AuDHD Flourishing

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 enjoyable Autonomy True rest The narrow path of just enough stimulation Processing time To be witnessed in just the right...

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 testing provisional diagnosis with a shorter screening test a formal letter req...

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/u...

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 space Transcript Doc YouTube: The Longer Road , Mattia guesting on other pods Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more info...

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 B...

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...

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 space Transcript Doc Email 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 bad Math-y pros and cons approach (slow but effective) Getting somatic info from my body #3 is great......

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 space Transcript Doc Email Newsletter Love 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 space Transcript Doc Email Newsletter Love 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 a...

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 Haidt Right Kind of Wrong: The Scien...

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 creator Achievements often don't provide the emotions we expect, so it's meaningful to focus on making the process feel better instea...

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 healt...

Thomas Henley educates, normalizes, and actively pushes back against autistic stereotypes and stigma. Check out his highly rated podcast, Thoughty Auti - The Autism Podcast (on which  I talked about AuDHD ).  Thomas has made multiple decisions in his life to combat stereotypes, including months of backpacking, and becoming a world-class martial artist, both of which he talks about today....

You may have internalized the message as a child that there was something wrong or bad about you. Even if it was not explicit, you probably didn't receive some of the attention and delight that would have sent the strong message that your way of being in the world is valid. Today's message is simple: You were not a bad child. You deserved love and support in a way that made sense to you.&nbsp...

Rest is not something to be made up for later with productivity. Whether it was forced by the body or not. We deserve to have energy to do what we love! Love Your Brain now has three elements you can choose from for more accessibility: Love Your Brain course content Group coaching and co-working calls Direct support from Mattia Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Eric Tivers has shared 10 years of helpful content on his podcast, ADHD reWired . He's also built multiple careers helping neurodivergent folks: from therapy, to teaching high support need kids, to the current ADHD group programs. It's a never-ending journey of discovering what works for his current needs and capacity. And the relatively recent discovery of... oh... maybe there's something to this...

Multiple times in the past week or two, clients have felt like they're failing miserably. But it turns out they're in complex, difficult, multifaceted situations that don't have an easy answer. Plus, it's easy to feel like we're never doing enough, or the right thing. If we're solving personal problems, world events loom large. If we're addressing world events, it feels like a drop in the bucket....

Big feelings may be harder for monotropic people to handle. And if you have significant sensory sensitivity, the physical sensations can be overwhelming as well. This episode covers some of the ways I've been approaching grief and helplessness about Gaza. Links mentioned in show: Episode 15, How Feelings Work Lisa Feldman Barrett's book How Emotions Are Made Al Jazeera article, ‘It’s not human’: W...

You'll rarely catch me using the term "hack." But this concept around demand avoidance is working great for me, so far... TLDR: Shortcutting the PDA brain's ability to use pattern recognition to avoid tasks early in a sequence. Here's the Instagram video by Kristy Forbes that inspired this episode. While she suggests introducing new sensory details, I'm going the route of sincerely telling myself...

Wow, over 100K listens! People talk a lot about feeling safe being visible—being seen and heard either literally or through putting your work into the world. While I've done a lot of personal work being comfortable while visible, the Guardian article was a huge bump in visibility. To be fair, the "bad day" I reference was also the kidney infection kicking into full gear (see "Don't Die" a couple e...

Answering a listener question about how to handle meltdowns and shutdowns at work, and around people you don't trust. This episode covers a few ways to both plan for, push away, and handle meltdowns once they're happening in a public place. Previous episodes about meltdowns: 13 Autistic Meltdowns & Shutdowns 23 You Are Not a Burden (Mattia talking about a specific meltdown they had) 6 Healing...

I almost died two weeks ago. It's easy to miss symptoms when one has low interoception and a high pain tolerance. Episode is around the difficulties seeking care... and why it's very worth it sometimes! p.s. episodes are coming out on Saturdays now Resources: Like Your Brain  community space Transcript Doc Email Newsletter UK study questioning the oft-quoted statistic about autistic people li...