Connected Divergents

Rooting into care, building safety, creating positive emotional experiences, leaning into transition time, and getting curious about the wisdom of our resistance. All so we can pull away from the cycles of avoidance, to adrenaline-and-deadline-fueled push, to crash and burnout, only for that cycle to repeat. Avoidance is asking to be met with support and care, and not to push ourselves harder until we feel like breaking.

So excited to share this episode this week!! Today we're talking about how to use the scientific method as a framework to better understand your ADHD brain and your needs! This is how we can conduct experiments, try new things, and implement changes to gather lived-experience data on what *actually* works for us, what *actually* helps us. And the best part—with experimenting, there's no failure. Only data! Every experiment is an opportunity to learn more about how your brain works, and we get to integrate and re-iterate on experiments by using that information. This means that even if an experiment doesn't go the way we planned, it's still a win! 

It's New Year's Day and I AM TIRED, FAM. I really wanted to share this idea & framework I'm so excited about on experimental frameworks & using the scientific method to better understand your brain & your needs, but I hit a wall in the middle of this episode, which was already a capacity-aligned pivot from that—and I realized I need to end this recording early to go take care of myself. This episode is my own documentation of the win of making a visit, giving myself the chance to see how I felt recording, and realizing from that lived-experience data that my answer is a genuine & authentic 'no' for today. I'll catch up with you more in the next few weeks! 

Sharing in this episode about how I'm coming back to center after a season of travel & routine disruptions, and how I'm noticing ADHD medication is changing my creative process—a lot of grief here for me at the change, but I'm trying some new experiments to see if there are other systems and supports I need to help me with my creativity on meds!

This episode is about the experience of Demand Avoidance + how it connects not only to our experience of autonomy-loss, but ALSO our experience of uncertainty—not just that we don't want to do the thing, but that we actually don't yet know how.

In this episode, I share about the differences between demand avoidance and procrastination, and how the understanding of autonomy needs strengthens our resources for support. I'm then breaking down how overwhelm, uncertainty, and lack of clarity can influence the experience of demand avoidance, and how understanding this can bring create even more options for support!

Quick Vyvanse ADHD med update from me on this episode, and then jumping into the main topic for today: Nervous System Regulation vs Nervous System Capacity Building, where capacity building can be more effective than regulation, and how I've applied this concept to paying off my post-Hurricane Helene credit card debt. 

**THIS EPISODE IS NOT MEDICAL ADVICE!!** I'm only sharing my personal experiences and reflections! Talk to your doctor!

In this episode I share about what I noticed on 20, 30, and 40mg of Vyvanse, and what I'm looking for to know when I've found the 'right' dose of Vyvanse for me (hopefully!) 

I needed to step away from the ADHD Writer’s Summit. In this episode I share about what led me to this decision: the wall I hit around capacity, unstable meds, reflection in therapy. I'm unpacking the guilt of saying no, and how I’m learning to see these moments as reparenting and care instead of spiraling into shame. If you’ve ever wondered whether your ‘self-sabotage’ is really just your neurodivergent support needs showing up, this one’s for you. <3

**DISCLAIMER** This is not medical advice! Please talk to a doctor before making any important medical decisions that would affect your health!! Repeat: This is not medical advice! 

Sharing my own personal experiences on Vyvanse so far, comparing to my experience with Adderall XR (the only other ADHD med I've tried), and how I am evaluating my executive functioning & symptoms as the week has gone on.