AuDHD Flourishing

If you're struggling, whether that's just a bad day, a longer stretch, or that very relatable feeling that all of life has been irredeemably difficult and that no one understands or can help... I just wanted to take a moment to validate and make space for those feelings. You're not alone... and at the same time we can end up feeling very alone. If you need to numb out from these feelings, it can h...

Neurodivergent folks may not experience habits in the way they're traditionally talked about. Specifically, they may never become truly "background," and instead we remain in the active decision-making mode. To that end, I've personally found it much more helpful to create rituals rather than habits. It explicitly acknowledges that this is an active process as opposed to a background habit, which...

Matt made a career as a lawyer that worked for his brain... then found out he's AuDHD. He shares some of the challenges and strengths that have shaped his career. This is helpful for any AuDHDer with professional struggles, and especially if you're in or are considering a client-facing career. Note that we're not using his last name in the show notes or description for SEO reasons at his request,...

A simple practice blending honesty with your current feelings plus any gratitude that may arise. Including how to use this to smooth over social or family concerns... good luck with any holidays you celebrate! p.s. there's a new website up at audhdflourishing.com ! It's still under construction so please pardon any broken links... should be spruced up within the next week :) Like Your Brain  ...

Thanks to Chris Hale for this cross-posted episode from his podcast, You Need a Coach B*tch! We talk about: Building businesses that work for our AuDHD brains What we don't see when looking at the external success of others Why so many people who achieve creative success young have wealthy backgrounds Questioning WHY you want your big goals so you can aim towards the ones that will really fulfill...

The story of a meltdown. For me these days, that includes some intrusive thoughts around being a burden. You are not a burden. And even if we are sometimes, that's okay. I want to be a part of communities that can carry each other sometimes. Like Your Brain  community space Transcript Doc Email Newsletter Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Diagnoses and labels can be really helpful to explain our experiences. We finally have a "because" to explain why we do the things we do! And also... that same "because" sometimes starts to feel like it's holding us back. It's possible to acknowledge limitations while also leaving space for growth and inevitable change. Like Your Brain  community space Transcript Doc Email Newsletter Hosted o...

Linda Thai is a therapist, educator, and storyteller. She has been one of the most important people in my own healing journey, especially her focus on somatic embodied integration.  Feeling safe enough to work with what the body holds was a turning point for both of us. Linda shares about her own healing journey and how key the body was for her own process. She drops countless pieces of wisdo...

Poverty is not your fault. Debt is not your fault. And you don't have to find solutions alone! This episode talks about the systemic side, the AuDHD-specific elements such as impulsive shopping, and how screwed up debt is historically and currently. Note: This episode is quite USA-centric. While there are mentions of ways this might affect people in other countries, growing up here is my main cont...

An AuDHD therapist! Danielle Aubin (she/they), LCSW, works with neurodivergent clients and has expertise in trauma.  We talk about why trauma is such a big deal for ND clients. And the title of the episode comes from their amazing take on why having safe therapy is especially important for ND people, and what that looks like.  If you're in therapy or considering it, this episode is for y...

Optimizing (and the related bio-hacking) are really popular... but why? Who are we doing this for, and who really benefits? This episode spans the last several years of my life starting with my first coaching certification that was literally called Optimize at the time. There were some positive benefits such as better sleep, which on the whole improved my mood. But in the long run, there's a poten...

Thanks to Amelia Hruby at the Off the Grid podcast for this lovely interview! Here are her show notes: Today I’m joined by coach & composer Mattia Maurée to talk about running a business & navigating social media in a way that supports your unique brain & lived experience. Tune in to our conversation to hear about— Common ADHD, Autistic & AuDHD struggles with work How to quit overw...

Task bracelets can be a task per tag or written really small like I did below... then they stay on your wrist to walk you through the task. Thanks to Caitlin Fisher for the idea! The first half of the episode covers how to make them and how I'm using them. Then it's about the launch of Like Your Brain , an ongoing community space for integration and gentle support. Do less, feel better! The welcom...

This is a mind-expanding episode! Cassandra Idris recently founded an organization built around neurodivergent brains at every level, and mutual aid for some of the most marginalized populations in Philadelphia. She speaks eloquently about mental health, being a trans woman and the inherent social betrayals in that experience, and how the system isn't going to pay us to bring it down. Because she'...

Feelings, emotions, sensations in the body... We've all received confusing messages around what they mean and what they are. And many autistic folks have trouble connecting to their emotions and related body sensations. They're also important and potentially useful messages from our body as it attempts to stay safe.  This episode covers one compelling theory of what feelings (sensations and e...

Michael is an AuDHD content creator (with a huge audience) and coach who runs a free AuDHD peer support group. He shares his formula for feeling better, which includes removing negative stimuli to reach neutral, rather than trying to leap straight to happiness. And shares beautifully about how he finds peace in the neutral, since even happiness is a fleeting feeling. You can connect with Michael a...

Meltdowns and shutdowns appear to be a natural release valve for an overwhelmed autistic brain. They feel out of control and can be quite distressing. While there are ways to push them off, I experience a "point of no return" after which I need some big release or I'm going to feel terrible for days. Learning your triggers, as well as planning ahead for a safer experience if you do have a meltdown...

Jes Diverges (she/they) helps fellow autistic ADHDers and has a fascinating background. We dive into how they ended up coaching rather than finishing their therapy degree... and in the process touch on how messed up some of our culture's attitudes are toward mental health! While we certainly don't solve the issue of AuDHD mental health, we talk about when to take a break from trauma healing how en...

Most people have one or two core self-care needs that, if they're met, everything else feels easier. This episode is about how to figure out yours... and what to look out for when you hear people preaching about their own! There's also acknowledgment that your neurodivergent body and brain may process things in different ways, so the following questions may not be that useful for you. Figuring out...

How do we survive capitalism while navigating the ethical dilemmas of making money within this broken system? There's no one right answer, but this episode breaks down my thoughts about it over the past few months. The problem isn't simply the exchange of goods or services for money, it's how late-stage capitalism seeks short-term profits above all else, extracting all the excess labor of the "low...

It's easy for AuDHD brains to latch onto one concept of a solution, and believe it has to happen that way. But sometimes there's a deeper question or problem underneath that. As one example, many neurodivergent folks want a morning routine... but the real question under that could be "How do I feel good in the morning," or "How do I get my day started?" How do we ask the right questions to make su...

This is a meta-episode about how I think about and approach the science around autism and ADHD (as well as other neurodivergences). While I do my best to do additional research, there are so many things that no one knows about AuDHD brains! One tool to improve this podcast is the Transcript doc linked below, which is publicly available for comments. If you have any questions or comments, you can l...

I'm a naturally growth-oriented person... however, I often find myself changing or "fixing" things that others think are a problem. What happens when I reorient to what's actually important to me? The self-help industry will happily sell us solutions, whether or not the problem was actually bothering us before we heard about it. Many of us feel like we're struggling alone. But not only are most pe...

Pasha Marlowe speaks brilliantly about how to navigate trauma, triggers, and sensory needs in relationships as an AuDHD person. Making it concrete, we both talk about a recent meltdown with our respective partners, and how we navigated those during and after. This is a deeply un-shaming episode—we still struggle with relational trauma despite all the "work" we've done. It's okay to have a lot of n...

Nat Smith is a vulnerability coach, playwright, and connection witch. They're also my sibling, so you'll hear stories about our childhood. Nat has known they're ADHD for years, and only recently has been exploring the label autistic. One reason it's been a slow realization: they don't experience it as a disorder and don't need a lot of external support day-to-day. Because of that experience, we al...