The Monsters We Make

In this Halloween episode of the Gifted Neurodivergent Podcast the discussion revolves around how societal misconceptions create 'monsters' out of those with neurodivergent intelligence. The podcast delves into how supernatural figures such as vampires, werewolves, and witches symbolize different forms of neurodivergent abilities—autism, somatic intelligence, and integrated intelligence, respectively. Through passionate anecdotes and observations, Skinner highlights how society’s isolation, misunderstanding, and exploitation of these individuals lead to their 'monstrous' portrayal. She calls for societal change to recognize and nurture neurodivergent talents rather than marginalize them, emphasizing the need for empathy and acceptance to uncover these hidden gifts. The episode concludes with an urge to turn negative labels into positives, fostering a community that appreciates and values outlier strengths.

Transcript

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The Monsters We Make. 

[00:00:00] 

Hello, everyone. Welcome to the gifted neurodivergent podcast. I'm Lillian Skinner. [00:01:00] Today, it's Halloween. 

and we're going to talk about the monsters we make as a society. How those supernatural figures and horror, from vampires to werewolf's to witches, are actually representation of the extremes of neurodivergent intelligence patterns ripped away from their empathy. 

I want you to start off by thinking of the horror films you have seen. If you look closely at those horror films, you'll see certain themes that repeat across every genre in generation. These patterns that go bump in the night are similar to what we document in neurodivergence literature. 

Our nightmares did not spring, fully formed from the collective consciousness like a paranormal a Thena. They emerge from a cultural fund house of mirrors, a twisted reflection of the people, society chose not to understand. 

Our societies have always controlled the masses by putting those of us who are the outliers [00:02:00] on the defensive all the time. 

It forces us to constantly justify our way of being, because it programs the masses to fall into a hierarchy. And hierarchy is not our natural state. Our supernatural rogue gallery has always been less about what hides in the dark and more about those who don't fit in during the light. 

Vampires, werewolves, and witches each represent an extreme expression of a particular kind of intelligence. But what happens when those strengths are isolated and removed from their empathy, is people are reduced to their most extreme qualities. Creating What we call. “Monsters. 

Let's start with the vampire. In folklore, vampires are creatures of darkness, pale, quiet, meticulous, focused, and intensely detailed. When we strip away the fangs and immortality, we're left with a character that embodies the high cognitive intelligence found in autism . 

Someone who sees every [00:03:00] detail, every crack in the system. Someone whose focus is so strong, it becomes almost intimidating. These “ vampires” are often seen as hyper analytical, able to recognize small picture patterns, spot anomalies, and remember details most people would miss. 

 They're often drained by social interactions. They thrive in solitude. And this gives them a reputation for being distant or even cold. 

Everyone has someone like this in their family. We can call them uncle vlad. Uncle Vlad is brilliant. Possibly he's a software engineer or a data scientist. he's known for his precision. He needs quiet. 

He has intense focus. He notices every inconsistency, but he doesn't remember your birthday. He remembers the time you were born, the weather of that day, the unusual green shirt you wore seven times ago when you saw him. He's not the warmest person. He doesn't do small talk. He doesn't attend big family gatherings unless he must. And he spends [00:04:00] most of his life alone, either reading or working on his projects, which are many and meticulous. 

From a young age, Vlad was probably called “obsessive,” “odd, “overly focused.” weirdo. People appreciate his skills, but they don't understand him. And this is the story of many “vampires. They're brilliant minds. Their ability to focus is both a strength and a source of alienation. Society tends to make them and see them as hyper logical, maybe even emotionless. But what happens is when the cognitive vampire loses empathy. Then they become fully isolated from the human connections around them. Then they become focused on their goals above all else. 

 When cognitive vampires disconnect from empathy, they become cold, calculating, and even ruthless. They might use their ability solely for personal gain. They create systems or structures that prioritize efficiency and profit over people. In extreme cases, we see these vampires as the top of [00:05:00] powerful corporations. Where their focus shifts from innovation to exploitation. They become modern Vlad , the impalers. 

These are people who can see the world and the people in it as data points, assets. But not actually as a living, breathing human or entity with their own needs or wants. without empathy, the vampires are no longer just a quirky weirdo. They are a Ruthless billionaire who cuts jobs, pollutes environments, monopolizes industry. 

It's always about them and what their needs are because in childhood they were not. Given the love that they needed to develop holistic intelligence and compassionate empathy. 

This person is very sensitive. They're very small picture. And as a result, their ability to see beyond them self is limited. And so if they don't get a good childhood if they don't get a good parents set of parents who love them unconditionally, they aren't going to see [00:06:00] value in loving others, extending themselves to others, going beyond what is comfortable for them, for others. As a result, the whole of society will pay because this persons capabilities are extreme. It is the average life that our systems provide that could turn this person into the monster. 

 Because their intelligence is valued so much that they're given power without limits. And they will follow the direction of profit before everything to the tee. Without emotions, without the ability to hold in their focus on profit. They cause the death of society and today potentially the world. And we have recognized this for centuries. 

. . Now let's move to the werewolf's. The werewolf is a different creature. [00:07:00] One ruled by body and emotion. Where the vampire is cold and calculating, the werewolf can be warm and impulsive. The werewolf is a creature of passion. 

The werewolf are the somatically gifted. I had werewolf's parents. They are incredibly somatically gifted. Unfortunately, they were denied a healthy childhood due to the devaluation of somatic intelligence by our school systems, by our culture, by our society. They were given one parent who adored them and another parent who devalued them. 

The extremes of grandiose narcissism was the outcome because they were so sensitive. 

The werewolf's are driven by instinct and big picture thinking and feeling. They live through feelings. They learn through feelings. They are what they feel. Their bodies are instruments. They're artisans. Their lovers. They're these big hearted free spirits who thrive on experience. They can make you feel seen and alive. And give you a space that no one else has ever done [00:08:00] before. They are fun family members who bring all the energy to gathering. They can be full of adventure, thrill and spirit, and they never ever grow up. That is their best light. 

But when they lose their somatic empathy, if they haven't learned empathy in the area that you're needing it. Or when they're stressed to the point where they can't see anyone but themselves. That warm energy becomes something completely and profoundly different. 

They become disconnected from other's experiences. They become incredibly self-centered. They're unable to focus on the needs or feelings of anyone else. Instead of being that fun uncle who never grows up, they can become what reads like a borderline or sociopathy personality disorder. 

The visionary person who had these big obsessive grand ideas. If they have resources, they are [00:09:00] dangerous. They are convinced that they alone can lead humanity to a new utopia. Think of going to live on another planet. Their loyalty will erode though. And their desires spiral the more power and space that they get to make their dreams or big visions come true. 

As a result, they will leave a trail of destroyed people and neglected responsibilities behind them. Whatever they're chasing will keep their attention over everyone. 

Once charming, their big picture thinking is unable to see the damage and details that they have left in their wake. what started simply as a deep desire to live fully has spiraled into reckless ambition. Society's run by sociopath's fall the most quickly. 

 Finally, we come to the third example for this podcast, the witch. The [00:10:00] vampire is detailed oriented and the werewolf is big picture, the witch is both. The witch sees everything she can hold the big picture and the details at once intuitively understanding how one affects the other. These are the people who have integrated, twice exceptional or twice gifted intelligence. They balance body, mind, logic and intuition. 

I would be the witch in my extended family. I am the aunt who knows everything. I remember everybody's birthday without a calendar Because I'll feel the need to call them that day and it happens even if it's the first birthday and I don't know exactly when they were born. I will call up and say, Hey, when's your baby's first birthday. And they inevitably say today. 

 This is considered to be a dysfunction. It's considered to be a lack of executive management function, but that is illogical. I think this is what part of our anxiety is for. It's letting you know that you have certain things you need to do. but our system won't allow us to run as we naturally operate. It gets declared a dysfunction [00:11:00] because it doesn't fit into how they want it to be. 

 So we lose how people naturally move through the world. How amazing their somatic giftedness is and how we can keep most of these things like time and calendars in our selves, and we don't need them to be external. 

Only if we live in captivity are they external. 

Witches are scary, because they don't need the structure of our society. They figure out how to survive without it. They figure out how to use the herbs for their medicines. They're the ones that figure out what is edible or not. They are interested in the world around them. 

They're prompt driven and they can take in the patterns big and small and see what happens. 

People blame them for causing things. But really its a Shoot the messenger story where they say, don't do this because this will happen. And then that person does that and it happens and they say the witch did this. [00:12:00] 

She told me it would happen. No, that's not how it works, but that is literally how people still operate today. It was my fault because I said, this will happen if we don't fix this. And then it happened because I said it, it was my fault. Even though I was trying to get it fixed. 

don't need the structure of our society. That is co-dependence that is learned helplessness. We actually have this ability just like animals do, and we have lost it. 

 I can see how in the past witches were especially hated during era's of tumultuous change. Because we would be sitting pretty during that period. I am doing very well. My children and I have all the labels that you're supposed to break under and we are fine. 

 I figured out what they needed because I am good at pattern recognition big and small. When you can do that, everything is easier, if you're allowed the space to do it. The hardest part for me in life has been working in a system that won't allow me to use my [00:13:00] natural talents. 

 Women are witches because we have children. When you go through childbirth, you find a reconnection with your somatic intelligence, because this is needed to keep your baby alive. 

After I went through childbirth, I was amazed at how much my body understood what was going on with the baby. 

How I could feel emotions that I knew, were'nt mind they belong to the baby. There was nothing. Nothing in our literature that described it. Nothing that could tell me why or how I could do this. I found it mind boggling, but at the same time I trusted my body and my own logic, because that's what made sense. 

From a survivability standpoint, I now knew how animals took care of their babies. I needed my baby to survive for my wellbeing, mental and physical. And my body was coming up and teaching me how it. needed to be done. 

This is also why women are demeaned and devalued in society as a whole, women have to [00:14:00] be less than so that men don't seek out their perspectives .Because their perspectives are amazing. Women who maintain a deep connection to their natural state, teach men how not to be enslaved. I remember watching a interview with someone who talked about their wife coming up and saying, we have to go. We have to go right now. We're in the path of the hurricane. Even though the hurricane wasn't going to hit their place, according to the weather channel and the news. She was right. They lost their house. But she had them leave the night before because she just felt they needed to leave. 

He said, yeah, I trust her. I trust her with my life. I remember thinking. She's sensitive. She's she knows what's going on. 

 This is what women have. Their bodies are sensitive. When you have a child, you reconnect with that somatic intelligence. If you're already. Highly gifted in that area, it's profound. It's mind-blowingly profound. 

 This is our big picture. It's there to look out for you . We need it to [00:15:00] make sure that we're going to be okay. It keeps us from being pulled into the system fully and buying into the conditioning that it has. Our awareness at the somatic level is what allows us to keep our freedoms. It allows us to see what could actually be and what is our healthy. 

 As we move into this era of AI and increasing control our somatic intelligence is going to be the guide that teaches us how to navigate it, to find healthy. 

witches is are known for being able to read others like open books, which of course makes them nervous. But the reason they're able to do this is that they're the creatives. They have been forced to live as second class citizens, despite creative intelligence being the highest level of intelligence. Because apparently we don't know how to test that, but that's utter bull crap. 

We absolutely do know how to test it. We have just chosen to only test cognitive. Because I was fortunately forced to emotionally regulate and deeply understand other people. because I was a second class citizen as a creative. [00:16:00] I got developed in ways, few others did. 

Those of us who are highly creative get marginalized and demeaned in our systems. We are told that there's something deeply wrong with us for developing our full creative intelligence. What's really deeply wrong is that our society is set up to exploit us. 

 it's set up to take the witches and all of those who are just so creative, they can't fit into the system and teach them that they are not creative., That they are not anything of value and never, ever cultivate them. It is these gifts that society has set up to destroy. If they cannot destroy your genius, then they will exploit it. 

So for the vast majority of the society, for the masses, they destroy genius. Those of us that it can't be destroyed. They send you through a gauntlet that breaks you. And if you come out the other side, As the 2%. That's basically like getting a badge of twice exceptionalism. You are made into a diamond. Now will they let you shine? [00:17:00] 

Nope. That is. What you're going to get to do. The opposite will occur. 

You'll be told every day that there's something deeply wrong with you. I didn't ask for that. I didn't ask to be a witch. I didn't ask to be a creative. I didn't ask to be twice exceptional. I didn't ask to be sensitive. I got all of that. 

And for it, every moment of my life, I have been punished. 

I'm pretty tired of being punished. 

The end of times is coming. And I am going to build a society for people like me, people who know what's going on so that we can figure out the change that is coming and get in front of it. 

My gift is to see other people. My gift is to bring out. They're best this is what I am wired for. I am. Equally gifted in cognitive and somatic. I moved through the world as you are naturally supposed to move to the world. And this is very rare. I have a form of genius because of this. 

The very last thing I want to [00:18:00] do is give back to the society that has demeaned and tried to destroy me every step of the way. Which is why. I am a monster. Because this is what we do. 

We take people with incredible value and them let you know how they are wrong and how they are less than, and how you should. Treat them poorly. So that you ultimately turn them into that. But I know that I can heal because that is part of my unique form of genius. I always heal. 

So I'm going to help others heal like me and we are going to build a community and we are going to figure out how to help others, because when you're healed, you can forgive. 

This Halloween, I want to extend to you the chance to turn your negative labels into a positive. We need our neurodivergent outliers. We need to stop making them into monsters. We [00:19:00] need to allow them to exist because they have every right to be here. And their sensitivity is a good thing. We need to move away from a society where psychopathic and sociopathic are the outcomes of the extremes of sensitivity. 

We should get rid of shame. There's no reason for it. You are this way and it's a good thing. Let's figure that out. I hope at some point we can give everyone the space to be who they naturally are, and we can find gifts we never knew existed before because we're going to need them. 

We are integrated as twice exceptional people. We have balanced mind and body. This is our natural state. This is our holistic intelligence, and this is the only thing we have to deal with what is coming. I hope this was valuable. I hope you enjoyed it. Happy Halloween. Everyone, take care. . 

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