Neurodivergent Unplugged; Messy, Magnificent Stories From Unlikely Rebels

Sometimes it takes burning out at 43, sitting on a couch for two weeks unable to unpack boxes, to finally realize you're not failing. You're just living in the wrong system. In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Ghiselle Panneflek, a GP, hormonal expert, and nature-based therapist who grew up in Curaçao and now works in the Netherlands. We talk about how she had to see everything in 3D images in he...

When you see the world in blueprints and everyone else sees chaos, being different isn't wrong. It's just a different operating system. In this episode, I sit down with Consuela Esseboom, a psychologist, corporate EQ specialist, and founder of The Village. We talk about being diagnosed with autism at three and having a mother who decided she'd "grow out of it," why not having...

In a world obsessed with categorization, refusing to fit neatly into any single box becomes the truest form of resistance. In this episode, I sit down with Bashair Ahmed, a researcher, practitioner, and academic working at the intersection of humanitarianism, policy, diaspora, and migration. Bashair shares why she connects dots across data points from ten years ago, how her brain works like nodes...

The rules of success didn't change. You just finally found a room where your natural way of being was the winning strategy. In this episode, I sit down with Laurie Mabelis, a speaking coach, entrepreneur, and founder of the Public Speaking Academy. We talk about the moment someone told her without invitation that she had ADHD, and why her first reaction was defensiveness rather than relief. La...

What if the confidence you're trying to project isn't about faking it, but about finally learning to listen to what your body has been telling you all along? In this episode, I sit down with Claudia Kratzheller, a former professional dancer, leadership facilitator, and now coach specialising in somatic intelligence and voice work. We talk about how being labelled "the complicated one&...

Sometimes the shift begins not with fixing yourself, but with finally understanding what the patterns have been showing you all along. In this episode, I sit down with Carla Traini, a communication designer turned psychology and neuroscience student, to talk about how burnout became the moment she was finally able to step back and make sense of her own experience. Carla shares how recognising recu...

Sometimes the shift begins not with fixing yourself, but with finally understanding what the patterns have been showing you all along. In this episode, I sit down with Blake Baumann, an Independence Coach who works with neurodivergent teens, young adults, and their families during the often misunderstood transition into adulthood. Blake shares how his ability to notice patterns, in behaviour, comm...

When you stop trying to be normal and start trusting how your brain actually works, everything begins to shift. In this episode, I sit down with David Abel, founder of The Digital Light Bulb, brand strategist, and creative force behind businesses that have generated over a billion dollars in value. David shares what it was like to grow up feeling different, to build a successful career without fol...

Workplace struggles become clearer once we stop focusing on labels and start understanding people. In this episode, I sit down with James Lovatt, a grounded and insightful voice in the world of neurodivergence at work through his role at Aspen. James supports autistic and ADHD individuals, as well as the organisations they work in, by helping both sides understand the real reasons behind performan...

The shift happens when you stop forcing yourself to be someone you are not and stand in who you are In this episode, Asis Patel, an artist and visual storyteller whose work is rooted in deep listening, witnessing, and reflection shares how creativity became a way to understand himself and others, especially as someone who relates to aspects of autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and high sensitivity. We talk...

What happens when a journalist’s “contrarian” brain is finally understood not as a flaw, but as a superpower? In this episode I had the chance to have a sharp, unfiltered conversation with journalist Izabella Kaminska about the brilliance of neurodivergent minds, nonlinear thinking, and how ND brains quietly reshape the world. We explore why she believes neurodivergent people are the “imagination...

There is a kind of clarity that only arrives once you stop forcing yourself to work in ways that do not fit your brain. In this episode, I sit down with Evita Lammes, a consultant whose career began to shift the moment she started understanding her own wiring. Evita talks about growing up in environments that did not make sense to her, feeling bored or overwhelmed by repetition, and struggling to...

What if stepping into nature is the moment you finally hear what your intuition has been trying to tell you? In this episode, I sit down with Sam Mirson, founder of Wild Founder Adventures, where he guides entrepreneurs through multi day expeditions in the wild to help them disconnect from the grind and reconnect with who they are beneath the noise. Sam’s journey moves from running a nightclub at...

We spend so much of our lives looking outside ourselves for answers, for the right expert, the right fix, the right way to be well. But what if the real work was never about looking outward, but about remembering your own wisdom? In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Carolyn Eddleston , a former GP turned acupuncturist and holistic healer, whose career and life defy every linear path. We talk about...

Anja, who was told as a child she might be dyslexic and shouldn’t be a writer, went on to publish four books with ease, not by doing things the right way but by finding her own way. In this episode, I sit down with Norwegian author, keynote speaker, and retired professional athlete Anja Hammerseng-Edin , who was told as a child she might be dyslexic and shouldn’t be a writer. She went on to publis...

We’ve all been told to toughen up, focus harder, fit the mould. But when your brain doesn’t play by the same rules, pretending gets heavy fast. In this episode, I sit down with my dear friend and psychotherapist Iain Dawson, who once believed he was “thick.” Spoiler: he wasn’t. Iain’s journey from misunderstood student to advertising strategist to therapist is proof that brilliance doesn’t always...