Wired Differently: How Neurodivergence Fuels the Creative Path

TEASER CLIP: BECKY BOYLAND AND ADHD

Becky Boyland: For me, ADHD looks like having a million to-dos or ideas going on in my head at once. Crying at commercials. Researching that next guitar on 10 different websites and a couple in-store visits before making a purchase. And thinking about that next song to write for way too long when I should just sit down in the studio and start making music. The more I learn about how my brain works, and how to work with my brain, the more exciting and effective it is, and I wouldn't change it, but it's absolutely not without struggle. Just like for many neurodivergent artists.

WELCOME AND MY NEURODIVERGENCE STORY

Becky Boyland: Welcome back to Second Verse, the podcast that celebrates indie artists making music their latest act and giving space for their creativity to become all it was meant to be. I'm your host, Becky Boyland, singer-songwriter and marketer, and a neurodivergent creative. That's what I wanna talk about today, how neurodivergence shows up in artists' lives and why it's often a hidden superpower. In fact, I'm finding it to be a feature, not a bug, among many artists.

As I've shared previously, I discovered my passion to pursue music as an artist and producer in my 40s and as an independent artist, I knew I had to be responsible for my own promotion and operate like a business. Of course, I'm also an entrepreneur and already run a business, but just as my dreams were coming into focus, I felt like suddenly it was getting so much harder to keep all the balls in the air.

Why was I so scattered? Why was procrastination becoming my greatest skill? How could I dream all day about the next song, but feel paralyzed in the studio? I really started to feel like I was broken. And while everyone praised me for all my "accomplishments," I felt like an imposter who couldn't get it together.

Now, I'd always known my brain was wired differently. I was recognized from my giftedness early on as a child, and I indulged in what I called "serial obsessions." I would immerse myself in a particular interest incredibly deeply until I burned myself out on it, and often would just walk away and never touch it again.

Of course, that was really draining and a great way to lose a bunch of hobbies. I guess it made the ones that stuck like music all the more special, but it never occurred to me that there might be a bigger explanation for why I could be incredibly organized with some things like my sheet music, guitars, documents, and audio files, but was never going to see my living room or kitchen in a style magazine.

I just couldn't seem to get a handle on what was going on. And, it felt in many ways, like a brand new challenge I'd never experienced before, or at least something that had suddenly gotten so much harder, and it was definitely not helping when it came to building my artist career and music business. But I had to keep pressing on and joining.

TikTok was the first prescription. I already had a number of social profiles, of course, but TikTok was one I'd just passed by. It was largely based on the misconception that it was all about silly dance trends, and you can still hear it described that way today, even though there's so much more to it. So I signed up without totally understanding what I was getting into, but I knew that getting started, I should spend some time watching videos, getting to know the "For You" page, and just becoming familiar with the platform. And one of the very first videos I saw was a young woman who had just realized with the help of her therapist, who apparently wanted her to figure it out on her own, that she was on the autism spectrum.

The way she described her experience, I thought, Hmm, this sounds a little too familiar. And because I watched the entire video, the algorithm quickly served up a whole lot more content in a similar vein. Adult autism, ADHD, AuDHD, and across the neurodivergence spectrum.

Immediately something resonated and sent me on a deep dive because I am a researcher. This was of course, my new serial obsession. As a child of the eighties, I only knew of ADHD as a stereotypical, hyper little boy bouncing off the walls. And while I knew people with autism, I really didn't know the scope of people's various experiences and how broad the spectrum is. I started researching and reading many articles and books and devoured podcasts, particularly around later diagnosis in women.

All this research indicated ADHD, and eventually 2e or twice exceptional, ADHD plus giftedness. I sought a formal diagnosis of ADHD for a few reasons. First, I, I didn't wanna position myself as some type of expert or even talk publicly about ADHD based on a self diagnosis. Second, I felt validation from a professional was important because it can be an emotional experience.

Third, I wanted the opportunity to learn more about how to work with my brain now that I have this important information. So right out of the gate, I felt this huge sense of relief that I wasn't broken. In fact, what I was learning about ADHD helped explain so much, especially how I responded to some pretty significant struggles when I was younger.

Experiences that I thought had set me back permanently were now things that I could contextualize and move past. And the biggest thing finding out I wasn't "too sensitive," but that I was instead wonderfully perceptive and empathetic. And that hypersensitivity. Yeah, I heard it too. I know that just means "too sensitive," but it was a frequent critique while now I can recognize it as a biological reality. That hypersensitivity explained why loud sounds didn't just hurt my ears, but made me angry.

And the fear of rejection was almost visceral. Have you ever had a boss ask to meet with you but they tell you nothing else? Then you catastrophize you think they're going to fire you, call your mom, revoke your college degree and cancel your Netflix subscription.

But actually they just want your Chipotle order for the noon meeting. There was now a name for that response, RSD or Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria. Simply knowing it was a thing helped me prepare myself for an unreasonable but very real gut reaction just because I didn't have context. For me, learning about my neurodivergence was like putting the pieces together to assemble the fuller puzzle of, well, me. Since we don't come with a picture on the box, sometimes history, culture, and society don't give us all the pieces at once, mainly because we're all still figuring things out.

DEFINING THE NEURODIVERGENCE LANDSCAPE

Becky Boyland: So, Second Verse, listener. I'm not a medical professional, but I've learned a few helpful things, and then I wanna point you to some resources that will fill in a lot of the blanks.

It's important to note that "neurodivergent" itself is not a medical term, but it is the common way to describe those whose brains develop or work differently compared to those whose brains function in what is considered a typical manner. The term is used to cover a number of different conditions, including autism, ADHD, OCD, dyslexia, Tourette syndrome, giftedness, and even some mental health disorders.

Now the word "disorder" pops up frequently in the clinical names for these conditions, and of course, even getting a diagnosis requires working with a medical professional. But as studies continue and organizations are built up around neurodivergence, the concept of disorder versus difference is being challenged, particularly with ADHD, which stands for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

The description is largely unhelpful and inaccurate, not only in my opinion, but in a highly experienced opinion of Dr. Ned Hallowell. A renowned ADHD expert and his colleague, Dr. John Ratey. Hallowell and Ratey have even proposed a new name to replace ADHD. In a recent article published in ADDitude Magazine, they argue, "ADHD is an inaccurate — and potentially corrosive — name. The term 'deficit disorder' places ADHD in the realm of pathology, or disease. Individuals with ADHD do not have a disease, nor do they have a deficit of attention; in fact, what they have is an abundance of attention. The challenge is controlling it. Therefore, we argue that a more accurate descriptive term is 'variable attention stimulus trait' (VAST), a name that allows us to 'de-medicalize' ADHD and focus instead on the huge benefits of having an ADHD brain."

It's pretty easy to identify some historical figures who would fit the description long before the conditions were identified. So that's why it shouldn't be surprising either that so many artists are getting diagnosed later in life. For many of us who grew up in the '80s or '90s or earlier, ADHD, once called ADD, was a pretty singular description: a hyper kid who was physically out of control. But ADHD has three types, hyperactive-impulsive, inattentive, and combined. Hyperactive boys and the rare girl were more readily diagnosed, or punished, while the inattentive and combined kids could be missed as daydreamers. And gifted kids were very unlikely to be diagnosed as they often excelled in schoolwork, and their chattiness was relevant enough to be dismissed as enthusiasm rather than internal hyperactivity.

Basically, ADHD was a childhood stigma and tons of kids got missed because they didn't match a singular early definition. So what's changed? Well, first research. A lot more is known medically, though it's still not widely known in society. But it's improving. And second, social media is providing an opportunity for a lot more people to share their experiences, inspiring people to investigate their own symptoms and find answers.

Third, particularly for women, hormonal changes exacerbate some of the challenges, particularly with ADHD and autism, motivating them to figure out what seems to have suddenly changed in their lives and leading them to discover their lifelong neurodivergence.

But what's the intersection between neurodivergence and musicians or other artists? I imagine at this point, Second Verse listener, you're already connecting some dots. For me, having spent many years in ministry, I've been in a lot of meetings. I've long understood that those meetings better have both dreamers and detail people, because a meeting with all dreamers will be full of big ideas and no execution, but a meeting with only detail, people will get so bogged down that literally no one will see the forest for the trees.

Some authors like Thom Hartmann consider ADHDers to be the leftover hunter-gatherers our society no longer needs. I'm not a hundred percent sold that that covers all of neurodiversity, but I think it's a valuable element to get us in the right direction. I genuinely believe that neurodiversity is, as I said up top, a feature and not a bug, and I hope that continued research will move us away from pathologizing — that is seeing it as a disorder, or worse a disease, rather than a difference — to recognizing these are normal variants.

Here's a quick tangent to illustrate what I mean. Stick with me because it helped me think differently about all this. I once suffered a tear in my shoulder after a car accident. The MRI also revealed that my shoulder had an unusual structure called the Buford Complex. I never forgot that term because, well, it was just kind of memorable. I won't describe the structure — you can look it up — but the point is this. It is "the rarest anatomical labral variant of the shoulder" and is found in somewhere between 1.5% and 6.5% of the population. Yet, despite being so rare, it is considered a normal variant.

So how much of the population has ADHD? Well, according to the CDC, over 11% of US children have been diagnosed, and we know it's not just a childhood condition. The CDc places the autism rate at over 3%. So if a shoulder structure that rare is considered a normal variant, how much more should we start seeing neurodivergence that way?

I believe that, first of all, neurodivergence gives us as a society the variety in a myriad of skills that we need to be our best. So why is it still considered a disorder? Because society largely values and rewards uniform thinking, so going outside that is divergent and it can have negative mental health effects.

Ironically, we celebrate innovators who clearly are outside the norm, but their innovations are quickly corporatized, and the workforce is filled with traditional roles. Some neurodivergent folks will adapt and are able to mask and function in such roles. Others can even push the envelope and spice things up with their neurodivergence in the right settings. But there are those whose divergence is more incompatible with the norms and they may feel more acutely out of place, or there may be co-occurring challenges that are medically described as a disorder or disability.

But I'm getting close to stepping outside my expertise, and what I want to highlight is that if neurodivergent is where you find yourself, plus you're an artist, there's a good chance it's not a coincidence. I'll explain why.

SPONSOR: ATTITUDE CREATIVITY

Becky Boyland: We'll be back with more after this break.

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SPONSOR: SINGING / STRAW

Becky Boyland:  Second Verse is brought to you by Singing / Straw.

Ooh, oh, you caught me in the middle of a vocal warmup. This is one of my favorite ways to wake up my vocal cords before a singing session or even a nice long conversation for the Second Verse podcast. It's the Singing / Straw, a simple but powerful tool for straw phonation, a vocal technique that promotes healthy vocal cord closure, and a gentle but mighty way to increase range and identify areas to work on. For me, it was key to regaining my voice after vocal cord paralysis, but you don't have to wait until a vocal injury to use it. In fact, I recommend that you don't. Make the Singing / Straw part of your daily routine. And you'll be amazed what your voice can do.

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THE ARTIST'S BRAIN

Becky Boyland: Neurodivergence has a natural connection to creativity, and I mean that broadly because creativity is so important in life.

The best outcomes in what you might consider the most "boring" industry still require creativity, and I think that's one reason why so many neurodivergents can fly under the radar in industries that might not scream "creative." But here's why it's especially effective in music.

Neurodivergents excel at pattern recognition and music is full of patterns. Plus recognizing patterns makes it easier to know when to break them for the sake of the composition.

Then there's non-linear out-of-the-box thinking. Neurodivergent folks can excel at making connections between the seemingly unrelated. It's powerful in business and just as powerful in creating new sound trends.

So remember when I said I had "serial obsessions"? Well, I was right on the money, but didn't know that that was my own term for hyperfocus. When it comes to creativity, hyperfocus is an absolute superpower. If that's your experience, you know that whatever project you're deeply invested in will get done! And the hours or even days will fly by while you're focusing everything on the task at hand. It will fill you up with all the energy you need to take it to the finish line.

When you're neurodivergent and able to make the most of routines so that they empower you rather than reign you in, your creativity can really shine through and you'll have a ton of finished work to show for it.

And then with music, heightened sensitivity is a great asset. Your attention to detail and emotional intelligence are amazing tools for creating incredible music. Some neurodivergents also have synesthesia where they experience sound as colors, which must connect them to the music in such a powerful and unique way.

And finally, there's the problem solving skills some neurodivergent people really excel at. Simply seeing a challenge from a different perspective can result in some of the most original and creative solutions, not just for major problems, but perhaps in how to achieve a certain sound in a fresh way.

Of course, routine can maybe sound boring or constricting, but can also be the secret sauce that helps make both a healthy life and productive creativity possible. The guardrails and bumpers of routine keep us from spinning in our heads with too many options that make it feel impossible to just get started.

For me, ADHD looks like having a million to-dos or ideas going on in my head at once. Crying at commercials or when the string section swells into the last chorus of a song. Researching that next guitar on 10 different websites and a couple in-store visits before making a purchase. And thinking about that next song to write for way too long when I should just sit down in the studio and start making music. It's great and it's challenging, it's energizing and it's draining, but the more I learn about how my brain works, and how to work with my brain, the more exciting and effective it is, and I wouldn't change it, but it's absolutely not without struggle. Just like for many neurodivergent artists.

THE SHAME SPIRAL

Becky Boyland: Because our brains are often working over time, but things like executive dysfunction can have us getting stuck, spinning our wheels, we carry around this internalized guilt. Why can't I finish things or why can't I finish things like I used to? How did I miss that deadline? Am I really too much like I've heard so many times? Why am I so distractible? Some of these are real struggles, but some of them are just mirroring back critiques we've received just because we've been misunderstood.

As a Second Verse listener, you are passionate about living the dream you probably had for a long time, but it took a backseat to something else in your life, a different career, family responsibilities, or even the fear of taking a chance. And if you too are neurodivergent, the internal struggle has been just as real as the external.

Maybe you spent the first half of your life thinking your brain was the problem. What if it's the blueprint for your brilliance? It's time to break free from the shame spiral and learn to work with the strengths of your brain.

So you're asking, "Okay, Becky, just how do I do that?" The first thing I found that helped me immensely was finding a name for what I was experiencing and letting that free me. Recognizing that ADHD explained my experience was pretty powerful, but like I shared about rejection sensitive dysphoria, just knowing that when I don't have all the context around a conversation, my mind will start constructing a worst case scenario. That's helped me to defuse that tendency. It's a little easier to wait for more information rather than letting my stress get out of control over something I've completely imagined.

Next, it's all about finding the systems and boundaries that support you just the way you are. Craft a schedule that supports your hyperfocus, but won't let you burn out on it. Build breaks in when you know you're going to be in the middle of something, but will need a moment to catch your breath. Limit appointments to when you're at your best energy so it's a great experience for everyone.

I've had a tendency to burn through hobbies because I've allowed myself to put all my energy into it until I've got nothing left. So when I'm producing a song, I give myself enough time to get into the flow, but I stop working while I still wanna do more. That makes it so exciting to get back to it in the next session rather than being over it. Since I know that about myself, I set up a guardrail to make sure I can keep moving forward.

I also know that the early afternoon is a low energy time for me, so I'm careful what I schedule during that time. A brief, getting-to-know-you chat is great, but I'll schedule an intense collaboration or co-writing session for a different time, so I'm showing up with my best energy.

And that leads into my next recommendation. Find community with other neurodivergent artists. I think we all know what it's like to have an interest that many around us don't share and don't understand. But when you compound that with your ADHD, autism, or other neurodivergence, it can feel really isolating. Connecting and collaborating with other artists who really just get you is so important and will be a really beneficial part of your social circle.

Think about when you and a friend are just stuck, creatively paralyzed. Somehow, just naming that out loud to each other helps you both get unstuck. That's what community does. It normalizes and then it mobilizes. And it's a sure bet that the artists you connect with have totally felt the same way. They also struggle with procrastination and, like you, they need permission to give themselves grace to realize that they're neurospicy, not broken or lazy.

They also are deeply connected to their emotions — under certain circumstances, and they would love to hear how you've tapped your emotional intelligence to create amazing music so that they can too. They've been told too many times that they are "too much," but you know they're just the right amount.

Everyone needs community and while it can be a little harder to find for neurodivergent people, it's so important and can be absolute magic.

WHY THIS MATTERS TO NEURODIVERGENT ARTISTS NOW

Becky Boyland: So why is this so important? Well, I think some current headlines make it really clear that the conversations around neurodivergence and its particular flavors lack a lot of understanding and context. The clinical diagnoses make them sound like diseases, which is made worse when the narrative is that we should be searching for a "cure." Now, some people have profound challenges and require significant accommodations so that they can live lives that are both productive and comfortable. And that's a fair thing. And I do think that has a lot to do with society just being structured in a way to support and reward certain brain types.

But again, I'm not a doctor and I don't want to oversimplify the conversation. So largely this is based on my experience and my observations, and for me, I've navigated the prevailing societal structures all my life. But it took a long time to realize that it took a lot of energy and led to a lot of frustrations and anxiety.

Figuring out why was a huge relief even before I made a single adjustment to my life. So if this sounds familiar, strikes a chord with you. If you've ever felt like a weirdo or a mess, you are not alone. You are wired for something different, and it's something the world can't live without. In fact, what if your next song, project, or podcast, isn't despite your wiring, but because of it? You might think you're tripping over your procrastination or all-over-the-place thinking, but these might just be indicators that you are exactly the kind of creative who should be making this art.

As I stepped into my Second Verse, I got intentional about my skills and knowledge, but I also got intentional about unpacking myself. I knew it was important to my creativity and had a lot of coaching that encouraged it too. It's a healthy thing to consider how you grew up, what your dreams were, and how they've transformed in life, and what's either propelling you forward or holding you back. So dipping a toe into my Second Verse eventually led me down the path to learning about my neurodivergence.

But what about you? Your creative story might follow the same order as mine, or you may have gotten a diagnosis — or had a child who received a diagnosis — and that opened your eyes. The self discovery that followed unlocked your lifelong passion for music, and now you're looking for permission to follow your dreams. A later-in-life diagnosis can actually unlock your second Verse! And that might be a little scary, but I think it's time to celebrate.

WRAP-UP: ACTION & ENCOURAGEMENT

Becky Boyland: I'd love to know, has this struck a chord with you? Do you know if you're neurodivergent or maybe you've suspected it? In the show notes are some resources to help you learn more and get connected with experienced professionals.

But even now, I want you to be able to celebrate and work with your exceptional brain. So here's your action step for this week that will help you show yourself some extra love and compassion. Start by noticing these patterns: when do you come alive? And when do you shut down? Write down those things that light your brain up. Those are the guideposts to help you work with your brain and not against it. So if taking an evening walk helps you think better, make that part of your routine. If deadlines feel crushing, but spontaneity feels like a motivating challenge, build that into your calendar. Structure your creative life with less shame and more ease. Recognize your strengths and reframe your supposed shortcomings. Make decisions aligned with your neurodivergent gifts. And if you'd like to dive more deeply into this, I have a special gift for you. Download my free worksheet, "Your Creative Map, a Self-discovery Tool for Neurodivergent Artists." You'll find that link in the show notes.

If you've felt this episode deeply, DM me or tag the podcast. I wanna hear your story. You can even leave an audio message on secondversepod.com. Make sure to subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with another creative who's been questioning how their brain works.

And because nobody has time for someone to force them to be anyone other than who they are, please stick around for my song, "I Don't Have Time." That phrase used to echo in my head with shame — I don't have time. But now I see it — and sing it — differently. It's not about scarcity, it's about what I'm finally saying yes to. So thanks for listening, and as always, keep chasing your Second Verse.

FEATURED SONG: "I DON'T HAVE TIME" BY BECKY BOYLAND