Mental Health Week: Because Awareness Isn’t Enough
- Charlie Hart
- Apr 29
- 3 min read
May is Mental Health Awareness week, but I will call it is Mental Health Week,
because awareness is not enough!
I want to encourage understanding, acceptance, compassion and meaningful inclusion for people with mental health challenges and psychiatric disabilities - including myself!
I had a fifteen-year history of mental health problems (anxiety states with depression) before
finally being diagnosed autistic at the age of 42 and having the epiphany that these ‘anxiety
states’ were autistic meltdowns, and the depression was probably autistic burnout.
I realised that my fragile mental state was a result of being overwhelmed (social and sensory pressures, conflicting demands - both at work and at home) and unmet needs.
I was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) four years later in 2022, which
was not an easy journey at all, but it did make sense of some of my behaviours and
reactions that were making life harder for me.
And we need acceptance and compassion, because having a mental health condition is not
a moral failing and must not reduce our perceived value to society. It is part of our humanity,
and all humans have inherent worth.
Acquired Neurodivergence
Did you know that when we develop a mental health condition or a psychiatric disorder, we
can choose to self-identify as neurodivergent? Yes, neurodivergence does not only refer to
lifelong, innate, neurological differences such as autism and ADHD; acquired
neurodivergence is valid.
When I say neurodivergence, I am applying the original definition of the word.
Kassiane Asasumasu coined the terms neurodivergent and neurodivergence circa 2000.
According to Kassiane, these terms refer to people ‘whose neurocognitive functioning
diverges from dominant societal norms’.
Kassiane (they/them) intended for these terms to apply to a broad variety of people, not just
those with lifelong neurodevelopmental differences such as autism, ADHD, and
dyslexia.
They emphasised that neurodivergent and neurodivergence should not be used to
exclude people, but rather to include them, stating: ‘Neurodivergent explicitly and loudly
includes mental illness (or psychiatric disability for those who prefer that term)‘.
For Neurodiversity Celebration Week 2025, I chaired a panel of new voices to NCW, and
we shared our lived experience of acquired neurodivergence. The point of this event was
to shine a light on neuro-differences which fall within the neurodivergent umbrella, but
which are not lifelong neurodevelopmental conditions.
As it happens, my whole panel were autistic and/or ADHD, but in addition to those lifelong
neurodevelopmental differences we each had acquired neuro-differences too. Between
us we represented complex PTSD, schizophrenia, OCD, borderline personality
disorder, dissociative identity disorder, PDA and more.
These neuro-differences are rarely spoken about within the neurodiversity context, but, yes,
they are absolutely forms of neurodivergence in accordance with Kassiane’s definition and
intention, and they are acquired.
The phrase ‘neurodivergent condition’ is an oxymoron. Why juxtapose the word
neurodivergent- a term from the neurodiversity paradigm, and a sociopolitical term,
with the word condition- a term from the pathology paradigm and the medical model of
disability?
I often describe autism, ADHD, dyslexia etc as ‘neurodevelopmental differences’ rather
than ‘neurodivergent conditions’. Why? Because I try to avoid mixing up my paradigms!
My intention was to increase understanding and acceptance of acquired
neurodivergence which is rarely talked about in the context of neurodiversity and to
introduce some awesome speakers who have not previously been platformed
by Neurodiversity Celebration Week.
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