Is your brain constantly sorting everything into two neat little buckets? "Good" or "bad"? "Success" or "failure"? Ooof! Honestly, saaaame. So, let’s talk about it!

In this episode, Caitlin shares their take black and white thinking—what it is, where it comes from, and why it's so freaking stressful. They also get super real about their own brain, which they lovingly describes as "The Good Place, but worse" lol. If you can relate to having yout simple decisions spiral into a complex web of moral dilemmas, better grab a seat coz this one’s for you! 

"It's not likely that every single person in the world is going to either be a perfectly happy, healthy relationship...That doesn't mean that we're sorting people into only two buckets, because when it's only two buckets... that's so isolating and lonely and critical and it's not healthy for us." - Caitlin

You'll totally learn:

• What black and white thinking is and why it's so common for neurodivergent people

• How black and white thinking often comes from trauma and the need to learn strict rules to survive

• Why even simple decisions can feel overwhelming when your brain assigns moral value to every option

• How to find relief from the constant onslaught of information from our phones and the news

• Oooh! Plus, a fun and surprisingly relevant side quest involving caterpillars! 

  
  

Links mentioned in this episode:

🔗Black and White thinking in Autism

https://www.simplypsychology.org/black-and-white-thinking-in-autism.html

🔗The Sustainable Writing Summit

https://sustainable-writing-summit.heysummit.com/

🎟️ Join The Creatives Rebellion on Patreon for bonus content, unfiltered rambles, exclusive merch, and the best little weird creative family on the internet: ⁠⁠⁠
https://www.patreon.com/caitlinlizfisher⁠⁠⁠
Join our Neurodivergent Creative Pod!🌞 Want to support heartfelt conversations about mental health, creativity, and neurodivergence?
Join the Neurodivergent Creative Pod community: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.askfishfisher.com/pod⁠⁠⁠📩
Subscribe to Cait’s newsletter and grab your copy of the Audacity Bill of Rights—a weekly dose of "you’re not broken, you’re brilliant": ⁠⁠⁠https://www.askfishfisher.com/audacity⁠⁠⁠
🎧 Leave a comment, send a DM @caitlinlizfisher, or scream into the void (and tag us!)We love hearing what hit home for you!

As August roll on by, Caitlin taps into that timeless back-to-school vibe! You know, the itch for new notebooks, pens in pastel colors, and a reset into fresh routines... DELICIOUS. Ah, but instead of chasing supply sales, we'll be reconnecting with something even more essential: the inner child who knew instinctively how to play, rest, and ask for help!

In this episode of The Neurodivergent Creative, Caitlin reflects on the podcast’s journey—from its early days as Run Like Hell Toward Happy to its current incarnation—and shares why that original phrase still shapes their approach to creativity. They also talk about how joy and whimsy are our tools for creativity, self-connection, and dreaming of the future.

 "Children are inherently playful. Your inner child wants to play with things, even boring things, right? Like being like 10% more playful, these are things that we're born knowing how to do." - Caitlin Liz Fisher

You Will Learn:

• Why reconnecting with your inner child helps you get back to basics in your creative practice
• How playful acts (like color-coding, stickers, or hobbies) can reduce shame and unlock new pathways of productivity
• Why linear paths toward dreams rarely work for neurodivergent brains, and how to embrace meandering progress
• How Caitlin's Hyperfocus Play Dates create custom, playful systems to move you toward your “happy spot in the horizon"

Links for this episode:

Clarity Code Summit: Quest for Your Inner Purpose

https://shop.unicornmojo.com/clarity-code-waitlist/?aff=9dd95632

🎟️ Join The Creatives Rebellion on Patreon for bonus content, unfiltered rambles, exclusive merch, and the best little weird creative family on the internet: ⁠⁠⁠
https://www.patreon.com/caitlinlizfisher⁠⁠⁠
Join our Neurodivergent Creative Pod!🌞 Want to support heartfelt conversations about mental health, creativity, and neurodivergence?
Join the Neurodivergent Creative Pod community: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.askfishfisher.com/pod⁠⁠⁠📩
Subscribe to Cait’s newsletter and grab your copy of the Audacity Bill of Rights—a weekly dose of "you’re not broken, you’re brilliant": ⁠⁠⁠https://www.askfishfisher.com/audacity⁠⁠⁠
🎧 Leave a comment, send a DM @caitlinlizfisher, or scream into the void (and tag us!)We love hearing what hit home for you!

In this episode, Caitlin sits down with fellow neurodivergent creative and manifestation enthusiast Carissa Andrews—an ADHD author, educator, and unapologetic woo-woo translator for brains that don’t fit the “one-size-fits-all” mold.

Together, they go far beyond vision boards and gratitude lists, diving into the neurodivergent-friendly side of manifestation. Think: quantum physics that clicks and the liberating practice of radical trust (even when the future feels like a total question mark).

They also talk about how fast, overclocked brains can drown out the slower wisdom of the body and gut, and explore why manifesting through other people can feel unsafe for many neurodivergent folks. Tune in as they pull apart imposter syndrome, resistance, and the old stories that keep creatives from building the reality they actually want. 

"So when we look at it from this malleable place and teach authors like, look, you have the choice to tell yourself that it's going to be this way, or the choice to look at it in the idealized way of what you want it to be. Both are options to you." - Carissa Andrews

You'll totally learn:

• How to make manifestation work for your neurodivergent brain
• Understanding the quantum physics behind manifestation to overcome resistance and imposter syndrome
• The difference between relying on your fast brain vs the calm intuition of your gut
• How to build "radical trust" in your ability to manifest
• Unlearning the belief that people are unpredictable and won't "get you"

Carissa's Websites:

• Author Website: http://carissaandrews.com/
• Manifest Differently (ND manifestation and verbal reiki): manifestdifferently.com 
• Author Revolution (ND indie author coaching): authorrevolution.org

🎟️ Join The Creatives Rebellion on Patreon for bonus content, unfiltered rambles, exclusive merch, and the best little weird creative family on the internet: ⁠⁠⁠
https://www.patreon.com/caitlinlizfisher⁠⁠⁠
Join our Neurodivergent Creative Pod!🌞 Want to support heartfelt conversations about mental health, creativity, and neurodivergence?
Join the Neurodivergent Creative Pod community: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.askfishfisher.com/pod⁠⁠⁠📩
Subscribe to Cait’s newsletter and grab your copy of the Audacity Bill of Rights—a weekly dose of "you’re not broken, you’re brilliant": ⁠⁠⁠https://www.askfishfisher.com/audacity⁠⁠⁠
🎧 Leave a comment, send a DM @caitlinlizfisher, or scream into the void (and tag us!)We love hearing what hit home for you!

LISTEN, we are not here just to pay bills, lose weight, and die! 😤

This episode is a reminder that having hope isn't about "toxic positivity" or pretending everything is okay. It's about having the audacity to envision a better future and being a part of the solution. Because, as Caitlin puts it, doing the alternative is just doing "the fascists dirty work for them". And we're not doing that here!
If you’ve ever felt disconnected from your future—like the world is falling apart and you’re just trying to hold it together—this one’s for you. Caitlin opens up about her own two-year stretch of spiritual and creative burnout. Coz that wasn’t rest. Sure as heck wasn’t a break. It was a breakdown! But with the help of a trusted therapist, her moon journal, and a return to introspective practices like tarot, she’s reclaiming her vision for the future—and inviting you to do the same.

💬 "We are not here to just pay bills, lose weight, and die. We are here to have a human experience. It's not our fault that capitalism is like, no, you don't get to have human experiences, but it is our responsibility to give a middle finger to capitalism and to say, you know what? I'm going to pick my little spot on the horizon and I'm going to move toward it." - Caitlin

You'll totally learn:

• How to fight the capitalist impulse to just survive and, instead, have a full human experience.
• Caitlin's personal journey of a two-year creative and spiritual disconnection, and how she's finding her way back.
• The power of introspective tools like journaling and tarot for reconnecting with your future self.
• How to distinguish between healthy hope and toxic positivity, especially in a world with so much anxiety (hello, climate anxiety!).
• Why finding little joys, even if they're fleeting, is a revolutionary act
• The importance of believing a better future is possible to actually be part of the solution

🎟️ Join The Creatives Rebellion on Patreon for bonus content, unfiltered rambles, exclusive merch, and the best little weird creative family on the internet: ⁠⁠⁠
https://www.patreon.com/caitlinlizfisher⁠⁠⁠
Join our Neurodivergent Creative Pod!🌞 Want to support heartfelt conversations about mental health, creativity, and neurodivergence?
Join the Neurodivergent Creative Pod community: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.askfishfisher.com/pod⁠⁠⁠📩
Subscribe to Cait’s newsletter and grab your copy of the Audacity Bill of Rights—a weekly dose of "you’re not broken, you’re brilliant": ⁠⁠⁠https://www.askfishfisher.com/audacity⁠⁠⁠
🎧 Leave a comment, send a DM @caitlinlizfisher, or scream into the void (and tag us!)We love hearing what hit home for you!

Ever feel like you're playing a character just to get through the workday? Or maybe you're navigating job interviews, wondering why eye contact feels like a cosmic challenge? Yep, we get it. We've been there too, and so has our incredible guest this week!

Caitlin is here with Diedra Steward, a fantastic Workplace Self-Advocacy Coach and the brains behind Stigma on the Clock. Diedra's all about helping neurodivergent or chronically ill folks ditch the workplace overwhelm, understand their rights, and actually get the accommodations they need.

Inspired by a question from one of our listeners, we're diving deep into what it's really like for neurodivergent pros trying to thrive in a neurotypical world. We get honest about the masking tax and how job interviews can feel like social obstacle courses. We unpack how to spot red and green flags in job postings, when and how to disclose a disability, and why you should absolutely ask for accommodations in the interview process (yes, you can—and Deidre tells you how).

"So we're kind of trying to operate on like the thesis of we shouldn't have to mask to be successful. And then obviously that's a beautiful, wonderful utopian society where everybody's differences are valued... But we live in capitalism world, which sometimes does require us to hide parts of ourselves." - Caitlin

You'll totally learn:

• Understanding and navigating workplace rights and asking for accommodations.
• The real tension between wanting to unmask and the messy reality of capitalism
• Awesome strategies for finding your perfect work environment
• Deidre’s brilliant spreadsheet for documenting accommodations (and why you’ll want it)
• How to spot the glaring red flags in company culture (like when they say "we're like a family here"—omg, run!).
• The glorious green flags that mean a company really cares, like actually offering mental health days in their benefits.

🎟️ Join The Creatives Rebellion on Patreon for bonus content, unfiltered rambles, exclusive merch, and the best little weird creative family on the internet: ⁠⁠⁠
https://www.patreon.com/caitlinlizfisher⁠⁠⁠
Join our Neurodivergent Creative Pod!🌞 Want to support heartfelt conversations about mental health, creativity, and neurodivergence?
Join the Neurodivergent Creative Pod community: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.askfishfisher.com/pod⁠⁠⁠📩
Subscribe to Cait’s newsletter and grab your copy of the Audacity Bill of Rights—a weekly dose of "you’re not broken, you’re brilliant": ⁠⁠⁠https://www.askfishfisher.com/audacity⁠⁠⁠
🎧 Leave a comment, send a DM @caitlinlizfisher, or scream into the void (and tag us!)We love hearing what hit home for you!

Did you ever have someone in your life who had the nerve to tell you that you weren’t “using it enough," and proceeded to take it away? Maybe it was a hobby or, I don't know, a passion project... yep, we've been there too! From childhood trauma (RIP Lorelei the guitar ) to adult reclamation of play and joy, to having a camera sold by a partner who couldn’t handle your natural talent, this is an episode about pacing, permission, and refusing the sad beige narrative that says your hobbies have to be useful, profitable, or productive to be worth it.

💬 "We are not obligated to like wear flour sack dresses and be like the most simple, plain minimalist people that we could possibly be, so that we never waste time or money. That's boring! That's sad! THAT'S BEIGE! I don't wanna be sad and beige. I want to be colorful and bright and glittery." - Caitlin

You will learn:

• How creative joy can be stolen through control, guilt, and comparison
• Recognizing the difference between “flaky” and “flexible"
• Letting yourself suck at stuff before you get good
• How neurodivergent people build creativity on nonlinear timelines

🎟️ Join The Creatives Rebellion on Patreon for bonus content, unfiltered rambles, exclusive merch, and the best little weird creative family on the internet: ⁠⁠⁠
https://www.patreon.com/caitlinlizfisher⁠⁠⁠
🎟️Join our Neurodivergent Creative Pod!🌞 Want to support heartfelt conversations about mental health, creativity, and neurodivergence?
Join the Neurodivergent Creative Pod community: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.askfishfisher.com/pod⁠⁠⁠

📩Subscribe to Cait’s newsletter and grab your copy of the Audacity Bill of Rights—a weekly dose of "you’re not broken, you’re brilliant": ⁠⁠⁠https://www.askfishfisher.com/audacity⁠⁠⁠
🎧 Leave a comment, send a DM @caitlinlizfisher, or scream into the void (and tag us!)We love hearing what hit home for you!

In this episode, Caitlin takes a flamethrower to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, the capitalist grind that keeps us from self-actualizing. They unpack the ways hustle culture, capitalism, and patriarchal conditioning have taught us to earn joy, rest, and creativity—when in reality, it's our birthright! From talking about your creative drives as fundamental needs to revealing the original Blackfoot nation model that Maslow "borrowed" from (and then warped), Caitlin helps us reimagine what it means to be a fully expressed human.

 💬" Joy is your birthright. Creativity is your birthright. This is really important stuff. You deserve to be a completely self-actualized human being from the minute you are born. Our childhoods should be spent figuring out who we are, not how to please our parents." - Caitlin

What We Explore in This Episode:

• Why Maslow’s hierarchy is a colonized, capitalist trap (and what he stole from the Blackfoot Nation)
• The real structure of human needs (hint: it starts with self-actualization, not survival)
• Why creativity is not optional—it’s essential
• How our systems keep us exhausted so we can’t rebel, rest, or become ourselves
• A new way to visualize your needs as a fluid, responsive spectrum (not a rigid pyramid)
• What it means to build community through knowing yourself first

 Neurodivergent Creative Reflection Prompts:

• What actually makes you feel like yourself?
• What are your true needs, beyond survival?
• In what ways have you felt you needed to "earn" joy, rest, or creativity?
• Where in your life are you trying to “self-actualize” through perfectionism or productivity?
• If you already believed you were worthy from the start, what would you do differently today?

🎟️ Join The Creatives Rebellion on Patreon for bonus content, unfiltered rambles, exclusive merch, and the best little weird creative family on the internet: ⁠⁠⁠
https://www.patreon.com/caitlinlizfisher⁠⁠⁠
Join our Neurodivergent Creative Pod!🌞 Want to support heartfelt conversations about mental health, creativity, and neurodivergence?
Join the Neurodivergent Creative Pod community: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.askfishfisher.com/pod⁠⁠⁠📩
Subscribe to Cait’s newsletter and grab your copy of the Audacity Bill of Rights—a weekly dose of "you’re not broken, you’re brilliant": ⁠⁠⁠https://www.askfishfisher.com/audacity⁠⁠⁠
🎧 Leave a comment, send a DM @caitlinlizfisher, or scream into the void (and tag us!)We love hearing what hit home for you!

Welcome back, Neurodivergent Creative! In this episode, Caitlin gets super real about the struggle many of us face: trying to nurture our creative spirit when life throws us into "survival mode." From rampant inflation to stagnant wages, it's easy for your creative outlets to take a backseat. But maintaining a connection to your creativity is vital, even when life itself gets really tough to manage.

💬 “Creativity is a kind of self-care. Creativity is a need.” – Caitlin

If you're overwhelmed by the demands of daily life, this episode is for you.

If you've felt your creative spark dim amidst tough times, this episode is for you.

If you think you don't have the time or money for art, you might need to hear this even more.

What We Explore in This Episode:

• The raw reality of living in survival mode and why creativity often gets sidelined.
• Why this episode is NOT about shaming you or adding more "shoulds" to your life.
• Understanding "titration" as a gentle way to ease back into your creative practice.
• Practical, affordable ways to reconnect with your art, even with limited time, energy, or money.
• Why creativity is a fundamental human need, as essential as safety and community.

PLUS: A special announcement about the return of The Creatives Rebellion, now on a "pay what you can" model! Get the scoop on weekly mini-sodes, workshops to unlearn hustle culture, fireside chats, and more.

🎟️ Join The Creatives Rebellion on Patreon for bonus content, unfiltered rambles, exclusive merch, and the best little weird creative family on the internet: ⁠⁠⁠

https://www.patreon.com/caitlinlizfisher⁠⁠⁠
Join our Neurodivergent Creative Pod!🌞 Want to support heartfelt conversations about mental health, creativity, and neurodivergence?
Join the Neurodivergent Creative Pod community: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.askfishfisher.com/pod⁠⁠⁠📩
Subscribe to Cait’s newsletter and grab your copy of the Audacity Bill of Rights—a weekly dose of "you’re not broken, you’re brilliant": ⁠⁠⁠https://www.askfishfisher.com/audacity⁠⁠⁠
🎧 Leave a comment, send a DM @caitlinlizfisher, or scream into the void (and tag us!)We love hearing what hit home for you!

Welcome back to our final Wrath Month episode! This Pride series has been equal parts spicy, salty, and canonnically juicy—and the grand finale is no exception. In this episode, Caitlin Liz Fisher takes us on a storytelling frolic through queer history, unearthing the hidden and often deliberately erased queer identities of well-known historical figures. Spoiler alert: they were totally doing it, y’all!

💬"Let's make queer history accessible to the masses!" - Caitlin Liz Fisher

What We Explore in This Episode:

- 5 historical legends that were hella queer

- The joy and rage of uncovering erased queer histories

- The patriarchy’s long tradition of erasing queerness and gender variance

Pride Month Recap:

• Ep 167: Magnus Hirschfeld and queer history stolen by Nazis
• Ep 168: Bi Erasure with Bailey Merlin
• Ep 169: Nonbinary Identity
• Ep 170: Queer historical icons (this one!)

Resources & Links Mentioned:

• Autistic Culture Podcast – Emily Dickinson Episode
• Frida Kahlo: The Paintings by Hayden Herrera

📚 NEW! THE SACRED FIRST DRAFT SOCIETYA witchy, soul-nourishing membership for writers who are done treating their creativity like a productivity app. Weekly coaching, co-writing, guided rituals, affirmations, and woo—on purpose.
$69/month, because we’re reclaiming pleasure in pricing
Perfect for neurodivergent writers who feel like their story ghosted them
🎟️ Join here:⁠ ⁠⁠https://www.askfishfisher.com/sacred-first-draft-society⁠⁠⁠
Support the Podcast: Membership Drive on Patreon!
If you want to keep hearing spicy, emotionally intelligent, deeply comforting takes like this one...
🎟️ Join Caitlin’s Patreon for bonus content, unfiltered rambles, exclusive merch, and the best little weird creative family on the internet: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/caitlinlizfisher⁠⁠⁠
Join our Neurodivergent Creative Pod!🌞 Want to support heartfelt conversations about mental health, creativity, and neurodivergence?
Join the Neurodivergent Creative Pod community: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.askfishfisher.com/pod⁠⁠⁠📩
Subscribe to Cait’s newsletter and grab your copy of the Audacity Bill of Rights—a weekly dose of "you’re not broken, you’re brilliant": ⁠⁠⁠https://www.askfishfisher.com/audacity⁠⁠⁠
🎧 Leave a comment, send a DM @caitlinlizfisher, or scream into the void (and tag us!)We love hearing what hit home for you!

Welcome back to Queer Wrath Month, Neurodivergent Creative!

In this episode, Caitlin dives deep into nonbinary gender identity—what it is, what it isn’t, and why it’s time we unlearn the binaries we’ve been spoon-fed... because apparently, it’s 2025 and some of y’all still think gender has only two options like it’s a sad vending machine. (ugh!)

If you’re nonbinary, this episode is for you.

If you’re confused about what it means, this episode is for you.

If you're mad about it... you might need to hear it even more.

The truth is gender diversity has alwaaaays existed. If you can believe in left-handed people, redheads, and the periodic table of elements, you can believe in nonbinary folks too. It's time we bust these binaries, call out all these cisnomartive nonsense, and wear your gender however the hell you want.

💬 “If so many cultures across the entire planet have understood that gender is not a binary, then we need to catch up—instead of banning trans people from bathrooms, which is a waste of time and tax dollars, frankly. That is nonsense.” – Caitlin

Here's what we get into:

- Sex vs Gender Expression vs Gender Identity

- What does nonbinary identity actually mean?

- Hot takes on Ms. as a nonbinary pronoun

- How colonialism erased third genders across cultures

- How gender-affirming care benefits everyone (yes, even cis people)

- Overlap of autism + gender expansiveness

- Lots of science, lots of stats, and more than one “daddy chill” moment

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Interactive Global Map of Third Genders

• Meta-Analysis on Autism & Gender Identity

📕 The Gaslighting of the Millennial Generation by Caitlin Fisher

📚 NEW! THE SACRED FIRST DRAFT SOCIETYA witchy, soul-nourishing membership for writers who are done treating their creativity like a productivity app. Weekly coaching, co-writing, guided rituals, affirmations, and woo—on purpose.

$69/month, because we’re reclaiming pleasure in pricing

Perfect for neurodivergent writers who feel like their story ghosted them

🎟️ Join here:⁠ ⁠⁠https://www.askfishfisher.com/sacred-first-draft-society⁠⁠⁠Support the Podcast: Membership Drive on Patreon!If you want to keep hearing spicy, emotionally intelligent, deeply comforting takes like this one...

🎟️ Join Caitlin’s Patreon for bonus content, unfiltered rambles, exclusive merch, and the best little weird creative family on the internet: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/caitlinlizfisher⁠⁠⁠

Join our Neurodivergent Creative Pod!🌞 Want to support heartfelt conversations about mental health, creativity, and neurodivergence?Join the Neurodivergent Creative Pod community: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.askfishfisher.com/pod⁠⁠⁠📩

Subscribe to Cait’s newsletter and grab your copy of the Audacity Bill of Rights—a weekly dose of "you’re not broken, you’re brilliant": ⁠⁠⁠https://www.askfishfisher.com/audacity⁠⁠⁠

🎧 Leave a comment, send a DM @caitlinlizfisher, or scream into the void (and tag us!)We love hearing what hit home for you!