Norwegian singer-songwriter Aurora talks about neurodivergence.
Aurora has previously hinted to fans that she is neurodivergent, meaning her brain functions differently than a neurotypical or normal brain. The word includes autistic spectrum disorders and ADHD.
For the first time she speaks about the impact this has on her career as a musician Runaway hitmaker said: “With age and with time, I’ve gotten a little bit better at dealing with neurodivergence, and trying not to completely overwhelm myself until there’s a point of no return.
“It’s not something that’s talked about so much: neurodivergence and artistry—how they’re meant to be that way for each other, but also that way, they’re not,” she explained.
“The opposite of what you want and need in this world is everything that happens as a ripple effect when all you do is make your music,” she noted.
Like any neurodivergent person, Aurora struggles with executive functions, including mental components of working memory, cognitive flexibility, and inhibitory control, which affect skills such as planning, organizing, sticking to things over the long term, completing tasks, decision-making, problem solving, and self-control.
“It can be really hard when it’s not things burning in my chest that can cause me to go into hyperfocus mode and forget that I have a body,” she said.
“When I’m performing, it’s very easy to forget that I’m tired or sick; it just goes away, which is really cool. But with things that are more in the head and not the heart, it can be very difficult day to day,” she explained.
Because she travels a lot, Aurora has mastered using her time to do things she enjoys.
“I’m really good at letting all the lame things in this life create good things in me,” Aurora said.
“For example, when I travel a lot, I use that time to read a book or draw. I make it cozy. When I feel like time is evaporating, waiting to arrive somewhere or whatever, I escape to my brain and I really like it there. And I find it very easy,” she says.
