Poetry, Neurodivergence, and Resilience with Samantha Merz

Host Paul Cruz sits down with poet and mental health advocate Samantha Merz. Samantha shares her journey of discovering poetry at 19, how her neurodivergence influences her creative process, and how writing became a powerful outlet for expressing emotions like loneliness and resilience. From her published collections, Kazoo and Meadowlite, to her newest book, Only You Will Do, Samantha opens up about the challenges and triumphs of being a neurodivergent creative.

She also discusses the importance of mental health advocacy, the role of community programs like Thrive Open Door and Coast Mental Health, and how activities such as singing in a choir and playing badminton enrich her well-being. This inspiring conversation highlights the power of creativity, community, and perseverance in building a more inclusive world.

Connect with Samantha:

• Website: SamanthaMers.wordpress.com
• Instagram: @SamanthaMers
• Facebook: Samantha Mers
• Books available at: Blurb Bookstore

Connect With Us

• Learn more about the Neurodiversity Voices Podcast: www.neurodiversityvoices.com

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Chapters

00:00 The Journey into Poetry
03:36 Community and Mental Health Advocacy
07:00 Imagery and Vulnerability in Poetry
08:35 Introduction to Neurodiversity Voices Podcast

Disclaimer:

The content provided in this podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking it because of something you have heard on this podcast.

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Episode Transcript

Paul Cruz (00:07):
Hello, I'm your host Paul Cruz, and welcome to the
Neurodiversity Voices podcast,where we celebrate and amplify
the unique perspectives andexperiences of neurodiverse
individuals. I'm thrilled tohave you join us on this journey
of exploration, advocacy, andcelebration of neurodiversity.
Together, we'll have meaningfulconversations, share inspiring

(00:30):
stories, and challengemisconceptions about
neurodiversity. This podcast isfor everyone, whether you're
neurodivergent yourself, aneducator, a parent, or just
someone curious to learn more.Our goal is to amplify voices,
foster understanding, and sparkchange in the way we view and
support neurodiversity.

(00:51):
We're so excited to have youwith us as we celebrate the
beauty of diverse minds and worktoward a more inclusive future.
So sit sit back, relax, andlet's get started. Welcome to
the Neurodiversity Voicespodcast. Today, we have Samantha
Mers on our show. Welcome to theshow, Samantha.

Samantha Merz (01:09):
Thank you for having me, Paul. Great to be
here.

Paul Cruz (01:12):
Can you share your journey of discovering poetry
and how it became a powerfuloutlet for your emotions and
experiences?

Samantha Merz (01:21):
Yes. So I discovered poetry when I was 19
years old. I just found iteasier to express myself through
written words rather thanarticulating my thoughts in
speech. So I wrote my first poemand draft, and submitted it for
consideration to a poetrycontest, and it was accepted. So
that was my first publishedpoem.

(01:43):
So that was a really greatfeeling and it inspired me to
keep on writing.

Paul Cruz (01:47):
How has your neurodivergence shaped your
creative process and the themesyou explore in your poetry?

Samantha Merz (01:54):
Yes, so my neurodivergence has kind of
contributed in my way ofthinking a bit literally. So I
try to take those concepts andmake it a bit more abstract. And
I find that, like, experiencingloneliness is really prominent
with my neurodivergence. So thatis one of the themes in my

(02:15):
poems.

Paul Cruz (02:16):
Your poetry collections, Kazu and Medolite
delve into themes likeresilience and self discovery.
What inspired these works andhow do they reflect your
personal journey?

Samantha Merz (02:28):
Yes. So Kazoo was kind of my first collection of
poems and they were all throughpreviously published works, So
they kind of relate long themesof loneliness and having a bad
day and putting that into words.And Meadow Light is kind of was
in, like, 2023 it came out. Soit's kinda like the pandemic

(02:51):
thoughts and feelings and I putthem into words and they were
also previously published, soit's kind of a two collections
of poems.

Paul Cruz (03:01):
What challenges have you faced as a neurodivergent
individual in the creative worldand how have you overcome them?

Samantha Merz (03:08):
Challenges I've faced is really trying to
promote and sell my work andbalancing that with a job and
trying to put my creativeendeavors or outlet, giving that
a bit more grace when I'm athome and I have some downtime
and using like the weekends toreally promote my work and then

(03:31):
focusing on my other workthroughout the week.

Paul Cruz (03:34):
And how has connecting with the online
poetry community impacted yourgrowth as a writer and as a
person?

Samantha Merz (03:41):
Yes, I find the online poetry groups really
helpful, particularly when I wason Twitter before my account was
hacked, I found that like feversof the mind was really helpful
with promoting and sharing mywork. And then I'm also part of
the writers group throughFacebook and they are possibly

(04:01):
going to publish a collection ofworks from all the writers. So
that would be amazing to see.

Paul Cruz (04:07):
Mental health advocacy is a big part of your
work, right? What steps do youthink society can take to better
support neurodivergentindividuals?

Samantha Merz (04:16):
I think the most important aspect to support
neurodivergent individuals isacceptance and patience and
coming to an understanding thatnot everyone has the same way of
thinking and carrying out theirideas and their thoughts and
even how they like theirexecutive functioning could be
different. So I think that's themain thing.

Paul Cruz (04:38):
And can you talk about the role of community
support groups like Thrive OpenDoor and Coast Mental Health in
your life?

Samantha Merz (04:45):
Yes. So a Thrive Open Door group has been very
important to me. I've been apart of it for two years and it
has lots of leisure activitiesthat you can pursue, about two
per term, and that's over like atwo month period. And then Coast
Mental Health Clubhouse isreally great. I'm a part of the

(05:06):
young adult program.
So they have community kitchen,little social outings, and they
have, programs like braintraining and other activities
throughout the day, and itvaries on a month to month
basis, so both are reallyimportant for me.

Paul Cruz (05:22):
How do activities like singing in a choir and
playing badminton contribute toyour mental well-being and
creativity?

Samantha Merz (05:30):
Yes, so singing with the Vivaldi Chamber Choir
is really helpful. It just keepsme sharp mentally and it's part
of the community, which I'vebeen a part of since I was 19 as
well, so it's kind of linked towhen I began writing poetry and
just the music really wants tobring me to explore my creative

(05:52):
pursuits and really express myemotions more. And whereas with
badminton, I feel like it's arush of energy whenever I play,
which is usually once a month. Iused to play about once a week,
but, I kinda aged out when Iturned 30. So whenever I do play
it, I really enjoy it.
And there's a little group ofadults that are kind of the same

(06:14):
that turn up. So it's great tokind of build on social
networking as well.

Paul Cruz (06:19):
And what advice would you give to neurodivergent
individuals who are hesitant toshare their creative work or
personal stories?

Samantha Merz (06:27):
I feel that you don't have to share your work,
but I think that journaling andwriting down your thoughts are
really important to do,especially if you're going
through a hard time. I thinkjust putting things in
perspective really helps.

Paul Cruz (06:43):
And how do you balance your work as an
administrative assistant?Previously, in Geriatric
Medicine in your creativepursuits and advocacy efforts?

Samantha Merz (06:54):
Yes. I balance my work by usually using the
weekends and time off work topursue going to Thrive or post
mental health and playingbadminton, singing and writing
poetry, and then once I get backto work, that's kind of the main

(07:15):
focus, so I just kind of leadtwo separate lives almost.

Paul Cruz (07:19):
What message do you hope to convey through your blog
and Instagram platform? And howdo you envision inspiring
others?

Samantha Merz (07:27):
I guess my message on my website is just
listing all the things I'veaccomplished and done and my
experience and hoping that itresonates with other readers and
to pursue their dreams and meettheir goals. And with my poetry,
encouraging more neurodivergentvoices to be heard and really

(07:47):
wanting to convey that if you'regoing through a hard time, you
can put it into writing andit'll resonate deeper with you
and maybe you can find a deepermeaning within it.

Paul Cruz (08:00):
Looking ahead, what are your goals for your poetry
and advocacy work and how do youplan to continue raising
awareness about neurodiversity?

Samantha Merz (08:09):
Well, I plan on doing a podcast with Coast
Mental Health in the young adultprogram through the Rebel
Rousers program so that I thinkmaybe I'll share some more
poetry through there because Ishared it with their zine they
had. And then with my own poetryand mental health awareness,
probably doing more podcasts andmaybe writing more experiences

(08:32):
that happened to me that Ihaven't written about yet and
really kind of do an overlap ofmental health and poetry.

Paul Cruz (08:39):
What inspired you to write your latest book, 'Only
You Will Do' and how does itdiffer from your previous works?

Samantha Merz (08:47):
Yes. So I was inspired to write 'Only You Will
Do', my third book, based on adifficult experience I had in
2023. And, it's kind of alighter read than the other two
books. It's kind of with draftsI had in my computer for a
while, and I just thought it wasthe right time to put them out.

(09:07):
And one poem I'd like to readout, it has to do with Thrive.
Here it is, Thrive. Tough timesfaced by members, honing in on
their skills, realistic goalsset by members, interesting
classes being taught, verydedicated staff, efforts made by
all participants.

Paul Cruz (09:26):
Nice. And how do you approach writing poetry? Do you
follow a specific routine or letinspiration guide you?

Samantha Merz (09:35):
I usually let inspiration guide me. My muse is
a bit fickle. It only comes tome when bad things happen to me.
So, trying to have to givemyself time and write down my
thoughts and feelings wheneverthat happens.

Paul Cruz (09:48):
And can you describe the role imagery plays in your
poetry and how you use it toconvey emotions?

Samantha Merz (09:55):
Yes. So imagery is a big thing in my poetry from
using like mermaids to usingleprechauns and kind of
fictitious characters, and theyjust represent something bigger
that I'm dealing with in mymind. And so I want to kind of
make it a bit more lightheartedand fun to readers.

Paul Cruz (10:15):
Do you balance vulnerability and creativity in
your work?

Samantha Merz (10:19):
I balance vulnerability with creativity.
Sometimes I have to edit outquite a bit of wording I've used
to make it like more vague andmore digestible to readers and
my creativity withvulnerability. I just kind of

(10:40):
use color almost as a guide, Sothat really helps.

Paul Cruz (10:43):
Wrap things up. What advice would you give to
aspiring poets who are exploringthemes of mental health and self
discovery?

Samantha Merz (10:52):
Yeah. My advice would be to start writing down
as much as you can, and then youcan always go back and edit your
work and fine tune it. And thenif you're comfortable, you can
share it with a larger body,like through kind of traditional
self publishing or throughonline. You can submit through a

(11:15):
website called Subbittable, andthere's lots of options to share
your work with other readers.

Paul Cruz (11:20):
And Samantha, where can our listeners find you?

Samantha Merz (11:23):
They can reach out to me on my website,
samanthamirs.wordpress.com, andmy books are available on
blurbbookstore.com.

Paul Cruz (11:32):
Are you also on social media?

Samantha Merz (11:33):
Yes, I'm on Instagram samanthamirs, Facebook
samanthamirs. That's about it.

Paul Cruz (11:39):
Okay, we'll provide them in the show notes. That's
all for today's episode of theneurodiversity voices podcast.
Thank you so much for tuning inand being part of this important
conversation. We hope you foundtoday's discussion insightful
and inspiring. Remember, everyvoice matters and together we
can create a more inclusive andunderstanding world for

(12:00):
neurodivergent individuals.
If you enjoyed this episode,please leave us a rating or a
review on your favorite you haveany questions, ideas, or stories
you'd like to share, please feelfree to fill out our listener

(12:23):
feedback and survey form or evenapply to be our guest speaker on
our website atwww.neurodiversityvoices.com.
We'd love to hear from you.Until next time, take care, stay
curious, and keep celebratingthe beauty of diverse minds.
Thanks for listening to theNeurodiversity Voices podcast.