35 Subtle Habits And Behaviours Of Neurodivergent’s That People Assumed Were Normal For Too Long

For many, self-analysis is a particularly obsessive pastime. If that sounds like you, this list discussing signs of a neurodivergent brain may trigger all kinds of twinges of recognition. People online have been sharing their personal observations about behaviours they once dismissed as normal but later realised might be symptoms of being neurologically typical. Scroll below to peruse a few selected favourites from the TikTok post that may or may not feel familiar, keeping in mind that these experiences can be associated with neurodivergence but are not necessarily exclusive to it.

#1

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Not actually “missing” many people or feeling the urge to talk to friends or anyone besides the people you’re around everyday. People are like out of sight out of mind.

#2

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When people tell me a story, I tell them a similar story to try to relate. Ppl don’t like that they think I’m trying to make it about myself when I’m trying to empathize.

#3

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I replay conversations I have with people in my head.. to try to determine if said the appropriate thing and I totally over analyze it. It can be exhausting…

#4

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Getting overwhelmed by environmental noise but always needing the right background noises.

#5

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Constantly googling things when I don’t know. It boggles my mind that people don’t know something and then just keep moving through life not knowing…..

#6

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Brain radio! I thought everyone else was hearing music on repeat inside their head. 😭

#7

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Not hating showering itself but hating the task initiation.

#8

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Always needing to know “why” and doing extensive deep research about random things only to completely lose interest a month or two later.

#9

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Hating obligations, they stress me out. Even fun ones.

#10

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Clearing my ENTIRE day to get ready for an event at 7pm.

#11

I don’t know if there’s a word for it but just thoughts ALL the time about seemingly everything. If I’m interacting with someone I’m thinking about the way I’m sitting or standing, what they think of me, if I’m responding normally, eye contact, that random thing that happened 10 yrs ago and made me feel bad, am I nodding too much?” It takes me out of the moment. Makes me wonder how ppl genuinely enjoy things for a prolonged amount of time.

Image source: Auth3ntic_D3z

#12

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Time blindness. I zone out and look at my phone and 2 hours have gone by.

#13

Getting genuinely obsessed with something for a period of time only to then drop it and start the process all over again with something else that caught your interest.

Image source: eunlixiebang

#14

Needing lists of things. If I don’t have my checklist then i’ll probably forget half the things i was supposed to do.

Image source: kels <3

#15

Inability to sleep before any event the next day no matter how unimportant it is

Image source: Devon

#16

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Having full conversations with myself in my head…

#17

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Instantly recognizing patterns.

#18

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Reading for 30 minutes and having no clue what I just read.

#19

Pattern recognition, re-reading the same sentence/question 10 times and still not understanding, reading a whole page in a book and not even knowing what i read, food hyperfixations, rumination, hating showering because it’s a “big task” for me, not doing anything before a work shift (even if it’s at 4pm) because i’m afraid i won’t have time, listening to the same song over and over, overstimulation by crowds/loudness, getting overwhelmed/frustrated REALLY easily, over analyzing, i could probably think of more.

Image source: danny / shae 🫙🪰

#20

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Constant overthinking, ruminating, worrying, intrusive, racing thoughts. Until my 30s I thought everyone had the same & were just sailing through life not bothered by it.

#21

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Having to do two things at once in order to pay full attention to one of those things. Example: playing a game on my phone in order to be able to pay attention to a lecture or meeting.

#22

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Saying exactly what I mean but then being called rude when I was being legitimately neutral.

#23

Eating the same option for 3 weeks…then hating it for years 😭😂

Image source: Glam Goodiez

#24

Overanalysing every interaction I have with another person. Rejection sensitivity. Extreme reactions to any type of music that tickles my brain and gives me a dopamine release.

Image source: stephankneee