About
Me
Please,
call me neuro-marginalized, because that explains why I have struggled;
call me neuro-spicy, because I like it hot;
call me neuroqueer, because I push back on norms;
or just call me Dan.
Belonging
Safety
All I have ever wanted was to feel a sense of belonging - to feel heard, to feel seen, to feel understood, to feel accepted, to feel believed, to feel safe. All I have ever wanted was safety.
All I have ever wanted was to feel connection - to feel flow, to feel energy, to feel in sync, to feel balance, to feel peace, to feel love. All I have ever wanted was love.
Connection
Love
I was not welcome
so I masked
But I never experienced those things. Instead I learned that my way of being was not welcome. I was not welcome. I learned that, if I was ever going to have the things I wanted, I had to be like someone else. And so I masked my true self. For my whole life. Without even realizing it.
Fitting in came at a price. I have struggled my whole life with depression, anxiety, PTSI (I for "injury"), mania, memory loss, dissociation, GI challenges, skin inflammation, chronic pain, tremors, paralysis, and persistent thoughts of suicide.
Fitting in came
at a price
Finally I found myself
I found awareness of myself and awareness of the societal standards, norms, expectations, and attitudes that drove me to deny myself. Finally I found myself. I was not disabled because of my body - I was disabled because of my environment.
My story is not unique. Far from it. Our society marginalizes many people based on their traits - whether those traits are related to race, ethnicity, religion, sexuality, gender, age, class, education, disability, or in my case neurotype (or my way of being).
My story is not unique
Awareness
Healing
Purpose
Through awareness, I found healing. And with healing, I found purpose. Everyone deserves connection, safety, belonging, and love. Everyone deserves the chance to be themselves. And that is the belief that inspires my work.