Neurodivergence and Mental Health

Mental health has become a more prevalent topic, especially due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the increase in mental illness cases. For example, the percentage of adults facing anxiety or depressive disorders jumped from 11.0% in January 2019 to 41.1% in January 2021. But this is just looking at the general public; just imagine the strain on neurodiverse individuals.

Those with neurodevelopmental conditions are at a higher risk to develop mental illnesses, often due to the faulty support systems, the way they are treated, their forced behaviors to seem “normal” or fit in, and more.

The pandemic also brought high-anxiety situations. For example, many neurodiverse individuals lost their jobs, and the search for jobs in a market that isn’t highly neurodiversity-friendly contributes to an anxious person.

Additionally, a neurodiverse individual strives for a structured life, where aspects of everyday life are kept the same for the feeling that everything is in control. The pandemic caused a significant change, especially with the forced quarantine, causing shifts in a typical schedule and introducing new processes. The lost feeling of control would contribute to a greater effect on mental health.

Although cases rose during quarantine, the mental health of neurodiverse individuals has always been vulnerable, given the sensitivity of the conditions and the state of our society. But there is something we can do to make this better, and that is because we have control of the latter reason mentioned in the previous sentence: the state of society. With the education of our community on neurodiversity and the effort to promote inclusion for neurodiverse individuals, a true change can be made.

Sources:

https://www.kff.org/coronavirus-covid-19/issue-brief/the-implications-of-covid-19-for-mental-health-and-substance-use/

https://med.stanford.edu/psychiatry/about/covid19/neurodiverse.html#:~:text=Some%20neurodiverse%20people%20are%20more,individuals%20have%20lost%20their%20jobs.