I saw an interview by an author who was doing a series about disabled writers. I wanted to find out what the author meant by a “disabled writer” so I went to her webpage. I turns out that she has OCD and anxiety along with some other disorders just like me. I don’t know why this author labels herself disabled and I don’t want this post to be about her because this isn’t about anyone else. This is my story. I want to tell my experience.
So, I thought about my experience. Yes, I have OCD and I have anxiety disorder. I have had panic attacks for over thirty years. I also recently discovered that I probably have dyslexia, but no one ever noticed. I’m too old for there to be any good reason to test for it. I have not one day in my entire life considered myself to be disabled. There’s another word people are using today called neurodiverse. I don’t consider myself neurodiverse either.
Everyone’s brain works differently. Along with OCD, anxiety, and dyslexia, I also have a genius IQ, but that doesn’t really matter either. The thing that makes us all the same is we are all different. Calling someone disabled or neurodiverse is somehow saying that their brain doesn’t work like most people’s brains, but there’s no standard for how most people’s brains work. Everyone’s brains are unique. That’s what is so wonderful about us.
When you try to put a label on how a person’s brain works, then you allow for comparison to others. As I have written over and over, I don’t want to compare my life (and in this case my brain) to anyone else because it always ends badly.
All I know is God’s grace. He created me perfectly. There’s nothing wrong with me. I was created exactly the way He planned. I have faith in that plan. That’s all there is to it.
My faith saved me. May God’s peace reside in all of our hearts.
