Neurodivergent Strategies for Late-Diagnosed Adults: The Divergent Paths Podcast

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Do you ever feel emotionally overloaded without knowing why? Or find yourself mirroring someone else's mood without realizing it? You’re not alone—and you’re not broken. In this episode of Divergent Paths, Dr. Regina McMenomy and cohost Russ Catanach unpack two powerful but often misunderstood neurodivergent experiences: emotional contagion and alexithymia.

You’ll learn what these terms mean, how they often show up together, and why they’re so common among ADHD and autistic individuals. Regina explains how catching someone else’s emotions (emotional contagion) can collide with difficulty naming your own feelings (alexithymia), creating what she calls “emotional static.” From personal stories to practical insights, this episode helps you build emotional fluency, set better boundaries, and stop absorbing what doesn’t belong to you.

Key topics:

• What emotional contagion is and why it hits neurodivergent folks hard
• Understanding alexithymia and the difference between thinking and feeling emotions
• How these experiences impact relationships, parenting, and workplace dynamics
• Practical tools for checking in with your body and reclaiming emotional clarity

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Regina McMenomy, PhD Regina is a neurodivergent leadership consultant, podcast host, and systems thinker who helps organizations build workplaces where everyone can thrive. With a background in higher education and a passion for inclusion, she brings insight, empathy, and a lot of lived experience to every conversation.

Russ Catanach Russ is a marketing professional, speaker, and co-host of the DIY for Business podcast. Known for his humor and clarity, he brings a grounded, real-world lens to workplace challenges and personal growth conversations.

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In this episode of Divergent Paths, Dr. Regina McMenemy and co-host Russ Catanach explore the all-too-relatable phenomena of DOOM piles and task saturation—when your physical and mental clutter team up to ambush your productivity and sanity. From unopened mail to emotional overload, this conversation blends humor, insight, and compassion for chaotic brains trying to survive modern life. If you've ever hidden a mess in a box just to make it "go away" or felt like your brain was made of oatmeal after a big project, this one's for you.

They unpack how executive dysfunction plays into everyday overwhelm, strategies to break the shame cycle, and the power of playful productivity rituals (yes, Duolingo counts). Whether you're neurodivergent or just overworked, this episode validates your exhaustion and offers practical tools to get unstuck, one doom pile at a time.

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Dr. Regina McMenomy is a writer, educator, and self-professed digital hoarder with a deep commitment to unpacking the complexities of neurodivergent life. With a PhD in hand (but not the medical kind), she brings compassion, lived experience, and a sharp wit to conversations about executive dysfunction, ADHD, burnout, and creative recovery.

Russ Catanach is a media pro, digital archivist of everything since 1994, and a long-time advocate for navigating mental clutter with humor and honesty. Equal parts practical and perceptive, Russ helps bridge theory with the lived chaos of doing-all-the-things, often while fighting his inbox and clinging to his boogie board (not the beach kind).

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Burnout isn’t just about being tired—it’s what happens when your nervous system is screaming for a better way to live. In this episode of Divergent Paths, host Dr. Regina McMenomy is joined by Russ Catanach for a deeply honest conversation about neurodivergent burnout. They unpack how masking, misaligned environments, and hyperfocus can quietly push us toward the edge and why recovery isn’t about powering through, but embracing rest as a radical act of survival.

Learn how Regina redefined productivity, the cost of perfectionism, and what it really means to live within your capacity. Whether you're in the middle of burnout or trying to avoid it, this episode offers powerful validation and practical insights for neurodivergent minds.

Book a Free Clarity Call with Regina

Regina McMenomy, PhD Regina is a neurodivergent leadership consultant, podcast host, and systems thinker who helps organizations build workplaces where everyone can thrive. With a background in higher education and a passion for inclusion, she brings insight, empathy, and a lot of lived experience to every conversation.

Russ Catanach Russ is a marketing professional, speaker, and co-host of the DIY for Business podcast. Known for his humor and clarity, he brings a grounded, real-world lens to workplace challenges and personal growth conversations.

Sign up for N.E.R.D. Notes and get weekly nerdy neurodivergent insights!

Welcome back to Divergent Paths, the podcast that explores neurodivergent life beyond the stereotypes. In this episode, host Dr. Regina McMenomy, Ph.D. dives deep into one of the most misunderstood aspects of neurodivergence—Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA), sometimes reframed as a Persistent Drive for Autonomy.

If you’ve ever irrationally resisted a task—even one you actually want to do—this episode is for you. Together with co-host Russ Catanach, Regina unpacks the emotional toll of PDA, how it’s often masked, and what it means to work with your nervous system instead of against it. From dishes to diagnoses, this is a candid, compassionate, and occasionally hilarious look at what happens when autonomy becomes essential.

In this episode:

• What PDA really is and how it shows up in daily life
• Why well-meaning suggestions can trigger intense resistance
• How PDA intersects with masking, burnout, and RSD
• Real-world strategies for navigating PDA at home and work
• Why leading with curiosity builds better relationships

Whether you’re newly diagnosed or just starting to explore neurodivergent traits, this episode will help you make sense of your “why can’t I just do it?” moments—and maybe even laugh at them a little, too.

Book a Free Clarity Call with Regina

Regina McMenomy, PhD Regina is a neurodivergent leadership consultant, podcast host, and systems thinker who helps organizations build workplaces where everyone can thrive. With a background in higher education and a passion for inclusion, she brings insight, empathy, and a lot of lived experience to every conversation.

Russ Catanach Russ is a marketing professional, speaker, and co-host of the DIY for Business podcast. Known for his humor and clarity, he brings a grounded, real-world lens to workplace challenges and personal growth conversations.

Sign up for N.E.R.D. Notes and get weekly nerdy neurodivergent insights!

What if your struggle to focus, stay motivated, or meet deadlines wasn't a character flaw but a mismatch between your nervous system and your environment?

In this episode of Divergent Paths, we explore the concept of interest-based nervous systems—a defining feature of many neurodivergent experiences, especially ADHD. We break down how traditional motivation models fail neurodivergent folks and why "just try harder" is both unhelpful and inaccurate. Joined by my longtime friend and co-host Russ Catanach, we talk about what it means to have a brain that runs on passion, urgency, and novelty—and how you can stop pathologizing your process.

We’ll discuss:

• Why executive dysfunction is often misunderstood
• How interest-based nervous systems challenge workplace norms
• What businesses need to know about motivation, burnout, and task initiation
• Strategies to honor your own rhythms and build systems that work with your brain, not against it

Whether you're neurodivergent yourself, managing neurodivergent employees, or simply rethinking how we define productivity, this conversation is packed with insight, humor, and real talk.

Book a Free Clarity Call with Regina

Regina McMenomy, PhD Regina is a neurodivergent leadership consultant, podcast host, and systems thinker who helps organizations build workplaces where everyone can thrive. With a background in higher education and a passion for inclusion, she brings insight, empathy, and a lot of lived experience to every conversation.

Russ Catanach Russ is a marketing professional, speaker, and co-host of the DIY for Business podcast. Known for his humor and clarity, he brings a grounded, real-world lens to workplace challenges and personal growth conversations.

Sign up for N.E.R.D. Notes and get weekly nerdy neurodivergent insights!

Clutter: some of us thrive in it, some drown in it, and for many neurodivergent folks, it’s a constant battle. In this episode, Russ joins me as the curious co-host to explore the complicated relationship between clutter, executive function, and neurodivergence.

We talk about why traditional organizing methods don’t always work for ADHD and autistic brains, how clutter impacts our mental health, and the emotional weight of "stuff." I also share some personal experiences with clutter, what’s helped me manage it (or at least make peace with it), and why a perfectly organized space isn’t always the goal.

If you’ve ever struggled with clutter, felt overwhelmed by your environment, or wondered why "just clean it up" isn’t that simple, this episode is for you.

Book a Free Clarity Call with Regina

Regina McMenomy, PhD Regina is a neurodivergent leadership consultant, podcast host, and systems thinker who helps organizations build workplaces where everyone can thrive. With a background in higher education and a passion for inclusion, she brings insight, empathy, and a lot of lived experience to every conversation.

Russ Catanach Russ is a marketing professional, speaker, and co-host of the DIY for Business podcast. Known for his humor and clarity, he brings a grounded, real-world lens to workplace challenges and personal growth conversations.

Sign up for N.E.R.D. Notes and get weekly nerdy neurodivergent insights!

In this episode of Divergent Paths, I sit down with Juliana Allen, a somatic healing coach, civil service executive director, and mother, to explore the deep and often complex journey of discovering neurodivergence later in life. Juliana shares her personal experience of being diagnosed with ADHD as an adult, unraveling years of masking, perfectionism, and societal expectations that never quite fit.

We discuss the impact of late diagnoses, the struggles of existing in systems not built for neurodivergent people, and the emotional weight of learning how to work with your brain instead of against it. Juliana’s story is one of empowerment, resilience, and the importance of breaking down rigid structures that stifle authenticity.

If you’ve ever felt like a zebra in a pack of horses—navigating a world that wasn’t designed for you—this episode will resonate. Tune in for an insightful conversation about self-discovery, somatic healing, and redefining success outside of neurotypical norms.

Follow Juliana on Instagram: @reclaimwithjuliana

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Perfectionism, for many neurodivergent folks, can look like a source of motivation but is most often a roadblock that keeps us stuck in cycles of procrastination, burnout, and self-doubt. In this episode, Russ joins me as the curious co-host to dig into the ways perfectionism uniquely impacts neurodivergent minds.

We talk about how perfectionism ties into masking, why it can make even starting a task feel impossible, and how societal expectations play into this struggle. I also share some personal experiences with perfectionism in my work and life, along with strategies I’ve found helpful for breaking free from its grip.

If you’ve ever felt like “good enough” is never good enough, this episode is for you. Tune in for an honest and insightful conversation about embracing imperfection and finding a healthier way forward.

Book a Free Clarity Call with Regina

Regina McMenomy, PhD Regina is a neurodivergent leadership consultant, podcast host, and systems thinker who helps organizations build workplaces where everyone can thrive. With a background in higher education and a passion for inclusion, she brings insight, empathy, and a lot of lived experience to every conversation.

Russ Catanach Russ is a marketing professional, speaker, and co-host of the DIY for Business podcast. Known for his humor and clarity, he brings a grounded, real-world lens to workplace challenges and personal growth conversations.

Sign up for N.E.R.D. Notes and get weekly nerdy neurodivergent insights!

In this episode of Divergent Paths, Dr. Regina McMenomy and her longtime friend, Russ Catanach, explore the complex world of masking for individuals with ADHD and autism. Masking involves suppressing authentic behaviors to conform to societal norms, often at great personal cost.

Regina shares her insights as a late-diagnosed neurodivergent individual, revealing the emotional toll of masking and the liberating process of unmasking. Discover how masking impacts mental health, relationships, and identity, and learn practical steps for navigating life authentically.

Whether you're neurodivergent or supporting someone who is, this episode offers a powerful perspective on the journey to self-acceptance.

Book a Free Clarity Call with Regina

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Sam Rockwell is a mistress of many trades. She shares her story with Divergent Path about struggling with anxiety and depression and how her ADHD diagnosis changed her life. Listen to our discussion about the revelations of how medication can help significantly curb anxiety for people with ADHD and the life changes we both experienced after our official diagnosis.

Check out Sam's favorite organizational tool, the Eisenhower Matrix. Do you have a favorite tool to help with prioritizing tasks? Let us know on Instagram @DivergentPathsConsulting!

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About Regina McMenomy Ph.D.

Host of the Divergent Paths Podcast | ADHD & Neurodiversity Advocate

Welcome to Divergent Paths, a podcast dedicated to exploring life, work, and creativity through the lens of neurodiversity. Hosted by Regina McMenomy. Ph.D., founder of Divergent Paths Consulting, the show delves into the experiences of individuals navigating ADHD and other invisible disabilities. As someone who received a late ADHD diagnosis, Regina brings personal insights and professional expertise to each episode, helping listeners find new ways to thrive in a neurotypical world.

With over 20 years of experience in instructional design, project management, and coaching, Regina is passionate about creating inclusive spaces where neurodiverse individuals can succeed. Through this podcast, Regina shares conversations with experts, professionals, and everyday people, offering tips, strategies, and stories of empowerment.

Tune in to learn how to embrace neurodivergence, redefine success, and chart your own path forward.