Conversation

#NeurodivergentFriends: Relationships That Understand

Social definition of relationships vs. my experience. About neurodivergent communication, trust without algorithm and friendship as shelter from a world measuring value in efficiency.

🫥 Social definition of relationships vs. my experience. Brain in pieces, but still searching

Neurodivergent communication

brain

Hey, remember when your friend sent you three memes with a frog and wrote 'this is me today'?

me

Of course. And I immediately knew it meant: 'I don't have energy to talk, but I'm with you with my whole heart (and whole frog)'.

brain

Neurodivergent communication — fast, without words, memetic.

Diet based on care

me

Or how she reminds me daily to eat something because 'coffee and panic isn't a nutritious meal'.

brain

That is love in ADHD version. A diet based on care, not caffeine.

Creativity > logistics

me

And that spontaneous action with DIY neurospinners? Me: 'Let's make a shop.' She: 'I'm buying beads wholesale!'

brain

After a week: logo, fanpage and zero products.

me

But what flow we had! Creativity > logistics.

Escape to the forest

brain

Classic – 'let's throw everything and run to the forest, no people, just moss, campfire and squirrels'.

me

Still waiting for someone to make a startup out of this.

Trust without algorithm

brain

And that nobody replies for two weeks, then conversation returns as if nothing happened?

me

That's called relationship based on trust, not algorithm.


What Does It Mean to Be a Neurodivergent Friend?

Not just people

brain

Neurodivergent friends — not only humans. They are:

me

- walking reminders 'eat something' 🍜

me

- spiritual support, even when they're in shutdown 🫂

me

- cheerleaders of your ideas, even those at 3:17 AM 💡


World vs. Friend

Less about functioning, more about being together?

me

Sometimes I have impression that if we all had such relationships – the world would be less about functioning and more about being together.

brain

Wait, what does that mean? Less about functioning?

Social evaluation

me

You know... the world constantly judges you:

me

- Are you productive?

me

- Do you reply to emails in 2 minutes?

me

- Are you 'on top of things'?

Being yourself without proving worth

me

But with such people I feel like I can just be myself. I don't have to prove that I deserve a place in society by how much I did today.

brain

Ah. So it's about... surviving with acceptance instead of with Google calendar?

Relationships as shelter

me

Exactly. These relationships are like shelter from the world that measures value in efficiency.

brain

So neurodivergent friends are like emotional support hot-water bottle – just with memes?

me

And sometimes with evacuation plan to forest.


#NeurodiversityFriends #NeurodivergentFriendship #Acceptance #BeingYourself #RelationshipsWithoutAlgorithm #SurvivalWithAcceptance