Why Peopleing is So Exhausting for Neurodivergents

Part two: It’s about a lot more than introversion (although it’s often that too)

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Difficulty filtering and compartmentalizing

As mentioned in my last piece, neurodivergent people often have more difficulty filtering out extraneous stimuli (such as environmental distractions). We also have a greater tendency to be impacted by, and even take on, the emotions of others. Despite inaccurate and negative stereotypes, Autistics are not unfeeling robots. In fact, many neurodivergent* people are hyper-empathic, or hyper-sensitive to the emotional experiences of others.

*As an aside, I don’t use the terms Autistic and neurodivergent (ND) interchangeably. Autistic people are ND, but not all NDs are Autistic. Neurodivergent is a broad term referring to all those whose neurology is outside the statistical norm. I used Autistic in the above sentence because the idea that Autistic people lack empathy is a common and harmful stereotype.

Hyper-empathy or taking on the emotions of others is not exclusive to neurodivergent folks, but it is something we struggle with more than the general population. Part of this may have to do with executive functioning and difficulties regulating our emotions, which I mentioned in part one.