I'm All Screwed Up

My brain is amazing. Or it was when I was younger. I can remember things in detail from my childhood. I used to be able to read something once and know most of its salient points. Made studying real easy.

In the 1990s I wrote Rock Killer. It has 74 "speaking" characters. I never wrote anything down, I never had to have a "book bible." I kept it all in my head.

Now I'm writing a novel with 34 speaking characters. I had to make a list of every character, job, title, etc. to keep me straight. And I keep finding continuity errors as I edit it.

But my brain is also screwed up. I know I'm bipolar. Technically, I'm type-2 bipolar with dysthymia, That means without meds I'm depressed most of the time but I have manic episodes.  

But I swear I'm also dyslexic, especially when it comes to numbers. I have to be very careful when doing math to make sure I use the correct numbers, especially if the numbers are complex. You tell me "286" and I'll write down "268." Dyslexia is also why I'm a poor speller and proofreader and a slow reader, I believe.

Also, I think I am a bit on the autism spectrum. Not a lot but when I get OCD on something, I really get OCD about it. When I was a kid, I think my spectrum-ness (is that a word?) was more pronounced. I knew I was smart and didn't fit in with other kids and I lived in my head most of the time (unless I could escape into television and later reading). As I got older, I strived to act more "normal" around others. And I think it worked. But I still have problems in social settings. I'm a strong introvert. I just fake it well.

How does your brain work? Are you happy with it? Let me know in the comments below.