This winter is producing a narrowing of scope in my work. The migraine chronification is getting worse, a wave swelling back into the tsunami that hit a few years ago rendering me pretty useless. The symbiosis between the autism and the migraine disease I find to be startling. 40% of autistic people are diagnosed with migraine disease vs 20% of the general population (making it globally the #1 cause of disability). And that’s not even getting into the male/female dichotomy. Autism has been historically undiagnosed in women and girls while migraine was thought to be a disease solely belonging to women, leading to a gross underdiagnosis of men.
I have been struggling with the idea of unmasking and what that fully means. The depth of self conditioning, I think, is one of the hardest to integrate as a late diagnosed ASD. Analyzing and trying to break down the concessions I’ve made, the way I’ve betrayed my own limbic system and how that has magnified the migraine response.
In searching for physiological answers, I have found structural mirroring between the ASD brain and the migraine brain. Heightened connectivity, sensory amplification, size of brain sections and concentrations of neurotransmitters. The imaging of these body systems has enthralled me. Static imaging, video, stained cross sections and 3d models have been engaging my attention and my work is reflecting in turn.
I find my work around motherhood, birth, matriescence to be dovetailing with this neurological deep dive as both ASD and Migraine disease are hereditary. The emerging idea of family trauma being carried within our DNA is another thread to weave within this odd tapestry, that family ‘curses’ can quite literally affect the coding of our brain and thus the entire perception of this world and the way we exist within the societal structure.
All this to say, I am working on a growing body of work speaking to these things. So, stay tuned.