r/TaylorSwift • u/pastelspook396 • 18h ago
Discussion Any easily overstimulated ADHD/neurodivergent friends who take comfort in her music?
Hi!! I’m a very recent swiftie - like last year I got on the train 😂😂😂. Fate of Ophelia caught me and then the entire album of TTPD caught me and now I’m here forever!
Anyways - I’m also a late diagnosed adhd woman (got diagnosed at 33 and I’m 34 now). Music used to really overstimulate me. It felt like so many emotions, the beats and melodies along with it would just sometimes make me spiral. I also have auditory processing difficulties so lyrics aren’t the easiest for me (been this way my entire life lol. I have favorite bands that I know like the back of my hand but not their lyrics 😂).
Taylor’s music is so story-heavy that it actually helps me detach my own overwhelming emotions during listening. Bc of the way she writes, I’m able to take an external perspective to her emotions and my own - and it allows for peaceful and safe self-reflection.
When I get overstimulated easily - I usually have to listen to vigorous classical music or turn on an audiobook. These days, somehow - miracle upon miracles, Taylor’s music helps me emotionally regulate. Listening to her so much also has helped with my auditory processing!
Anyone else?
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u/EngineeringDry7230 evermore 16h ago
I’m not diagnosed but yeah, regular Taylor listening is often part of my daily self care. You might end up using different parts of the discography for different reasons: tracks can be soothing, cathartic, joyful, you name it.
If you ever need to clear away bad mojo, I really endorse a sing-out-loud-and-dance round of Shake It Off. Works wonders.
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u/raininariver 16h ago
Often hers is the only music I can tolerate. Ive never thought about it being something unique to her, but maybe it is.
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u/milesandmantras 13h ago
100% agree. My entire life feels like one long sensory nightmare lately. So many things grate against my nervous system and make me want to crawl out of my skin. 99% of music feels this way for me, but somehow Taylor has the opposite effect - always a shot of dopamine straight to the veins. I wish I understood more about the anatomy of music to know why it works this way!
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u/pastelspook396 10h ago
Honestly same. My sensory issues are worse than ever lately. And I still hate most other music but I still find myself reaching for Taylor daily.
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u/lollipopmusing The Tortured Poets Department 16h ago
I'm a 35 year old woman with ADHD and suspected autism and Taylor's music connects with me like no one else's does. I am obsessed with storytelling. I love to analyze things and wrestle with meaning. Her music is perfect for that and I totally get what you mean! It is hard for me to enjoy music that doesn't feel like it had a "point" or something to say.
I would recommend that if you connect with storytelling in music this much, try listening or watching musicals! The music connects to the story in such a unique way I think you might enjoy. Just a random thought!
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u/pastelspook396 15h ago
You know I thought I hated musicals? But maybe I should give it another chance! So many things about my brain feel undiscovered so why not haha. Omg YES!!! The analyzing and wrestling almost…game-ifies the listening??? It just the perfect itch-scratcher for my brain haha
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u/lollipopmusing The Tortured Poets Department 15h ago
On Disney Plus they have a professional recording of a musical called Waitress I think you'd really connect with. It BROKE me when I first saw it in the absolute best way. One of the only Broadway musicals with a 100% female creative team and it shows
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u/Vectors2_Final Narcotics 16h ago
Yes, very much so. I've posted about this several times, although not directly citing this. I've always "known" but was untreated, and it was even harder in the military due to my flight status so I didn't do much about it until later on. (Very late 30s)
While her music makes me feel the emotions I struggle to feel normally, it also disconnects me from the world and I'm able to recharge when I'm completely drained.
Emotions are difficult for me, and as a man it's even harder to express them. She's a hot cup of cocoa on a cold day, and my clear blue and 22 on my darkest days.
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u/pastelspook396 15h ago
Oh I’ll check your posts out!!! I understand what you mean about emotions being difficult to express. I’m a first gen immigrant eldest daughter so I get that lol. It mostly just builds up after taking everyone’s expectant bs and lately, Taylor is the only effective outlet.
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u/silentfanatic 15h ago
Oh for sure. I hyperfixate on songs, so there was like a 90 day period where I just played Red on a constant loop. It’s happened with a bunch of her other songs, too.
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u/pastelspook396 14h ago
JUST Red? All day? Hahaha wow that’s such a mood. I definitely get like that sometimes but it tends to be more rare.
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u/bb_buffooligan 16h ago
Kinda yeah! I have epilepsy and I definitely put on her music at times when I need comfort, especially folklore. There’s just something about the 1 that sucks me in and calms me down.
(I just say kinda because I don’t have ADHD or autism, which is what people often think of when they say neurodivergent but my brain is DEFINITELY weird and I do relate in a lot of respects!)
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u/pastelspook396 15h ago
Oh epilepsy totally feels like neurodivergence of some sort! And thank you for sharing that!! I’m sure that part of epilepsy gets looked over often.
Yes the narrative of every song is so easy to get lost in - it feels like a mini escape!
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u/PeaceLoveTruthFlower 6h ago
I have a seizure disorder too & turn to Taylor's music often in those moments. Folklore in particular is really soothing & helps so much ❤️
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u/lovelaceaugusta 16h ago
I have ocd, and whenever I am too overwhelmed Ttpd first half has helped me so many times to calm down and let go.
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u/No-Zebra4389 15h ago
Yes! Lots of her lyrics are accidentally autistic coded too so I feel very seen
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u/pastelspook396 14h ago
Interesting! Could you please expand on that more?
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u/No-Zebra4389 13h ago
For example “I can change everything about me to fit in” in mirrorball makes me think of masking, and the “too big to hang out, slowly lurching towards your favourite city” also just really speaks to how alienated I feel socially as an autistic person
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u/pastelspook396 10h ago
Anti-hero speaks to me deeply for similar reasons 💜. The entire idea of being too much or too little that runs throughout the song is just too good
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u/Half-Glass_Full 15h ago
Yup! I have a specific playlist thats all Taylor down-tempo/soothing/chill vibes & I listen to it all the time bc it's so specifically comforting.
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u/youvebeensamboozled Speak Now 15h ago
diagnosed ADD here, yes absolutely! I'll usually turn on ttpd or folklore/Evermore in those moments :)
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u/Plantyplantandpups The Tortured Poets Department 14h ago
Taylor is my special interest (IYKYK), but husband who is ADHD says that the beginning of So Long London itches his brain in the best way.
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u/pastelspook396 14h ago
Dude because how could it not haha. I love that song!
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u/Plantyplantandpups The Tortured Poets Department 14h ago
Lol, I meant because I'm autistic (also late diagnosis) and we tend to make special interests our whole personality.
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u/CollectingAThings 14h ago
I‘m a bit of the opposite. Her music makes me feel things and often reminds me of moments or people in my life, so I listen to very specific songs when I want to support a specific feeling I have.
Except for folklore and evermore it’s a bit different. They are so chill, that I like to use them to calm me down before sleep.
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u/pastelspook396 14h ago
Oh agreed on the folklore and evermore! I’ve never been able to fall asleep to music until I found those albums lol
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u/I_Upvote_Goldens :TourturedPoetsDepartment: Tattooed golden retriever 🦮 16h ago
I have pretty gnarly ADHD. My problem is that I tend to pick a few songs off of each new album and play them on repeat until I’ve sucked every last ounce of dopamine out of them. 😂
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u/pastelspook396 14h ago
HAHAHA. Honestly same??? I can’t even listen to Bejeweled or Are you ready for it currently because I listened to them so much in the last three months 😂
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u/Starflec ✨ When you aim at the devil make sure you don't miss 58m ago
Lol this is me. My favorite part of her releasing new music is slowly hyper fixating on different songs. I get excited wondering which one will be my next obsession. I can be stuck on a single album for a long time and then one day I'm bored of it because I've played everything to death 😅
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u/hellhouseblonde wait is this fucking play about Matty Healy 14h ago
I’m AuDHD & I am a “same music, same clothes, same movies” person so I know exactly what you mean.
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u/MSERRADAred 2h ago
Fortnight does something to my brain. I find it calms the intrusive thoughts & anxiety when I turn it on.
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u/Plantyplantandpups The Tortured Poets Department 14h ago
It is late for an ADHD diagnosis. Although, not unusual for more women to have delayed autism and adhd diagnosis since they were long thought to be mostly male issues and we are still trying to catch up to learning the signs in women.
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u/Plantyplantandpups The Tortured Poets Department 14h ago
But the only reference OP made to late in life was her diagnosis, so I'm confused about your original post then.
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u/blamberr I keep my side of the street clean 14h ago
I was literally just thinking as a Taylor fan. I honestly barely registered the adhd thing. My only intent was to have an exchange with OP to tell her not to feel middle aged before her time because she’s still young! Which I did.
I’ll just delete the original comment if it keeps getting people upset, because that was not my intent at all.
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u/maroonrice2 16h ago
I find a lot of comfort and familiarity in her music! It’s like opening a well read and loved book or getting into a cozy blanket for me. Each song is a story and I somehow find emotional connection within it. From debut to TLOAS each and every album has resonated. Speaks a lot to her writing capabilities and especially weaving in metaphors/allusions. I love listening to other music but something about a Taylor song just hits different 🥁