Blog Archives

Sensory processing differences across psychiatric Phenotypes ---- and Employment

8/24/2025

Val's Take/Conjecture

The "SPECIAL ABILITIES" of neuro-diverse people often involve differences in SENSORY PROCESSING.

In the Tech Sector, there's been recruitment of some neuro-diverse people who had extraordinary technical skills.

Just as not every neuro-diverse person is going to be able to win a fortune at the casinos

See Rain Man & Ricky Gervais
Not every neuro-diverse person is a technical genius, a musical virtuoso, or a gifted visual artist --- but some are.

TRY SMARTER, NOT HARDER

One of the defining characteristics of maternal immune activation is ANXIETY in "offspring."

That plays itself out in many different ways depending on sex, other biological factors, the environment, etc.

Additionally, for animals ----UNPREDICTABLE CHRONIC STRESS can be profoundly damaging.

For many neuro-diverse people, jobs are BURNING THEM OUT repeatedly.

They'll need to find a position better structured for them personally or create something themselves.

We ignore those SENSORY PROCESSING DIFFERENCES at our peril --- BUT

Most of us didn't know we had sensory processing differences, and
Neither did anyone else.

What we did know is that we had some STRENGTHS and we were much fuzzier on what our true weaknesses were ----

Although many of us did try to address those weaknesses --
generally by WORKING HARDER, NOT SMARTER
In a sea of half-understandings, this can be catastrophic.

Strength-based approach

Sensory Processing Difficulties in Psychiatric Disorders (2022)

*Researchers from The Netherlands

Highlights

Many individuals with psychiatric disorders report difficulties in sensory processing.

This meta-analysis examined sensory processing patterns in psychiatric conditions.

We detected a general pattern of sensory processing difficulties in psychopathology.

Sensory processing difficulties are considered to be a transdiagnostic phenotype.

Further research may improve long-term prognosis and treatment in psychiatry.

Employment is a critical mental health intervention (2020)

Strategies to Manage Mental Illness at Work (2020)

WHAT ARE MENTAL HEALTH CHALLENGES & WHY?

Executive Functioning
Including EMOTIONAL DYSREGULATION
As a result of MITOCHONDRIAL DYSFUNCTION, among other things.

19th Century Painters, Imaging Dragons and "I'm gonna say all the words inside my head"

Taylor Swift --- "Soon You'll get better"

8/22/2025

Val's Take: To me, this is a profoundly relatable song to many people in my life..

I want to talk about this in terms of Neuro-Developmental and Psychiatric Disorders and the FEAR and Challenges of Family Members.

I've been on both the giving end and receiving end of ---"you'll get better soon --- because you have to."

When that doesn't happen, or it doesn't happen in the way people want --- there's a lot of DENIAL-- that can be on the part of family members, the person, and professionals.

More and more, we're getting much more accurate appreciations of problems in brain energy, executive functioning, etc., better understandings and better treatments.

Taylor Swift
Soon You'll Get Better

For many people with Neuro-Developmental or Psychiatric Disorders, once a crisis is resolved, and maybe the person is "better" ---- there is often not an appreciation that there are on-going issues that are not well-addressed under older paradigms.

Neuro-Diversity and "Vice"

8/20/2025

Neuro-immunology as it relates to pain and emotional disorders

"Pain," Sensory Overload, Legal & Illegal Substances and Health Nuts who are not always living longer

Adhd, Autism, Sensory Neurons, Pain and an Intense World

Pain in ADHD & Autism

Miranda Lambert
Vice

Rob Thomas -- Humor & Honesty

8/19/2025

Val's Take: Rob Thomas threads a needle when addressing mental health issues with both humor and honesty. There's an optimism to Thomas' songs even if he's not smiling.

Rob Thomas
Hard to be Happy (2025)

with Matchbox Twenty
Unwell (2002)

Creativity, Energy dyregulations & Mental Health Struggles

8/2/2025

Val's Take/Conjecture: Frank James weighs in on having a high powered mind in a Toyota Corolla Body. That is how it can feel.

But Olympic Athletes and other Athletic Folks with mental health challenges illustrate that mental health issues are quite individual, and not limited to people who aren't exercising.

A good diet, exercise and socializing are good things --- and for many people, those things may be enough or close to enough to address their mental health struggles.

My concern is that for some people it's not enough --- and when it is not enough we are looking for a reason to blame the person.

Both James and Club Well, show that a BRAIN ENERGY understanding of Mental Health is going MAINSTREAM.

Those "BRAIN ENERGY DYSREGULATIONS" often involve dysregulations of the Brain's Immune Cells (MICROGLIA) and MITOCHONDRIAL DYSFUNCTION.

Dysregulation of MICROGLIA often occurred IN UTERO as a result of Maternal Immune Activation.

Orchid invokes legal notions of BURDEN OF PROOF. There are also MEDICAL and SOCIETAL IDEAS regarding who should bear the burden of neurodevelopmental, psychiatric and substance use struggles when we don't always have adequate treatments.