As a neurodivergent person here's my take - we're labeled as thus because we take to modern society less smoothly than neurotypical people. We need nature more vitally, and we find the severence and lack of connection to nature that modernity&capitalism has created very painful (whether we realise that's a source of harm or not). Not that long ago we would've been the people spending all our time gathering, hunting and gardening - just being outside in all sorts of habitats observing, listening, noticing differences, catching creatures, growing and harvesting plants for food and for fun, caring for the land in a reciprocal manner. Literally being nature, an active and positive part of it. Learning and sharing the knowledge of nature that every society holds and handing it down the generations.
Now we can't have that in the same an-encompassing way, but an aquarium gives us a chance to connect directly with nature and nourish that bit of our souls that only proper nature and caring for it can touch. Of course not all people who keep aquariums or do nature-loving activities are neurodivergent, and I really think that the spectrum of neurodiversity is enormous and not completely understandable, definitely all people who connect with nature benefit from it, but if you're completely and utterly OBSESSED with aquariums... well, that could be for a reason.
I don't consider being neurodivergent to be a negative thing or a problem at all, in fact I view it as a positive, the negatives and stereotypes associated with it are society's failings not ours. Sadly we have to deal with that rubbish though ! When I was at art school and diagnosed, they shared the statistic that at least 40% of the students were diagnosed neurodivergent, clearly many neurodivergent people are very creative, so it is not a surprise that in aquariums where we can exercise both our love of nature and our creativity we turn up and have fun with it.
None of these labels are perfect, but I found them very helpful in understanding how I tick and how I can live my life more joyfully. I am so much more at peace with who I am now, recentering my life around nature and other lovely creative nature-loving funny interesting neurodivergent people.
