Am I Sensitive Or Stimulated?

🔥 (Over)stimulated, that is.

Hey there, friend,

Look: I’ll be the first to say it.

I have a thing for alliterations.

I always have! I’m only human!

Whenever I hear—or make up—a good alliteration, it tickles something in my brain.

I don’t actually have the words for this experience (shocking for a neurodivergent writer & advocate, I know), but I know I’m not alone in experiencing it.

Brain tickles aside, I have a serious matter to ask about today.

Am I Sensitive Or Stimulated?

First things first: I’m not asking you to answer this question for me.

I’m asking you to answer this question for you, using me as an example.

Capiche?

Alright.

I’ve come to realize something about myself lately: I’m pretty damn sensitive to content that trashes any group of people.

I used to feel a lot of shame around this, too, I’ve realized, because I still feel bad when the people being trashed are unequivocally bad.

But then as I thought about this newsletter, I thought about it from the neurodivergent perspective and bam: New question.

Am I sensitive to this content, or am I (over)stimulated?

I can’t answer the question for you, but I can sure as Hell answer the question for me.

The quick grab answer is that I don’t want to consume serious content when I’m trying to brainrot, but that’s thinking too shallow.

The deeper take is that any content that serves only to bring down a group of people without giving them the benefit of the doubt feels manipulative.

Emphasis on feels there.

Doesn’t mean it is—just feels that way.

Maybe I’m too short-sighted on this one, and I’ll take that criticism.

But you let me know: Are you sensitive or stimulated?

x, Atlas