entirely a social science thing. As far as I know the psychological and psychiatric community still use the terms "mental disorder" and "mental illness," although that could change.
Comment by Browncoat40 at 10/04/2021 at 03:03 UTC
8 upvotes, 0 direct replies
I'm sure there's a technical definition that I don't know. But the difference in connotation is huge, and a large reason why it has gained traction so quickly in today's speech. Saying someone is mentally ill implies that there's something inherently wrong with them; that they're bad at thinking. "Neurodivergent" implies that someone doesn't think like a typical person; not necessarily worse, just not typical.
I am most likely mildly neurodivergent. (No diagnosis, but holy hell, hearing autistic people explain how they think resonates with how I think.) I perceive and interact with the world different than neurotypical people do. Not uniformly better or worse, just different.
Comment by Nibblitz at 10/04/2021 at 03:04 UTC
3 upvotes, 0 direct replies
I’m not sure if it’s used by professionals but I have ADHD and I’ve heard the term used plenty. Usually it’s used as an attempt a describing how our brains work outside of the context of normal societal expectations. Like I’m in college now, all of my professors have been happy with my participation in class discussions (like I was even asked to be a TA by one professor) and I know the material backwards and forwards. I do so much reading and research on my own, I stay after class to talk with my professors about things we didn’t get to in class, I talk with my friends and girlfriend about my field all the time. But... that’s not how classes are graded. Classes are graded by what homework you do by what time. Classes are graded based on the easiest method to grade how well a typical person is interacting with the material. They’re not graded on how I or people like me interact with the material. It’s not that we can’t do these things, it’s that the metric were graded on doesn’t really work for us. It’s not a disability as much as a poor measure of ability.
That being said, I’m not one of those people who think having a weird brain is a super power. I think those people fail to account for how hard it is for people with more severe symptoms. And obviously other mental illnesses/disorders/whatever you want to call them are their own forms of complex. I’m only speaking from my own experience and what I’ve heard from other people with ADHD.
Comment by heckinbird at 10/04/2021 at 03:10 UTC
2 upvotes, 0 direct replies
In a sense, yes.. "Neurodivergent" just means someone who's brain functions differently. There's more of a preference to use "neurodivergent" then "mentally ill" because "mentally ill" sounds more like someone who is sick, wrong, and abnormal. While "neurodivergent" basically describes how it is: your brain just functions differently then the average person.
Comment by [deleted] at 10/04/2021 at 10:34 UTC
2 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Neurodivergent doesn't mean "mentally ill".
It's an umbrella term that covers developmental disorders (autism, ADHD), mental illnesses (anxiety disorders, bipolar, etc), and learning disorders (dyslexia, dyspraxia). The whole point is that it's not identical to any one term, it covers them all.
The idea being that people with all of these conditions have things in common and we can better organise by grouping together and work as a group. It's not a neurological or medical term, it's a social movement.
It's also a helpful term for people who might be autistic or ADHD or similar but in a mild way that isn't disabling, and they want a term to describe how they are different from the majority of people but aren't necessarily ill or in need of support. But it includes the people who are disabled and do need support too.
Comment by arcangleous at 11/04/2021 at 03:10 UTC
2 upvotes, 0 direct replies
No, it's not a replacement for mental illness. Neurodivergent means that there is something in the brain that is operating differently than in a non-divergent brain, whereas mental illness refers to maladjusted behavioural patterns. It's a hardware problem vs a software problem. Actually, lets build on the metaphor.
A non-neurodivergent person's brain is like an PC, where as neurodivergent brains are like a MAC. Still functional and can generally do the same stuff, but difference in the interface and you have to write programs to run on them a bit different. With proper teaching and care, a neurodivergent person can live a normal life, just like everyone else.
Mental illnesses are like viruses. Programs (behaviours) stop doing what they are suppose to and start wrecking the computer.
Comment by ViskerRatio at 10/04/2021 at 04:58 UTC
1 upvotes, 1 direct replies
This concept is known as a 'euphemism treadmill'. If you have a term that refers to something negative, eventually people get upset at being labeled with a negative term and insist on a replacement.
So 'mentally ill' becomes 'neurodivergent' just like 'insane' became 'mentally ill'.
The label changes but what it refers to remains the same. In another few decades, people will get upset at being called 'neurodivergent' and demand a new label.
Comment by AgentElman at 10/04/2021 at 03:20 UTC
0 upvotes, 0 direct replies
No. A mental illness is a mental condition that causes you significant problems in life. Neurodivergent means your mental functioning is not normal.
Neurodivergent can cause a mental illness, but it does not need to.