Divergent Mind: Thriving in a World That Wasn’t Designed for You [9780062876805]

Overview

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The bestselling, paradigm-shifting study of neurodivergent women—those with ADHD, autism, synesthesia, high sensitivity, and sensory processing disorder—exploring why these traits are overlooked in women and how society benefits from allowing their unique strengths to flourish.

As a successful Harvard and Berkeley-educated writer, entrepreneur, and devoted mother, Jenara Nerenberg was shocked to discover that her “symptoms”--only ever labeled as anxiety-- were considered autistic and ADHD. Being a journalist, she dove into the research and uncovered neurodiversity—a framework that moves away from pathologizing “abnormal” versus “normal” brains and instead recognizes the vast diversity of our mental makeups. When it comes to women, sensory processing differences are often overlooked, masked, or mistaken for something else entirely. Nerenberg explores these topics in depth, delving into:

• Flawed systems that focus on diagnosing younger, male populations.
• How people assigned female at birth are conditioned to blend in and conform to gender expectations, and how women often don’t learn about their neurological differences until they are adults, if at all.
• The impact of millions living with undiagnosed or misdiagnosed neurodivergences, and how the misidentification leads to depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, and shame.
• Practical solutions for neurodivergent people to thrive, not just survive.

Divergent Mind is the much-needed answer for women who have a deep sense that they are “different.” Sharing real stories from women with high sensitivity, ADHD, autism, misophonia, dyslexia, SPD, and more, Nerenberg explores how these brain variances present differently in women and dispels widely-held misconceptions (for example, it’s not that autistic people lack sensitivity and empathy, they have an overwhelming excess of it). Nerenberg offers us a path forward, describing changes in how we communicate, how we design our surroundings, and how we can better support divergent minds. When we allow our wide variety of brain makeups to flourish, we create a better tomorrow for us all.