Thread. As requested by @HealingMindsTW this is some basics on different responses to mindfulness and meditation between neurodivergent (ND) and neurotypical (NT) people. Mindfulness is almost exclusively taught and conceptualised as it works for NTs. First problem.

2/ I’m also going to include in ‘ND’ for the purposes of this thread those of us impacted by trauma/PTS (some similarities in overactivated areas of brain). Hence why mindfulness based approaches also need to be tailored for trauma and ‘just do some yoga’ might be harmful...

For most NTs, meditation reduces activity in prefrontal cortex (PFC) - the ‘thinking brain’. Which is why it’s promoted as giving us a break, relaxation, etc. However, for most NDs, it has the opposite effect. It switches our thinking brains ON.

Something us NDs will be VERY familiar with is sensory and environmental sensitivities. This may in part be due to increased activity in the lateral prefrontal cortex which processes our surroundings (bear in mind this is very simplified for short tweets here!)

4/ Meditation for NDs reduces activity in the LPFC and increases it in the PFC. So we don’t ‘switch off from thinking’ like NTs do. We switch off from processing our environment so we CAN think. Using myself as an example here, where I have benefited massively from meditation is:

1) A sensory break. I need regular periods of Q U I E T to re-regulate. Meditation quite simply is giving myself permission to remove myself from environmental stimuli and the discomfort that brings.
2) Focus, concentration - more ability to think clearly

3) A chance to see what actually IS going on in my brain because all the stuff in point 1 that it spends most of its time trying to filter out usually completely obscures it. Whereas for NTs, the goal is to disconnect from thinking processes, for NDs it reconnects us with them.

Add the amygdala into all this, however, and it gets complicated. Amygdala is survival brain, and when that’s hyperactive, it’s very very hard for the PFC to come online at all. Amygdala works way faster than any of the thinking/organizing parts of our brains!

So this process can’t happen if the amygdala is activated - for an NT or an ND person. Hence why it won’t work in crisis, it’s not a catch all for trauma, and could even be dangerous if used improperly. Grounding, polyvagal techniques, etc are much more appropriate here.

Meditation only ever worked for me once my amygdala was brought down a notch and I worked with triggers and relational stuff. Self acceptance has also made it possible to sit and watch the weird shit my brain throws up without judging it. Welcome to growing up ND in an NT world.

Sources for all this: ND specific trainings, one on ADHD in particular which included brain scans of ND v NT brains meditating, reading, client work, own process, ND friends and family, a therapist with a good understanding of ND experiences.