Clinically Awkward

"It's natural" is not a safety label.

This week, Blair Buckley returns to the pod and we are getting into holistic medicine for neurodivergent bodies. The genuinely helpful,  the ineffective, and the stuff that can turn you yellow.

We talk about why supplements are less regulated than you think, what "proprietary blend" actually means, and why serotonin syndrome is a real risk, especially if you're already on antidepressants.

We get into acupuncture, including a very important contingency plan for what to do if you're full of needles and there's an emergency in the building, why the holes are much smaller than you think, and how chiropractic care requires a lot more nuance than just finding the nearest guy who will crack your neck. If you have Ehlers-Danlos or hypermobility, this part is especially for you.

We also go deep on chronic pain and mental health, because living in a body that hurts all the time has a psychological cost that most providers are not equipped to talk about. And because this is us, we end up in a whole conversation about ADHD, autism, and sleep, why the standard sleep hygiene advice was never written with neurodivergent people in mind, and how sometimes the goal is just harm reduction.

Blair is based in Denver and sees neurodivergent clients of all ages. You can find her on Psychology Today under Blair Buckley.

Find me at alyssazimmerman.com for therapy in New York State or to apply to be a guest.

In this episode, I'm joined by my unlikely friend Rain Glynn to keep our Heated Rivalry hyperfixation going with a full Enneagram breakdown of the characters. We prepared separately and compared notes live, which means there's some lighthearted beef, a lot of six blindness, and an apparently very important clarification that the plane did not, technically, crash.

We type Scott, Kip, Shane, Ilya, Hayden, Rose, Yuna, David, Svetlana, and Elena covering core types, wings, integration and disintegration lines, and what any of this has to do with being AuDHD. We also get into why nines are slippery, how every woman on this show is from Bad Bitch City, and why it's difficult to type someone during an ongoing meltdown.

New to the Enneagram? Check out Episode 2, Ennea-what Now, for a foundation before diving in.

In this episode of Clinically Awkward, I sit down with Dr. Alice Rizzi, a New York licensed psychologist specializing in OCD and anxiety disorders, to blow up everything you think you know about obsessive compulsive disorder and actually replace it with something useful.

We get into the OCD cycle, intrusive thoughts, mental compulsions, and the presentations nobody wants to talk about: pure O, harm OCD, health OCD, and the relationship and sexuality spirals that have people texting their friends for reassurance at 2am. We cover the difference between OCD and OCPD, why your brain's smoke alarm is broken, and why the compulsions you've been using to feel better are actually making it worse.

We also get into exposure and response prevention, why ERP is the gold standard for OCD treatment, what it actually looks like in practice, why traditional CBT can accidentally keep people with OCD stuck, and how to find an OCD therapist who genuinely knows what they're doing versus someone who listed OCD among their 57 other specialties on Psychology Today.

Dr. Rizzi's therapy practice is based in New York and Florida. Find her at dralicerizzi.com. For entrepreneurs and women in business, find her mindfulness and values work at togethermindful.com.

If you're an adult looking for therapy in New York, find me at alyssazimmerman.com.

In this episode of Clinically Awkward, I sit down with Dr. Paige Victorine, a clinical psychologist and co-owner of Nouveau Psychological Wellness in Arlington, Virginia, to break down Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: what it actually is, why it's spelled ACT and not A-C-T, and why it might be one of the most neurodivergent-friendly therapeutic modalities out there.

We get into the passengers on the bus metaphor, why "acceptance" is one of the most poorly named concepts in mental health, and the difference between radical acceptance and just giving up. We talk about values versus goals, what it actually looks like to connect with your values when you're in survival mode, and why your special interests might be hiding the most important information about who you are.

We also cover defusion, psychological flexibility, and why you do not need a quiet mind to have a peaceful life. We get into the evolutionary reason your brain generates catastrophic thoughts, why ACT doesn't ask you to think positively, and what it looks like to use ACT specifically with neurodivergent clients — including why standard mindfulness training makes both of us unreasonably angry.

We close with the masking conversation I didn't know I needed, the concept of creative hopelessness, and how ACT approaches meaning and purpose in a way that actually works for brains that have spent years failing to meet standards that were never built for them.

Dr. Victorine's practice, Nouveau Psychological Wellness, offers therapy and adult assessments across PSYpact states. Find them at nouveaupsychology.com and on Psychology Today.

If you're an adult looking for therapy in New York, find me at alyssazimmerman.com.

On this episode of Clinically Awkward, I sit down with Michigan therapist Riann Tennyson to talk about Dungeons & Dragons through a neurodivergent lens — and why so many of us with ADHD and autism are a little too obsessed with playing pretend.

We get into how D&D's mix of structure and chaos scratches a very specific ADHD itch, why character creation is basically a hyperfixation delivery system, how campaigns can become an accidental safe space for processing trauma and exploring identity, and why trying out different outcomes in a fantasy world is actually a pretty legitimate coping skill. We also cover late diagnosis, dice as fidget toys, the gender dynamics of D&D culture, how to get started when you have no friends who play yet, and why your expensive dice collection is not a problem.

Riann Tennyson is a therapist practicing in Monroe, Michigan specializing in neurodivergence and late-diagnosed adults. Find her practice at Make Your Turn.

If you're an adult looking for therapy in New York, find me at alyssazimmerman.com.

On this episode of Clinically Awkward, I sit down with pediatric neuropsychologist Rebecca Fontanetta to talk about criminology through a neurodivergent lens and explore why so many of us with ADHD and autism are a little too obsessed with true crime.

We get into Rebecca's tree trunk theory of criminal behavior, why homicidal and suicidal behavior are less separate than most people think, how women offenders are consistently misread, and why neurodivergence in the prison population is far more common than anyone wants to talk about. We also cover autistic traits being misread as guilt, what the media gets wrong about postpartum psychosis, the ethics of true crime consumption, and why law enforcement training desperately needs a neurodivergence chapter.

Rebecca Fontanetta is a pediatric neuropsychologist practicing in New York and Connecticut. Find her at neuropsycholopedia.com and @the_neuropsycholopedia on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.

If you're an adult looking for therapy in New York, find me at alyssazimmerman.com.

On this episode of Clinically Awkward, I sit down with Becca Block to talk about perimenopause and neurodivergence, and why this transition can feel especially chaotic for AFABs with ADHD and/or autism. We unpack what perimenopause actually is, how fluctuating hormones affect the brain, and why so many people start wondering if their ADHD symptoms are getting worse during perimenopause.

Becca shares her experience recognizing her autistic and ADHD traits later in life after her child was diagnosed, which led her to dive deep into research on neurodivergence, hormones, and executive functioning. We talk about the five-to-ten-year transition before menopause when estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone fluctuate, and how those hormonal shifts affect neurotransmitters like dopamine, serotonin, and acetylcholine, which influence focus, memory, motivation, mood, and sleep.

We explore why perimenopause symptoms are often missed or misdiagnosed, especially when they overlap with ADHD symptoms like executive dysfunction, forgetfulness, inconsistent energy, and burnout. We also talk about sensory sensitivities, chronic migraines, mood dysregulation, and masking burnout, along with the mixed experiences people have with hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and hormonal birth control.

We also discuss the psychological shift many people experience during midlife, including less anxiety about other people’s expectations and a growing DGAF  (Don't Give A F*ck) mindset. The episode closes with a conversation about self-advocacy with doctors, radical acceptance, and practical supports for navigating perimenopause with a neurodivergent brain.

Becca Block works with neurodivergent adults on executive functioning, ADHD support, and sustainable productivity through her coaching practice. Learn more about her work at spicy-brains.com.

00:00 Perimenopause and Neurodivergence (Intro)

In this episode of Clinically Awkward, I sit down with Psychiatric PA Laura Hope Hobson to talk about body-focused repetitive behaviors, or BFRBs, like hair pulling, skin picking, nail biting, cheek chewing, and tongue biting. Laura shares her late ADHD realization and her long-hidden trichotillomania, and we immediately get into the thing most people miss: these behaviors are usually regulation. Not self-harm. Not a moral failure. Not proof that you lack discipline. Your nervous system is trying to manage something, even if the strategy is leaving you frustrated, embarrassed, or Googling “why can’t I just stop.”

We talk about why “you’ll grow out of it” is still somehow floating around as ADHD advice, and how that myth keeps people confused and unsupported for decades. We unpack why shaving your head does not magically solve hair pulling, why behaviors tend to redirect when the underlying dysregulation is still there, and why “just stop” might be the least helpful sentence in the English language. We also dig into the shame spiral, especially for women who are expected to look polished and put together at all times, and how that pressure quietly fuels secrecy and self-criticism.

Laura explains how BFRBs often co-occur with ADHD and how they can soothe both under-stimulation and over-stimulation. We differentiate BFRBs from self-harm and OCD compulsions so we can be precise about function instead of layering on more stigma. And we talk about what actually helps: habit reversal training, ARC as in awareness, regulation, compassion, IFS-informed parts work, and building regulation strategies that are tailored to your specific nervous system instead of some generic “try a fidget” solution.

This episode is about shifting from judgment to curiosity. It is about understanding unmet needs and dysregulation instead of attacking yourself. It is about learning that you cannot shame yourself into long-term change, and you do not have to hate yourself into healing.

Laura’s resources, including her free guide, are available at hopeandhealingcoach.com.

00:00 – It Was ADHD the Whole Time

04:23 – The “You’ll Grow Out of It” Era

06:16 – Hidden in Plain Sight

14:50 – Why “Just Stop” Fails

16:41 – The Regulation Connection

18:55 – The Shame Spiral

22:34 – Not Self-Harm. Not OCD.

26:35 – Beyond Fidgets

29:20 – ARC: Awareness, Regulation, Compassion

39:28 – Finding Your Fire Department

48:58 – Permission to Not Hate Yourself

54:56 – Redefining Recovery

In this episode of Clinically Awkward, I, Alyssa Zimmerman, sit down with trauma therapist Carly Falk to unpack surviving your twenties through the chaotic millennial time capsule that is HBO’s Girls.

We get into trauma work, EMDR, and why I don’t believe embarrassment belongs in therapy. Substance misuse, hypersexuality, sensory seeking, and messy friendships aren’t moral failures; they’re data about unmet needs. Neurodivergent women deserve care that is holistic, honest, and shame-resistant.

Then we use Girls as a neurodivergent case study. Ray’s rigidity and info-dumping. Shoshana as the masked, competent autistic little professor. Hannah’s chaotic hyperbole, glossed-over OCD, and relationship dynamics that still make me wince.

We revisit our millennial youth, six-beers-is-fine culture, warehouse parties, and the normalization of self-destruction in your twenties.

And yes, my special interest, the Enneagram, inserts itself. I cannot watch fictional characters without typing them. Hannah as a Four as so is Jessa and they’re both spiraling into sabotage. Marni’s need to be chosen as intergenerational trauma. Shoshana’s possible Six energy sending me into a live wing crisis.

We also touch on AuDHD patterns versus borderline personality disorder, including the difference between a “favorite person” and a “safe person,” and why black-and-white thinking hits differently in different neurotypes.

We close with a radical idea: friendships can end without anyone being the villain. Sometimes growth looks like letting go.

Carly shares about her practice, Lotus Embodied Counseling in Columbia, Maryland, and as always, I’m just out here saying what I needed to hear at 25.

0:00 - Welcome to Clinically Awkward: Quarter-Life Crisis Survivors (Feat. Carly)

3:54 - Therapist Origin Stories: The Practice I Accidentally Built

9:42 - Girls as a Neurodivergent Case Study (Respectfully)

15:46 - Millennial Optimism: Dollar Ubers, Chunky Necklaces, and Hipster Vibes

19:35 - Your Boyfriend Owns One Towel: Dating in Your Twenties

23:36 - We're Talking Too Much About Men Again (Derogatory)

27:22 - Shoshana, Masking, and the Little Professor Pipeline

32:30 - Hannah: Hyperbole, Bad Choices, and the Audacity of It All

37:01 - Shoshana's Six Energy & My Live Seven Wing Crash Out

41:10 - Jessa Is a Four and It's Not Fun: Chaos as Self-Sabotage

47:44 - Marnie Would Rather Be Chosen Than Be Okay

51:14 - Justice for Noreen: Second Adolescence, Please

52:51 - Okay We Have to Stop: Carly's Info + Emotional Aftercare

In this bonus episode of Clinically Awkward, I, Alyssa Zimmerman, your local stressy messy AuDHD therapist and self appointed Snake, join Rain Glenn, the Baby, to celebrate our unlikely friendship built entirely on the Game Changers universe, a completely normal and healthy bonding experience.

We spiral about our 50 day and counting Heated Rivalry hyperfixation and everything we know about season two adapting The Long Game, including the Spring 2027 release and the deeply suspicious six episode order that we do not trust.

We mourn the loss of the gladiator butt plug Halloween scene, celebrate Shane coming out to a teammate, and present a professional “please don’t cut this” list featuring the kitchen scene, couch and ice cream, phone smut, the Pike Kids wedding, and more jealous Ilya.

We campaign for maximum Yuna Hollander, debate the plane crash monologue logistics, defend Shane from the “he’s an asshole” discourse, analyze Ilya’s dad coded energy, and accept that waiting until 2027 is now part of our personality.