AuDHD Flourishing

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 testa formal letter requesting accommodations from your providerself-diagnosiscommunity diagnosisThis episode talks about The upsides and downsides of diagnosis in generalMy personal diagnosis experience (two full rounds of neuropsych testing)Options to approach decision-making for yourselfHow to get started if you do want diagnosisQuestions from the longer decision-making process in the episode are in the Transcript DocCrisis Resources:USA-based anonymous crisis chatInternational crisis linesVarious types of crisis resources in about 10 countriesMonotropism resources:Monotropism Questionnaire and more info about itMonotropism explainedFergus Murray's 6 Starting Points for Understanding Autism034 Monotropism Might Explain Everything with Fergus Murray035 How Much Time Does Creating Take?039 Autism "Levels" and MonotropismOther Links mentioned:Devon Price's post about Autism diagnosis pros n consThrow Away the Masters Tools: Liberating Ourselves From the Pathology Paradigm by Nick WalkerAuDHD Flourishing Resources:Like Your Brain community spaceTranscript DocEmail Newsletter

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 sharing this episode: full show notes hereThe show notes link above has many resources about successful healing from related conditionsThe Curiosity Cure podcast site

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

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

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 keep trying to make them over and over!Resources:Like Your Brain community spaceTranscript DocEmail NewsletterLove Your Brain course

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

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 information from my body! It's not just about the technique itself.Resources:Mentioned the DEAR MAN skill from DBTLike Your Brain community spaceTranscript DocEmail NewsletterLove Your Brain course

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

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 PowerResources:Like Your Brain community spaceTranscript DocEmail NewsletterLove Your Brain course