Autism, heightened sensitivity and the arts.

Today I wanted to talk about sensitivity in autism. Some say we are over-sensitive or have heightened sensitivity but it's my view that noticing or remembering some slight or hurtful comment, feeling mental or physical pain, and being creative all come from the same place. That same sensitivity we have to how other people feel about our art or our writing or our music is the same sensitivity which drives us to create in the first place. 

I was talking with someone recently in an autism forum. She was an artist but it's the same for all the creative arts. All artists in the widest sense of the word are very sensitive - they need to be, damn it! - to do their art: to observe the way the light shines on that tree, to delve deep into their feelings and emotions and to record it, to remember a conversation word for word from years ago, to write a song, a story or a poem...

It's difficult to view hyper-sensitivity as something positive. It doesn't feel very positive being too sensitive to light and noise and other senses. To feel sensory overload until you need to shutdown or meltdown or nurse your migraine. Or take painkillers for your fibromyalgia. Gaviscon for your stomach.

Being an over-sensitive person generally can cause mental pain, torment and anguish in all areas of life. But the artist tries to turn all this into a positive. Some of you will have heard of something called Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria which often co-exists with autism. This means that we may fear putting our work out there. We may take it even more to heart if it's rejected or negatively reviewed. I've had so many rejections in life but my urge to create has always been stronger. I don't know if I've developed a thicker skin or if I'm actually any less sensitive to eg rejection letters from publishers or to negative reviews. But I am better at soldiering on. If you've bounced back before you know you can do it again. I guess I'm lucky to have had positives and acceptances too. These can certainly tide you over if you remember to look at the half-full glass. My small successes along the way might not be what others call success but there's no better feeling than having a publisher say yes or having feedback from a reader who loved your book, your story, your characters. I've learned that the way I write and the things I write about aren't everyone's cup of tea. I think they're quite Marmite actually but that's OK. I don't like all books either. They may be top notch but just not my kind of thing.

 I will return to the sensory aspect at a later date.

Well, that's all for now but please do leave your thoughts in the comments. This has been slightly modified from the earlier video embedded above.

Thank you and wishing you all a very happy Easter 🐤😊