May 31, 2025

204 - Asking for Help: The Radical Act of Self-Care We Were Never Taught (Part of the Things That REALLY Matter series with co-host Becca Lory Hector)

49 minutes

Things That REALLY Matter with Becca Lory Hector & Carole Jean Whittington

What if asking for help wasn’t a weakness—but one of the most radical acts of self-trust an autistic woman can make?

In this powerful episode of our monthly Things That REALLY Matter series, Becca Lory Hector and Carole Jean Whittington go deep into a topic many autistic women carry quietly: why asking for help feels so hard—and how we begin to heal that wound.

Together, we unpack:

The cultural myth of independence—and the trauma of self-reliance
How masking and rejection train us to equate strength with silence
Why past help-seeking may have felt dangerous or shameful
Rewriting the inner dialogue: shifting from “I should do it all myself” to “I deserve support”
Creating your “Safe to Ask” list and learning to receive without guilt
How helping professionals can hold space for interdependence without overstepping autonomy

Whether you're navigating burnout or supporting someone who is, this episode offers insight, validation, and gentle next steps toward reclaiming your voice—and your right to ask.

💌 Companion Article: Why Asking for Help Feels So Hard as Autistic Women—And How to Start Healing That Wound

📩 Special Subscriber Bonus in The Recharge includes healing prompts + tools for clinicians

🔗 Join us at WhittingtonWellBeing.com or in the show notes to access your bonuses

📢 This week’s listener reflection: “This week, I asked for…” Tag us or message to share your micro-acts of radical self-care.

@BeccaLoryHector @CaroleJeanWhittington

🔔 Subscribe + turn on notifications so you never miss an episode of Beyond Chronic Burnout—where we explore what it really means to thrive as autistic women.

🔗 Connect with Carole Jean Whittington:

How to get out of burnout - STEP 1: Take the Spicy Pepper Burnout Quiz and discover if you are in burnout or not, and if so, what’s your burnout level from a Poblano Pepper Level 1, where there’s just a bit of heat up to the Ghost Pepper Level 5 when “you’re so hot, you’re not.” You’ll get the opportunity to join our free Step 2 Class after you take the quiz.

Take the Spicy Pepper Quiz: https://energize.whittingtonwellbeing.com/products/courses/view/1155744

Subscribe to The Recharge Newsletter and receive weekly burnout recovery insights, tools for yourself or to use with your autistic clients, and learn about upcoming workshops at Whittington Well-Being.

🔗 Subscribe to The Recharge:

https://energyuplevel.kit.com/becomeafan

Access the Recharge Library - https://energize.whittingtonwellbeing.com/products/courses/view/1180958/?action=signup

Connect with Becca Lory Hector:

https://beccalory.com/

#AutisticWomen #RadicalSelfCare #ThingsThatReallyMatter #NeurodivergentSupport #UnmaskingHealing #AutisticBurnout #BeyondChronicBurnout

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By Carole Jean Whittington, Women's Burnout Researcher at Whittington Well-Being

4.7

1616 ratings