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

Image source: Parris B. Mason, cottonbro studio/Pexels 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

Image source:  Evatron, Alex Green/Pexels 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

Image source:  Los ???, Liza Summer/Pexels 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

Image source: JustMeT, Ketut Subiyanto/Pexels Getting overwhelmed by environmental noise but always needing the right background noises.

#5

Image source:  xannybamm, Andrea Piacquadio/Pexels 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

Image source:  c, Engin Akyurt/Pexels Brain radio! I thought everyone else was hearing music on repeat inside their head. ?

#7

Image source: FinnandSam, Karola G/Pexels Not hating showering itself but hating the task initiation.

#8

Image source: Cay Schneider, Варвара Курочкина/Pexels Always needing to know “why” and doing extensive deep research about random things only to completely lose interest a month or two later.

#9

Image source: pookieshoes, Yan Krukau/Pexels Hating obligations, they stress me out. Even fun ones.

#10

Image source: DayumDeltaco, Karola G/Pexels 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

Image source:  Mandy Moomaw, Yassir Abbas/Pexels 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

Image source: Ambi?, cottonbro studio/Pexels Having full conversations with myself in my head…

#17

Image source: Pam1, Michael Burrows/Pexels Instantly recognizing patterns.

#18

Image source: piratequeen, cottonbro studio/Pexels 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

Image source: Ggracie Lan, Athena Sandrini/Pexels 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

Image source: lauracat100, Darina Belonogova/Pexels 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

Image source: Autumn Little, Christina Morillo/Pexels 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  

#25

Image source: sam :), Helena Lopes/Pexels Wanting friends but unable to keep them bc I can’t ever seem to truly like a person once I get to know them.

#26

Forgetting a person's name straight after they've told you. Image source: 77RaeRae77莉里??

#27

Image source:  Gingermama3, Antoni Shkraba Studio/Pexels Perfectionism. It slows me down with every task, job etc.

#28

Image source:  bevin s, Yuliana Kungurova/Pexels Countdown clock for everything. Apparently "getting ready to get ready to go" is not a normal thing.

#29

Predicting the end of movies, shows, conventions. Being human lie detector and not being able to put into words why I don’t like someone immediately. Image source: mrskelce87

#30

Image source: klimti1, Pixabay/Pexels Object permanence, I don’t miss anyone or anything, is a struggle ? UnclFredstr: Object permanence, especially with people. I can go months without communicating, and yet to me, when I do, it feels like just yesterday.

#31

Over explaining ?? I need to keep everything short and sweet but then I feel like I’m not getting my point across good enough. Image source:  elizabeth.marie99

#32

Having to train myself to make eye contact with people in conversation. Image source: Annabee

#33

Image source:  keetzalsweetzal, Andrea Piacquadio/Pexels All or nothing mentality.

#34

Justice sensitivity to the extent of self-detriment. Image source: tillytob

#35

Image source:  yannyricciardo, Jorge Fakhouri Filho/Pexels Listening to one song on repeat for hours.