This week on the My neurodivergent life podcast Gabby and I dive into bottom up vs top down.  No not if you are a bottom or a top, no. We talk about how neurodivergent folks tend to have sensory first experiences rather than situational first experiences.  Don’t worry it’ll make sense in the first 3 minutes.  Also how our sensory first view of the world can drive so many of our choices, and how we can also use that as a superpower.  So…

As always I want to remind you

This podcast is presented solely for educational and entertainment purposes, it is not intended as a substitute for the advice of a physician, psychotherapist, or other qualified professional.

“Why do I always feel like I’m in trouble?”  Is it a learned behavior or is it part of how our neurodivergent brains are wired?  It’s a chicken and egg scenario.  We dig into how neurodivergent negative patterns are formed and reinforced and how that affects us throughout our lives.

Today’s episode is all about pattern recognition.  Current events, music, geometry, relationships, all of these things have patterns in some form or another. Sometimes it’s a superpower, and other times, well, it can cause us a whole bunch of stress.  The trick is, when can you trust it and when might it be driven by fear?  An awareness is the first step. 

Today we explore negativity bias.  Also known as catastrophising, the downward spiral, worst case scenario.  Why do we do it?  Where does it come from?  What are the coping skills we tend to use to stop doing it. Some are healthier than others.  Maybe if we can understand it a bit better, we can recognize it faster and pull up before we hit the ground.

Today, gabby Nistico and I pull apart how us neurodivergent folks relate to time.  What is time anyway?  How do we deal with the phenomenon of time blindness?  What’s behind that little quirk?  I know that when I hyper fixate I can easily lose hours in my day.  And sometimes, often times actually, I’m completely unaware it’s happening.  I do have a few strategies to deal with my time blindness that help me stay on track.  And actually my smart phone has nothing to do with it, in fact in a way my smartphone actually took away one of my best stratigies.  We get into all of that.

Oh my dear meatballs have we got a doozy today.  Gabby and I unpack RFK Jr.’s diabolical attack on the neurodivergent community.  Specifically Autism.  He has held a series of press conferences full of disinformation, outlandish claims and poor methodology all centered around finding the cause of the disease of autism.  And all by September of 2025. So what about this crusade is so damaging?  What could be the harm in researching Autism?  Isn’t that a good thing? Well, that’s the subject of our conversation today.  Spoiler alert, it’s not a good thing, at all. 

Today’s episode is all about college degrees. We talk about the current college experience, and what new graduates are experiencing when they leave and start looking for work.  Also, how college today is so expensive that it leaves little time to explore different subjects, varied interests, and some things that you might not even know you wanted to know.  What happens if you don’t get an undergraduate degree, or if you don’t get a graduate degree.  Do you hit a paper ceiling?  According to the website Tearthepaperceiling.org, there are more than 70 million american workers who are restricted not because of a lack of skills, but because they don’t have a piece of paper from an institution. 

This week gabby and I dig into Rumination.  You know, when you can’t stop thinking about that embarrassing moment from years ago, or even something that happened to you that was never in your control in the first place that you can’t seem to stop thinking about.  Sometimes even that song that gets stuck in your head, oh and by the way, I have a secret trick to getting rid of ear worms that works pretty well. 

Have you heard of the practice of bed rotting?  It’s a term that has started to pop up.  And as much as rotting may conjure up negative connotations, it’s actually a form of self care.  With our digitally connected world, where we can be productive anywhere, why can’t that place have a pillow?  Today we explore the reasons, the positives and the possible challenges that is bed rotting. 

Today on the My Neurodivergent life podcast, Gabby Nistico and I are diving into negative feedback, constructive criticism, and how us Neurodivergent folks handle receiving it, and how we can better give this feedback.  How can we avoid being just plain argumentative, or defensive.  Is it possible to create a mindset in the workplace that diffuses anxiety and still work on problems?  What does the neurodivergent meatball need in order to listen, hear and reflect in a manner that is helpful for the whole team?