My Mild Superpowers

My neurodivergence is pretty well documented, both on here (example) and in the "real" world. There are so many labels in this field that it can quickly get confusing. Personally, I've accumulated enough without trying that I don't even bother looking into more diagnoses. I have my suspicions, but it's not like it would change much, so why should I care?

Plus, who's to say that I'm the weird one? It could just as easily be the ones writing the rules that have something going on. I mean, have you read Sigmund Freud?

Pictured: One weird dude with some conflicted feelings about his mother.

But, there are a few unique parts of my neurodivergence that are, in my not-so-humble opinion, kind of cool. Honestly, it's been a bit of a wake up call that most people's brains don't do this.

But, the great thing about spectrums is that there's a chance some of this might apply to you! If you do have any of these abilities/conditions, hit me up via the form on the home page. Would love to compare notes.

1: Synesthesia

You may have heard of this one, but if you want a citation, look here.

Roughly 5% of the population has some form of synesthesia. There are a few variations of how this can manifest, but, in a nutshell they are a kind of connection across senses. One of the most common forms is called grapheme-color synesthesia. People with this condition see specific colors when they view letters or numbers (I have a very mild form of this type). Another semi-common type is time-space synesthesia, where people report units of time taking up physical space (My perception of time is sometimes funny, but I'm pretty sure I don't have this one).

My synesthesia's primary form is called mirror-touch synesthesia. To explain, you know empathy? That trait that allows you to feel what someone else is feeling? That's made possible due to mirror neurons in your brain. They respond to what you observe. As Disco Elysium put it (10/10 game; highly recommended for people who don't believe video games can be brilliant art): "Empathy breaks into the souls of others and forces you to feel what's inside."

Pictured: A portrait of empathy from Disco Elysium. HARDCORE!

My mirror neurons are particularly sensitive and cross over with my sense of touch. In addition to having extreme levels of empathy (trust me, it's not always fun), my brain takes it one step further. Whenever I see something happen to another person, I feel it happen to me. Physically.

It has its advantages. When I give a back rub, I kind of get one too! I've also been told multiple times that I have "a light, healing touch" when I take care of someone since I'm hyper aware of how my actions are making the other person feel.

A side effect is that I become very aware of how people are acting around me. Thankfully, in my little slice of society, I don't really have to deal with watching people physically suffering or being hurt (for the most part; when it does happen it's profoundly upsetting).

It took a lot of personal work in really refining my suspension of disbelief for me to be able to enjoy any kind of media with realistic violence in it (something like wrestling is an absolute blast!). However, this only works if (i) the violence in question is on a TV or monitor and (ii) I am not interacting with the media. Doesn't always work though.

Speaking of which...

2: Suspension of Disbelief

Everyone (well, almost everyone) has this. It's what allows us to relate to fictional characters, accept far-fetched premises, vibe to music and pretend a movie isn't just a bunch of actors. Hell, you can probably argue that faith is a form of really strong suspension of disbelief (pun not intended). Belief is a funny thing.

As noted earlier, I had to work on being able to limit this in one direction. But I have a good amount of flexibility in the other one. I'm really able to put myself into another's shoes. You may have an idea of this if you've read A Closing Argument, The Book of Benjamin, or Twelve Steps. I don't really write characters or plot most of the time; I create a set of circumstances and put myself in there. Another example would be when I played through Disco Elysium (seriously, a fantastic game). My wife had to play this with me to pull me back and remind me occasionally that I was not the character in the game.

Unlike the other items in this list, I believe that this is something that almost anyone can develop. But not many people do. So it counts.

3: Magnetic Field Sensitivity

Okay. This isn't exactly a neurodivergence thing. I do feel like there's an argument to be made that someone who gets this done may fall on some kind of spectrum. Or at least, that's the impression I get from how doctors and some people react when I mention it. But this is my blog and I don't think this post would be complete without this one. So screw the intro!

I have two magnets implanted in my hand. They are biosafe and intended for that purpose (though, if you decide to do this, that's your call).

Pictured: Two of these!

This comes in handy way more than you might think. I can use it to pick up a paperclip off a smooth floor without cursing, hold a clasp of my jewelry in place while I fiddle with the other side, and I can pull off some great street magic effects with it.

But, most of all, IT'S ANOTHER SENSE. Since the magnets are in the nail bed, they are surrounded by particularly sensitive nerves. So, whenever I come close to a magnetic field, I can sense it.

Speaking from experience, way more things have magnets in them (or can be sensitive to magnetic fields) than you would think.

If that isn't a superpower, can you provide your definition in the comments so I can tear it apart?

4: The Driver's Seat

We are all split internally in a few ways. In case you didn't click on that link, one of the paradigms that I adopted is likening the mind to a "driver's" seat inhabited by the conscious mind and a "passenger's" seat with the unconscious one.

Psychology has many competing theories on this. Freud had the id, ego and super ego. Carl Jung had the theory of "the shadow." You even see this in older writings; as an example, some schools of witchcraft divide the person into a "wild soul" versus their "divine soul."

This split is universal. How it manifests is not. Everyone has a unique way.

A unique aspect of mine is the ability to switch seats. The first time this happened was when I had my first hospitalization. The part of me that is "aware" was helplessly stuck while I watched everything happen.

We've patched a lot of things up since then. We do share a lot of mutual interests, after all. Now we can switch at will; all that's needed is a little prep time and a bit of sleep. We kind of like the division of labor that we came up with, so we don't really do it often. Though subtle to the outside world, a switch is detectable to those who know me well.

Pictured: It's not quite this simple, but you get the idea.

Since we can switch, it begs the question of who is "really" me. But arguing about that is pointless. In the words of... me: "Who's to say who is the 'shadow'? I just see two badass entities that decided fighting each other is dumb."

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There are plenty of other aspects of my life that feel "super" (like the bond my wife and I share). But I think this is enough to prove the premise.

Do you have any mild superpowers yourself? Let me know below!