A recorded conversation between Nick Stumbo and Jenna discussing stigma around neurodiversity, autism, addiction, and mental health. They explore how fear of labels prevents people from seeking diagnosis or adapting recovery plans, emphasize that diagnosis is not required to use helpful strategies, and note a growing social movement and self-advocacy among neurodiverse communities.
So, Jenna, as we have this conversation, for some people, there may be. They feel a reaction to words like the spectrum or autism or a diagnosis like. Because there can be a lot of stigma around those words. And just like addiction, to think that, well, maybe I have a neurodivergence. We just don't want to go there. So talk a little bit about some of the stigma that might exist for people around mental health and physical things like autism and the relationship that can have to addictive behaviors or maybe a lack of ability to face them and move towards recovery.
Yes. I love that you're drawing that parallel because so many people have that experience when they kind of finally come to the conclusion I am dealing with addiction. And that can be both a relief and an aha moment, as well as can feel very pathologizing and stigmatized.
Shameful.
Yeah. And I think the exact same situation happens for people when they begin to become curious about whether they are neurotypical or neurodivergent. And there can be some aha. Oh my goodness, this makes everything make sense. Of course. And there can also be a real grief process or avoidance. And in my experience, both of those can happen. Some people are exclusively on one side or the other, and most people kind of cycle through both of those until they come to that place of kind of salience of identity. And exploring whether or not there's some neurodifference in your neurologic system doesn't mean that you have to take on a label, and it doesn't mean that you have to share that with anyone if you don't choose to. What it does allow us to do is have a full awareness of what is driving our behavior and how our own unique systems work, and to be able to shift and adapt the way that we are working our recovery program to meet our needs more effectively. So I just want to honor for people for whom this kind of language conjures up images of a Rain Man, I get it, because honestly, that was probably where a lot of us were 10 years ago. And many people in the clinical community are unaware of a lot of this information. But what's interesting is there's a groundswell of support and self advocacy among the neurodiverse community now. And you'll see that on social media in particular, there is a lot of advocacy that is happening, a groundswell. And there are huge communities of people who are connecting around their shared neurodiversity. And really that social paradigm is shifting and it's so encouraging.
Yeah, I appreciate the encouragement that it doesn't mean this is a new label that you have to wear. You don't have to start every conversation with, I'm Nick and I'm neurodivergent. Did you know I'm autistic or I'm autism? One that. That doesn't have to become this public thing. But at the same time, if we're dealing with something that has been undiagnosed, like if we had a physical illness or a type of sickness, we need to get to a doctor that can prescribe the right medicine that will actually get into our bodies and fight that disease or that sickness off and heal us. And we can get that prescription privately and take it and be getting better. But until we're able to diagnose it, we might be battling symptoms over and over and over because we're not willing to really get into what it is. And I think that may be the encouragement of if we're facing some stigma around this in the society or family of origin or church community or whatever that we grew up in. It's that willingness to say, man, if this is a part of what's contributing to our issue as a couple, my struggle in recovery, I want to understand it, and I want to know if that's present, because if it is, then I could actually maybe begin to employ some tools that would begin to work for me in ways that maybe others haven't.
Yeah, exactly. Right. Because you can't properly treat something that isn't properly diagnosed. Not that you have to have that label, but yet, if this is something that is underlying a person not making traction in recovery, then it's definitely worth exploring and understanding just so that they can get the right plan that's gonna work for them.
It does make me think of what a pastor mentor of mine talked about. When it comes to someone that is dealing with some, whether a mental health or a physical issue. He say, when it came to recovery, I would always encourage them, just shoot in all directions, pray again.
