Feeling worried about the future? Uncertainty can be especially difficult for Autistic nervous systems. Today I go into more detail about WHY & HOW safety in the body can be a foundational practice for healing and wellness. At the end, I share the audio of a practice that is also on YouTube here if you'd like to follow along with visuals. The questions answered in this episode: What is safety in the body?Why is it so important, and what does it do?What does it feel like?How does it relate...

Sam Cooper is an AuDHD coach and generally awesome human. When we met in person, we bonded over having worn the wrong size shoes for years, which led to the title of this episode. Sam shares about building a small business, and the upsides and downsides of a coaching business in particular. Sensory needs and discovering support tools. They also have an incredibly compassionate approach to their own journey. Connect with Sam: Sam's websiteSam's Instagram...

Zann's artist business is one of the easiest things she's ever done. And it's not even her main passion! Her deeply relatable history includes ten years of feeling like failure soup. It didn't feel like progress or learning, just failure. But it ultimately led her to figure out what does NOT work. She shares amazing ideas and practical advice.... this will be a great one to listen to more than once! Connect with Zann: Paws by Zann websiteZann's blogYouTube art tutorials &...

If you struggle to figure out what to focus on with bigger goals, you're not alone! Here's one approach I've come up with for my own annual goals in particular. And some thoughts on decision making, since that's part of it. Wish List for bday (or whenever) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I failed my first driving test! On a technicality! Ah, the frustrations of begging to exist in structures not built for us. Three quick stories about bureaucratic b******t in a single week, and how it fits into my own big ball of yarn. It's okay that the stuff that's hard for us is probably never going to be fun or easy. We need support and RESOURCES that work for us! More on finding good resources in the episode... librarians are often a great place to start. Resources: Like Your...

The autistic / AuDHD self-discovery journey can feel like finding out that you've been hammering screws this whole time. You never learned how to use the right tools. You may not have been given the right tools at all! A few thoughts on the grief inherent in the process, and how to equip your personal toolbox now that you know what's up. Resources: Like Your Brain community spaceTranscript DocEmail NewsletterNew course: Experimenting Your Way to an Extraordinary Life Hosted on Acast. See...

Weeks and months are staples of scheduling systems. But they tend not to work well for me as units of time. My personal ideal is two days on, two days off, though that's impractical. Instead, I talk about the various workarounds I've found, including intentionally scheduling rest (and how if I don't have time for that, I need to decrease demands). If weeks don't work well for you, how can you find what does? Resources: Like Your Brain community spaceTranscript DocEmail NewsletterNew course:...

This episode is about both why it's so hard to get help as an AuDHDer, and some of the broad steps I see working for us. It can help to have a view of your "big ball of yarn" i.e. complex and interrelated problems or life areas. It can also help to start addressing your sensory needs, core needs, and just live your life while you take a break from big processing. Please take care and be gentle to yourself! Links mentioned: New course: Experimenting Your Way to an Extraordinary LifeYour Core...

What NOT to do in your AuDHD discovery process is just as important as knowing what to do! This episode interweaves nicely with last week's episode about what AuDHDers need. This is hardly an exhaustive list, but it covers many of the patterns I've seen and heard in the community. Links mentioned: InterGifted: What is Giftedness?Autistic Culture PodcastFree Office Hours call (p.s. being a free Patreon member is the best way to get updates/reminders about these calls) Crisis...

What do AuDHDers need (beyond the obvious needs all humans have)? And why do those needs matter? This episode covers some important ones: Being able to engage with our interests (in a particular way)Executive Function support, without trying to make the hardest things easy or enjoyableAutonomyTrue restThe narrow path of just enough stimulationProcessing timeTo be witnessed in just the right wayRecognition that our needs vary quite a bit day to dayComing to terms with disabilitySpace and time...

Almost all of us consider formal diagnosis in our AuDHD discovery journey. Whether it's ADHD-focused for medication, or Autism-focused for validation or accommodations. Knowing why you want the diagnosis goes a long way in figuring out what to pursue. The main options as I currently see them are: full formal neuropsych testingprovisional diagnosis with a shorter screening testa formal letter requesting accommodations from your providerself-diagnosiscommunity diagnosis This episode talks...

Bonus drop from The Curiosity Cure podcast: Today's conversation with Mattia takes us through their journey with chronic pain, feeling better, and the ways they navigate their inner mindbody conversation as someone with AuDHD + PDA. We touch upon themes of neurodivergence, gender transition, resourcing inner + external safety. We chat about using hypnotic techniques to decrease a sense of threat/unsafety that may accompany disorders like ehlers-danlos syndrome and POTS.  Thanks to Deb for...

I'm taking the last two weeks of August off, and will be back in September with a "back to the basics" series about things like diagnosis, what to do when you first discover your AuDHD identity, etc! In the meantime, you can check out... Like Your Brain community spaceTranscript DocYouTube: The Longer Road, Mattia guesting on other pods Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There are many reasons we experience loneliness. There's a particular existential loneliness I experience when I feel like it's not possible for anyone to understand me. And much of that emerged from a lifetime of ableism. Being in AuDHD community has been incredibly healing. Thank you for being here! Also... as of today we're over 200,000 downloads... thanks for listening!! Resources: Like Your Brain community spaceTranscript DocEmail Newsletter Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for...

Working memory may be a main reason we feel so exhausted... we're doing so many things manually that are habits for non-AuDHD brains. Using a working memory file as we go can help a lot and massively reduce overwhelm and cognitive fatigue. Cal Newport uses a digital file for this during computer work. I've been using post-it notes so I can carry them around with me. There are many benefits I talk about in the episode, and the main one for me is being able to track decisions as I go so I don't...

Today I had several moments of autistic joy (sometimes called "glimmers") that were also great examples of mindfulness. But mindfulness in a way that works for my sensory experience! Reminder that our brains are also quite capable of delight in little things. Resources: Like Your Brain community spaceTranscript DocEmail Newsletter Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Quitting can feel amazing, especially when it's a clear self-protection move. And when we haven't waited until it becomes so terrible we have to get out. But the decision-making process can feel slow! This episode covers three ways I've decided to quit things: Big emotions / the thing got really badMath-y pros and cons approach (slow but effective)Getting somatic info from my body #3 is great... but at the same time, I've done years of building safety around receiving and integrating...

I recently took the laziest vacation I ever have, and it was a revelation. Also, there are usually so many external factors we're not considering while laying on the couch feeling too "lazy" to do something! There are layers. Resources: Like Your Brain community spaceTranscript DocEmail NewsletterLove Your Brain course Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Men are not the enemy... Some thoughts on identity, community, and responsibility. Big shout-out to Devon Price's new book, Unlearning Shame: How We Can Reject Self-Blame Culture and Reclaim Our Power Resources: Like Your Brain community spaceTranscript DocEmail NewsletterLove Your Brain course Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"felt vulnerable, may delete later" Quick story/update and to validate that communication is so hard... and so are transitions! Full audio direct link for Patreon folks Transcript doc Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

AuDHD brains face many challenges when it comes to projects. It's something I've put a great deal of time and learning into, both personally and professionally. This episode covers many ideas and approaches that tend to work for us. Key Takeaways: We usually learn to use what I call the Adrenaline-Anxiety Approach. While effective short-term, it can lead to burnout and other issues.A monotropic approach is more sustainable and individualized... and it can feel slow at first.Experimentation as...

Pawel, a former middle school teacher in an alternative school, lays out how most of our adult problems were ones we first encountered in middle school. From social groups to complex problem solving, they show up again and again in life. He also talks about how being a high-masking AuDHDer showed up in life. Books mentioned: The Anxious Generation by Jonathan HaidtRight Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well by Amy Edmondsonp.s. you may notice I never link to Amazon if I can help it......

Achievements often feel tied into personal identity. AuDHD folks in particular struggle with achievement pressures, even with just regular neurodivergent demand avoidance. A few core topics: The joy of supporting others' work and stepping back from being the primary creatorAchievements often don't provide the emotions we expect, so it's meaningful to focus on making the process feel better insteadCreativity requires boredom and restAnd the very surprising thought I had that led to this...

Every creative and interesting person has experienced the feeling that at least some of their big dreams are impossible. And when the current big dream is just surviving, that can be especially challenging.    I share about the emotional side of the ten years when my composition career had an almost 100% rejection rate. And why I'm giving this unusual advice...  It can be healthy to temporarily let go of dreams that are stressing you out!    Crisis Text Line, text HOME to 741741 to reach a...