about diveshift and its founder
purpose
created january 2020
october 2019 was probably the closest I got to committing suicide. there have been many times since then that I questioned. why? why didn’t i go through with it? idiot. i am not a religious man. in fact, i hate organized religion. i know i am a man of science… am i one of faith?
when i started this project, i didn’t really know what it was or if it would ever turn into something. i created it. something i wanted to share with the world. but i knew it wasn’t time back then. the pieces weren’t falling into place like i wanted them to. i had to be patient. i had to learn more about myself and the world.
a world of billionaires and nations owing trillions? just 1s and 0s on a server. faith. that’s all we’ve ever had. faith in leaders, parents, family. faith in rules, laws, order. faith in your neighbor, your partner, each other? but how many people went to sleep tonight… hungry, thirsty, unloved? when’s the last time you reached out?… did you say yes when they reached out? okay? sure? next time? i’m tired tonight. rain check! tomorrow, i promise! …
i’m losing faith. are you?
– O.J.
i’ve struggled with mental health most of my life. living in this society is hard. harder for those without access to basic human needs. money, shelter, food, water, clothing, employment, connection, self-esteem, purpose, acceptance, love. needs not wants.
the community i want to create is a space for people to feel more connected. through the content we share, we can reflect on the world as it is, while imagining the society we want to live in—one that acknowledges the daily struggles of others. the single mom across the street. the starving graduate barely making rent. the widowed woman with the bad hip. the functioning alcoholic at his usual table. we get so consumed by our own realities that we forget others exist in different ones. the same one. but different. vastly different.
it’s hard to dream when you’re stuck. when days blur into weeks, months, years—friday again? winter already? you’re eating pb&js for the tenth day in a row. crying in the shower. cockroaches. living with three humans? family? NPCs? have they forgotten me? am I even here? this is reality? this? ha.
project launched december 2024
i recently got diagnosed with ADHD and i’m sure i also have autism (ASD). in the past, i thought i only had depression and sleep issues. apparently, i have all four.
ASD/ADHD or AuDHD individuals usually have higher justice sensitivity than neurotypicals. justice sensitivity refers to an individual’s sense of fairness, equity, and inclusion, as well as their need to address and correct injustices.
neurodivergents with high justice sensitivity are more acutely aware of these issues. they are more likely to remain focused on justice issues with more intensity and a longer period of time. they are also more driven to take action and sometimes drain themselves or burn out because of all the injustices that occur around the world every day.
now that i am medicated for ADHD, i feel that i can finally focus on this project that i have been working on for the past few years. i hope that with the content i create that people get to see how other people live their lives.
i want others to see the reality that each of our brains creates because of our genetics, traumas, relationships, the media we consume, the food and drugs we put in our bodies, and, in general, the way we live our lives. hopefully, together, we can form a better society and cultivate better relationships with everything and everyone who makes us who we are.
– O.J.