Alive Not Just Breathing

This is a big one to recognise about how often we all get overwhelmed in various ways, burnt out and how that affects our nervous system in society and the world today. This is ten times easier to happen and worse to deal with when you're neurodiverse, but I also feel so many neurotypical people are living this way without even realising too. We have to find ways to get out of living in survival m...

So many of us have become masters of avoiding feelings (especially painful ones) and we live in a time where there's SO many distractions available and things that want your energy & focus. These feelings don't go away, they fester under the surface, quietly affecting your behaviour and your energy...bubbling away until they eventually burst out in some way. We're human beings, we need to allo...

When we've grown and changed so much we often presume old habits, thoughts, patterns etc will stop altogether, so we punish ourselves for not being far enough along when they crop up. Growth isn't linear, and it's transitioning between the old you and the new you. Of course remnants of old you will appear at times... Don't beat yourself up or throw in the towel when you're in that zone. It keeps g...

We sometimes assume that once we get more confident or improve our mental health, that negative voice in our mind which keeps criticising us will stop talking... However, that can take a very long time or may not even be the case. Rather than waiting for it to stop, here's a couple of techniques I've learned which make all the difference.

One thing I can't get my head around Is dating nowadays, especially online dating. Why is it such a terrible experience? Is it due to certain things I touch on about society today here? Does anyone find similar issues? Let me know!

We so ofren lose so much of what we have that matters to things which don't, and continually get influenced to do so. These things I discuss during the episode all play various parts in that overall scenario and can easily be missed. Also apologies for the lower quality recording this time around, but this was me walking & talking in real life, and I felt the content was too good & authent...

We so often feel like things will never change or dont even notice all the little options and choices floating around which so easily lead to massive changes or opportunities. So many things we overlook or dismiss as nothing much now can actually change everything in the long run.

It took me a very long time to understand and get comfortable with my sexuality before eventually coming out as bisexual recently. The main fear I always had most was my masculinity being judged and diminished by those with small minds in society. As I know so many more men are bi in some way but choose to remain well and truly hidden because of similar fears, this is part of my story and why I no...

Bit of a different style episode today, as I touch on some of my current neurodiverse traits and experiences, but also lead that onto this discussion I go back and forth with...

So many times we completely ignore and override our body and then wonder why our health eventually suffers. Not only can we do this physically, but also mentally & emotionally too, suppressing things and ignoring overwhelm because we're told to "push through" which does not work well in the long run. Learn to listen...

It took me a long time to realise that not every rejection was anout me. Especially as a neurodiverse person, you easily think you're too much or not enough...or both, yet I now see how so often it's actually the other person that's unable to meet you at the level of depth you have. For those of us who have found this type of situation, it's a huge release to realise it was never actually somethin...

Isn't it time we all stopped seeking validation and approval from outside of ourselves and iust doubled down on validating ourselves? The way social media has influenced us nowadays makes this even more important. Do your own thing and love yourself. The rest will figure itself out accordingly.

Those moments when you're literally stuck trying to make a decision and you can't decide either way so you stress out and freeze up are the worst. Often we go over and over things and can't figure out what is our mind and what is our gut...but this time I found a way of noticing which made things so much easier.

This time I'm talking about another recent experience which links to the previous episode aswell, where something crept up on me and it was also an impulsive thought. So often with ADHD we are drawn to impulsive decisions and potentially addictions of various kinds, and it can be really easy to get swept up in them, even when you know it's a thing. My experience here again surprised me, but thankf...

The podcast returns with my sudden evening realisation of what is also affecting my energy and nervous system at the mokent. We often dont realise how the thngs we comsume in various ways affect us and our nervous systems, or the impact our nervous system actually has on our health & wellbeing. The latter I'll talk about in more detail soon but for the moment, here are my current thoughts and...

Recently I've been more focused on making YouTube Shorts. I likely will return to this podcast too, but at the moment I'm making more content there. If you're interested my channel is @ColRothwell on there.

If you find it really hard to keep up a healthy exercise and/or diet routine then you may be struggling with the key elements of why you do them. In this episode I describe what I believe are the biggest two game changing factors for long term improvement and mental resilience when it comes to healthy routines and how the same elements apply to all changes we make in ourselves.

Right now is a key time for putting focus onto choosing yourself and accepting where you're allowing unhealthy relationships to deplete you before they damage your self worth any more. Face those truths, accept them and then take the action to let them go. Let them go...so you can heal and grow.

As great as it is to learn and grow in various ways, we need to take time for ourselves just to switch off and rest. We also need to remind ourselves how well we've done and get comfortable with where we are now rather than always trying to push on ahead. Also, try to remember that the answers we seek are very rarely found in or from others...the vast majority of them lay deep in ourselves, but we...

Are you someone who is triggered easily by other people's comments or do you find yourself either reacting or overthinking what people think when someone has said something about you? When we take a step back and also realise that aside from the other person usually highlighting their own insecurities by attempting to trigger you, there must also be a reason it touched a nerve, that then allows us...

One thing we humans don't always realise is that we don't own anything. Everything we're lucky enough to have or to get in our lives are simply borrowed. Whilst this may be a lot to get your head around, it's actually a super comforting thing to understand and will help with a positive mindset of gratitude massively in the long run.

Following on from the last episode, it's also important to realise that grief can be a part of change too. Grief is not just about the death of people but also about the death of who we once were or the people we used to have in our lives that are no longer the same or no longer healthy for us. A big part of positive and healthy change is still accepting that there will be grief for what you once...

We all can fear change even though for some it's worse than others...but have you ever made positive changes only to still feel off or anxious? Why is it that exciting opportunities can still sometimes feel scary? The mind will always fear what it can't yet see. Being unhappy and uncomfortable can still feel safe if it's what we know. But the truth is we'll never feel the magic in that place even...

There's no official episode this week due to the fact I very much work to my own schedule and in a flow state rather than forcing anything, plus I've been working through more things myself the past couple of weeks so am allowing myself time to do so. As there has been times this podcast has gone dormant before I thought I'd post an update just to let people know there is still much more to come,...

Today's episode ended up being more talk about healthy or unhealthy relationships and the issues which sometimes lead us to falling into the same behaviour patterns. I touch on why we can easy find certain relationships or people 'passionate' or 'boring' and be attracted to drama and turbulence subconsciously, even though it's what we don't consciously want. Other bits include the problem with bei...