I was an Indigo Child
I recently came across the idea of indigo children and found that I am able to strongly able to identify. What are indigo children?
Indigo children , according to a concept, pseudoscientific are children who are believed to possess special, unusual, and sometimes traits or abilities. The idea is based on concepts developed in the 1970s by Nancy Ann Tappe and further developed by supernatural and Jan Tober. The concept of indigo children gained popular interest with the publication of a series of books in the late 1990s and the release of several films in the following decade. A variety of books, conferences, and related materials have been created surrounding belief in the idea of indigo children and their nature and abilities. The interpretations of these beliefs range from their being the next stage in human evolution, in some cases possessing abilities such as , to the belief that they are more and creative than their peers. (Wikipedia) Lee Carroll paranormal empathetic
I have never been into New Age beliefs like starseeds or indigo children. Children who don’t fit in easily are neither aliens nor the next stage of human evolution. However, they may have been the previous stage of human evolution. In order to understand, let’s have a look at the traits of indigo children that have nothing to do with magic:
- Are often perceived by friends and family as being strange
- Possess and purpose
- Show a strong innate subconscious a clear sense of self-definition spirituality from early childhood
- Resistance to rigid, control-based paradigms of authority
Most of this describes the child me perfectly: highly empathetic (I couldn’t help cry when a person or an animal got hurt in a movie or feel sorry for beggars), bookworm (curious), stubborn (strong-willed), withdrawn, highly spiritual (loved stories about Jesus and saints) and my fear of authority developed into social phobia.
Nowadays the idea has been discounted as an excuse for parents who want to resist a diagnosis of ADHD and drug therapy:
Many children labeled indigo by their parents are diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and Tober and Carroll’s book The Indigo Children linked the concept with diagnosis of ADHD. points out that labeling a child an indigo is an alternative to a diagnosis that implies , which may appeal to many parents. Cohen has stated, “The view in medicine is that ADHD is a defect. It’s a disorder. If you’re a parent, the idea of ‘gifted’ is much more appealing than the idea of a disorder.” David Cohen Linking the concept of indigo children with the distaste for the use of to control ADHD, mental illness states “The hype and near-hysteria surrounding the use of Ritalin has contributed to an atmosphere that makes it possible for a book like Indigo Children to be taken seriously. Given the choice, who wouldn’t rather believe their children are special and chosen for some high mission rather than that they have a brain disorder?” Stephen Hinshaw, a professor of psychology at the , states that concerns regarding the overmedicalization of children are legitimate but even children with ADHD learn better with more structure rather than less, even if the structure initially causes difficulties. Many labeled as indigo children are or have been . (Wikipedia) Robert Todd Carroll University of California, Berkeley home schooled
While this can be almost seen as an ideological war against science, I think there are good reasons why the indigo side may be on to something. My teachers all called me a “dreamer” and I am sure I would easily have gotten an ADD diagnosis. However, there was nothing wrong with my brain. Despite my ADHD I did well in school and college, a bit less well at work, though. But I certainly have no brain disorder.
I think the conundrum can be quite easily be resolved when regarding indigo children as having an evolved hunter-gatherer, rather than farmer or herder mindset:
Hunter-gatherers are highly egalitarian, and this includes children. Children are never told what to do, they learn through free play and there is no formal instruction. An egalitarian evolutionary programming involves resistance to authority, especially when the authority is perceived to be unfounded.
If this idea seems far fetched, one only has to compare indigo children with Native American children schooled in our traditional educational system. They have the very same struggles: boredom, difficulties focussing, high rates of ADHD and resistance to authority, which can spiral out of control due to punishments like detention. Hunter-gatherers do not, never ever, punish their children and find punishment of children a “savage” thing to (pun intended).
I am pretty sure that teenagers diagnosed with other diseases than ADHD (indigo) and ASD (crystal) are also frequently among hunter-gatherer type people: bipolar, ODD and PTSD. You will be surprised to find out that Native Americans have the highest PTSD rates in the US.
In 10th grade, I made a friend who had ODD and would easily have gotten an ADHD (hyperactive) diagnosis as well. We were both amazed at how great we got along, considering we both had hardly any other friends and how different we were. While I could have well been described by what psychologists call “internalising behaviour” (withdrawal, anxiety, suicidal ideation) my friend had all the externalizing ones: alcoholism, drug use and aggressive opposition towards authority. We were both survivors of our most difficult years, puberty and the teenage years and had good careers, but I often wonder how many of those indigo children don’t make it.
For more on the hunter-gatherer neurotribe idea check out my
Originally published at http://the-big-ger-picture.blogspot.com on March 23, 2022.
