This is one thing I think most people don't get with mental illness. Its generally an over expression or underexpression of things that are otherwise really helpful in life. Likely every genius had a little something going on but most were functional (or had a lot of assitance behind the scenes)

[–] asphaltkooky@lemmy.world 25 points 1 year ago (2 children)

That's a rather harmful stereotype. Thats like Hollywood depiction of autism. Most folks with mental health issues are not secret genius held back by the "society that doesn't understand them".

[–] uriel238@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 1 year ago

Meh. I have really smart genes, but am also a product of childhood neglect and family dysfunction, hence a lifelong diagnosis of major depression and a recent diagnosis os ASD with symptoms showing when I was ten years old.

My mom's whole family is both smart and crazy. Is this a matter of pure genetics? That's one common hypothesis. Another one recognizes we shifted over a few generations from extended family homesteads in an agrarian economy to nuclear families in an industrial economy, and our kids grow up bright but need a lot of engagement, what is not afforded to kids when both parents have to work.

Since the 1950s forward dysfunction due to poverty, precarity and underdeveloped family models were common contributors to childhood trauma. We might not know if a given kid might have grown up functional in a better environment because toxic environments are normal. Commonplace. So much so, we often fail to see the toxicity, and we fail to recognize the mental health issues that they commonly cause.

[–] Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 1 year ago

i mean it's basically true, just way more boring in real life.

Having adhd and autism doesn't make me a hidden genius, it just means i'm really good with technology and cracking jokes, at the expense of finding certain normal situations extremely stressful and having a shit memory.