Being neurodivergent comes with hidden costs — not just emotionally, but to our energy, health, finances, and long-term wellbeing.

In this episode of ADHD Late to Know, I explore the tax of ADHD and Autism from an AuDHD adult perspective: how chronic stress, masking, nervous system overload, and lack of support quietly add up — and what we can do to protect ourselves.

We talk about:

• Research linking ADHD and autism to poorer health outcomes and reduced life expectancy
• Why burnout and exhaustion aren’t personal failures — they’re systemic
• The financial tax of neurodivergence: impulse spending, forgotten subscriptions, convenience costs
• Protecting energy through pacing, boundaries, and safer socialising
• Intentional thinking about your future self — wanting to feel nourished, rested, and steadily working toward what matters
• Practical systems that lower the tax without shame or perfectionism

This episode is about awareness, self-advocacy, and building a life that costs you less to live — and gives you more back.

For adults with ADHD, autism, AuDHD — and those who want to understand and support them better.

• Cambridge University (2025), British Journal of Psychiatry — ADHD & long-term health outcomes
• National Autistic Society (UK) — Autism, wellbeing & life expectancy
• Tools discussed: energy budgeting, safe social plans, future-self thinking, payday money pots, subscription audits

In this episode of ADHD Late to Know, Holly is joined by Ria from Ri-Align Coaching, an ADHD-specialist coach supporting ambitious, high-achieving adults who feel overwhelmed, burnt out, or stuck despite their capability.

Ria shares her powerful late-diagnosis journey — from years of feeling like life was on “hard mode” to finding clarity through ADHD understanding and building a career aligned with her strengths. Together, Holly and Ria explore what late-identified ADHD and AuDHD can really look like in adulthood, including burnout, emotional dysregulation, masking, people-pleasing, rejection sensitive dysphoria (RSD), and self-doubt.

This conversation gently reframes ADHD away from constant self-fixing and towards self-trust, nervous system awareness, and working with your brain instead of against it. Ria also explains how ADHD-informed coaching helps clients rediscover their strengths, rebuild confidence, and move forward in a more sustainable way — especially when traditional routes haven’t worked.

The episode also covers:

• Why so many ADHD adults feel “capable but exhausted”
• The impact of lifelong micro-criticisms and masking
• How strengths can become saboteurs without boundaries
• The role of coaching in late diagnosis and identity rebuilding
• ADHD support at work, reasonable adjustments, and Access to Work
• Why chemistry and safety matter so much in coaching relationships
• The “penny-drop” moments that change everything for Ria’s clients

If you’re late to understanding your ADHD, questioning your neurodivergence, or learning how to build a life you feel proud of, this episode will help you feel seen, validated, and less alone.

🔗 Find Ria:

Website: ri-align.co.uk

Instagram: @rialigncoaching

This episode is a neurodivergent reset for 2026. I reflect on what I’m letting go of from 2025 — pressure, masking, people-pleasing — and what I’m choosing instead: priorities, nervous system safety, and living more unmasked with ADHD and autism.

I share how understanding my brain has changed how I set intentions, manage energy, and move through hard moments with more compassion and clarity.

If you’re navigating a late ADHD or autism diagnosis — or supporting someone who is — this episode offers reflection, practical reframes, and a grounded way to move into the new year without abandoning yourself.

What happens when you finally get an ADHD or autism diagnosis — and then have to explain it to the people who’ve known you your whole life?

In this special New Year episode of Late to Know, I’m joined by my first-ever guests — Amy, diagnosed with ADHD, and Rhi, diagnosed with autism — as we reflect on late diagnosis, misdiagnosis, and the emotional work of helping others understand the parts of us they couldn’t see.

Together, we talk openly about:

• Being treated for anxiety and depression when ADHD or autism was the missing piece
• The relief and fear that comes with late diagnosis
• Masking, shame, and feeling like a fraud when you finally tell people the truth
• How it can be invalidating when loved ones sometimes respond with “but everyone feels like that”
• Letting go of self-blame and unrealistic expectations as we head into a new year
• Learning to set boundaries without believing you’re a “bad friend”
• Navigating relationships, work, and feedback when your brain struggles to feel “finished”

This episode is for adults navigating the early stages of ADHD or autism diagnosis — and for partners, friends, and family who want to understand their neurodivergent loved ones better.

New year. Same me. Just with more clarity, compassion, and language for what’s always been there.

Christmas can be joyful — and overwhelming.

In this episode of Late to Know, we explore what the festive season can feel like for adults with ADHD and autism (AuDHD), and why Christmas often amplifies overwhelm, sensory stress, emotional exhaustion, and people-pleasing.

This episode also marks a gentle shift for the podcast — now focused on adults with ADHD, after hearing from men and women alike who recognise themselves in these experiences.

Whether you’re neurodivergent or you love someone who is, this episode offers insight into:

• Why Christmas is especially challenging for ADHD & autistic nervous systems
• The most common festive stressors reported by neurodivergent adults
• How sensory overload, decision fatigue, & emotional pressure show up
• Personal reflections and reminders to help move through the season with more compassion
• Research-backed guidance to reduce overwhelm and protect energy
• Practical ways neurotypical partners, family, and friends can better understand and support their loved ones

This episode isn’t about doing Christmas “right” — it’s about understanding different nervous systems and creating a season that works better for everyone.

🎧 If the holidays feel like too much, you’re not alone — and understanding can change everything.

• • ADDitude Magazine – ADHD, holidays, emotional regulation & burnout https://www.additudemag.com
  • National Autistic Society (UK) – Sensory overload, routines & seasonal change https://www.autism.org.uk
  • Autistica – Autism, stress, nervous system regulation & adult wellbeing https://www.autistica.org.uk

• • Dr Russell A. Barkley, PhD – ADHD and self-regulation research https://www.russellbarkley.org

• • Hidden Disabilities Sunflower – Support for invisible disabilities https://hiddendisabilitiesstore.com

ADHD doesn’t always act alone.

In this episode of Late to Know, we explore ADHD comorbidity in adults, focusing on how ADHD commonly overlaps with autism (AuDHD) and OCD traits — and why recognising this can bring clarity, not confusion.

After receiving an ADHD diagnosis, I was recommended for an autism screening — something that initially didn’t make sense based on my understanding of Autism. This episode shares how unlearning those assumptions helped complete the picture of my inner experience, emotional regulation, masking, sensory overload, and burnout.

We discuss:

• How ADHD and autism can coexist — external vs internal hyperactivity
• Why AuDHD can feel like constant contradiction and exhaustion
• ADHD + OCD traits and rumination, perfectionism, and emotional loops
• The power of naming emotions to regulate the nervous system
• Practical ways to work with comorbid conditions
• How to explain your needs to others & advocate for invisible disabilities

This episode is for adults who feel ADHD never fully explained their experience — and for anyone learning to meet themselves with more compassion and clarity.

🎧 You’re not broken. You’re learning with better information.

Resources:

ADHD, Autism & Comorbidity

Autistica — ADHD & Autism overlap (UK-based research) https://www.autistica.org.uk

CHADD — Adult ADHD & Comorbidities https://chadd.org

ADDitude Magazine — AuDHD lived experience & research https://www.additudemag.com

OCD & ADHD

International OCD Foundation — ADHD & OCD overlap https://iocdf.org

Support & Advocacy

National Autistic Society (UK) https://www.autism.org.uk

Hidden Disabilities Sunflower — invisible disability support

If you’re an adult with ADHD who constantly overthinks, second-guesses yourself, and talks yourself out of opportunities, this episode is your permission slip to stop letting your mind hold you back. We dive deep into how ADHD fuels imposter syndrome, self-doubt, perfectionism, fear of failure, and decision paralysis — and how to break those patterns using simple, ADHD-friendly tools.

You’ll learn how to shift from “Why me?” to the powerful reframe of “Why NOT me?”, how to move through overthinking when your brain won’t make a decision, and how to take real action even when doubt, fear, and discomfort try to stop you.

This episode is packed with practical strategies for adults with ADHD, including:

• How to stop overthinking opportunities

• How to recognise ADHD-driven negative thought loops

• How to build confidence through small, courageous actions

• How to embrace discomfort as a step toward growth

• How to avoid holding yourself back in your career, creativity, or personal life

If your mind feels like your biggest obstacle, this episode will help you understand it — and work with it — so you can finally go after the things you want.

This rule — commit to working on something for just 5 minutes — is often recommended to overcome procrastination and avoid

ADHD-adapted task-initiation & anti-procrastination strategies recommend “set a minimum viable standard” instead of perfection.

The broader strategy of dividing big tasks into small, manageable steps is a core recommendation in ADHD productivity advice.

The Five-Minute Rule and how it helps overcome procrastination / initiation problems: https://cogbtherapy.com/cbt-blog/end-procrastination-5-minute-rule

How the Five-Minute Rule works especially well for ADHD-style procrastination & decision paralysis: https://ottoapp.me/blog/5-minute-rule-philosphy-otto-notifications-habits

General ADHD-friendly strategies including breaking tasks into smaller steps and using timers/“good enough” thinking: https://joewilner.com/how-to-stop-procrastinating-adhd-friendly-strategies-to-get-things-done/

Explanation of why small starts (5 minutes) often overcome motivational blocks and build momentum: https://lifeat.io/blog/the-five-minute-rule-for-focusing

If you have ADHD and find yourself second-guessing every decision, spiralling after feedback, or relying on everyone else’s opinion before trusting your own… this episode is for you.

This week, we explore why ADHD brains struggle with self-trust, conviction, emotional regulation and follow-through — especially for women diagnosed later in life.

We dive into:

• Why conflicting feedback can trigger overwhelm (and RSD)
• Decision paralysis vs. people-pleasing — and how ADHD blurs the line
• Which inner voice to trust when doubt creeps in
• Letting go when others disagree with your choices
• Separating self-worth from mistakes
• Building conviction rooted in your core values
• Recovering from shame spirals
• Grounding tools to pause instead of panic

You’ll also hear a real moment from my week — how one piece of advice and one piece of criticism collided, sent me into an overwhelm loop, and what it taught me about ADHD, identity, and the power of slowing down.

ADHD doesn’t make you indecisive — it makes you emotionally wired in a different way.

And you can build the confidence and consistency you’ve been craving.

If you’re navigating ADHD, late diagnosis, emotional sensitivity or self-doubt, this episode is your gentle companion in the work ahead.

Show Notes & Resources:

• Understanding Rejection Sensitivity & ADHD: https://www.additudemag.com/rejection-sensitive-dysphoria-adhd

• Decision-Making Differences in ADHD Adults (CHADD): https://chadd.org

• ADHD Emotional Regulation Research (Barkley): https://www.russellbarkley.org

Weekends can be the hardest time for ADHD brains - no structure, no routine, endless decisions, and pressure to 'rest' or 'catch up'. 

In this episode, we explore how to set your days up intentionally, so you're working with your natural rhythm, not fighting against it. 

You'll learn practical tools to anchor your weekend - from using flexible time blocks, and energy-based planning, to choosing simple anchors that give your days shape without overwhelming your brain. 

This episode is all about building soft structure, reducing shame, and creating weekends that feel calmer, kinder, and more enjoyable for adults with ADHD. If you've ever felt lost, stagnant, or overwhelmed on weekends, this episode is for you.

Now that we've explored self-understanding, this episode take the next step: turning insight into action.

We look at how core values, like family, ambition and authenticity - can guide your goals, routines and everyday decisions, especially when you have an ADHD brain that resists structure but thrives with purpose.

We explore ADHD-friendly goal setting, and how to build routines that stick, as well as how to use your natural strengths to create a life that feels aligned with who you truly are - not who you've been trying to be.

Resources:

How ADHD Impacts Long-Term Goal Setting (and Strategies to Stay on Track): https://www.relationalpsych.group/articles/how-adhd-impacts-long-term-goal-setting-and-strategies-to-stay-on-track

6 Secrete to Goal Setting with ADHD: https://www.additudemag.com/achieving-personal-goals-adhd/?srsltid=AfmBOooMcitUS0Wrb3LBQE1LlGmZhIGP-R37KdrNTPMYf42-5S1qyC-6

How to Build Routines with ADHD (And Actually Stick to To It): https://www.getinflow.io/post/adhd-routines