ADHD and autism are both strongly correlated with justice sensitivity. If you need an explanation for what that is, here’s a quote from this article:
Justice sensitivity is the tendency to notice and identify wrong-doing and injustice and have intense cognitive, emotional, and behavioral reactions to that injustice. People who are justice sensitive tend to notice injustice more often than others, they tend to ruminate longer and more intensely on that injustice, and they feel a stronger need to restore justice.
Do y’all experience this? If so, how does it manifest?
For me, I can’t see injustice and do nothing. Failing to stand up for my beliefs makes me hate myself, and I’ll usually do it even if I know it’s a bad idea or I’m surrounded by people who disagree–if anything, I feel more compelled to do it then. Since some of my beliefs are wildly unpopular, this often winds up in me feeling ostracized, rejected, and depressed.
I don’t know what to do about this. I can’t just not stand up for what I believe in–it’s clearly the right thing to do. But it’s a deeply unpleasant experience I keep repeating. I’ll choose standing up for my beliefs over not being hurt if I have to, but that doesn’t make it fun.
I read somewhere that ADHD & ASD is not understanding or recognizing that a rule needs to be followed, then getting furious when you realize that other people aren’t following the rule.
One of the things I’ve learned is that both ADHD and ASD are highly aligned with anxiety. It can show up when something that may seem small and insignificant to others become very very important. I often express to my therapist how I envy those who can see a small slight and shrug it off, while for me it will ping-pong around my brain until I want justice and I cannot let it go.
Like you, I also stand up for issues that are still unpopular (though tides are turning) in the mainstream. Sometimes I have to back off for my own mental health, but overall I still stand up for them when I can. And it helps to find others who follow my same beliefs to at least some degree. Not everyone has to agree 100% but the baseline consensus matches.