In this episode of The Neurodivergent Creative, Caitlin shares a real-time update from her burnout recovery journey—what happened when she took January completely off from her business, why she’s extending that break, and what she’s learning about rest, usefulness, creativity, and nervous system repair. Caitlin talks about stepping away from selling and marketing, rediscovering hobbies (hello knitting and romance writing), navigating rejection sensitivity as a neurodivergent business owner, and realizing how much praise and external validation matter when you’ve been running solo for years.
💬" I will gladly waste time if it means that time is spent existing in my human body doing human things." - Caitlin Liz Fisher
This is not a productivity episode. This is an anti-hustle, pro-human, “seven loads of laundry counts as a win” episode. So, if you’ve ever felt like your value is tied to output… this one’s for you.
What We Explore in This Episode:

• Why burnout recovery takes longer than a week off
• The nervous system shift that happens when you stop hustling
• Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria (RSD) and marketing as a neurodivergent entrepreneur
• Why praise hits differently when you’re not self-employed
• The difference between being useful and being worthy
• Redefining “wasted time”
• Small wins as survival strategy during hard seasons

In this episode, Caitlin continues the psychology mini-series on Erik Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development. The focus is on Stage 3: Initiative vs Guilt—the developmental era where kids try things, make up games, ask why a thousand times, and learn whether their creativity is safe or shameful.
We talk about how discouragement and criticism can create guilt, how neurodivergent kids get punished for being inventive, and the way early guilt can become adult executive dysfunction, perfectionism, and discomfort with doing anything “just for you.”

💬"Just because it's not how you would play with the toys doesn't mean that they're weird. It just means that they're playing different. If you like to make a circle of cans and that's your fun, creative initiative, you're allowed to make a little stack of cans." - Caitlin Liz Fisher

What We Explore in This Episode

• How Initiative vs. Guilt (ages 3–5) shapes creativity, confidence, and self-trust
• Why “playing wrong” is not a thing and how autism gets misunderstood here
• The connection between childhood criticism and adult self-doubt + executive dysfunction
• How to reparent your inner child through play, permission, and curiosity

In this episode of The Neurodivergent Creative, Caitlin goes full “spicy brains, unpacking all the shame” and dives into why childhood development has its own pace, and why trying to rush it creates more stress for everyone.

Using Erik Erikson’s psychosocial stages (Trust vs. Mistrust + Autonomy vs. Shame & Doubt), Caitlin connects toddler “purple cup chaos,” risky play, and messy learning to the adult realities of people-pleasing, shame spirals, and inner child repair.

We also get a Caitlin-style tour through special interests (biology, evolution, brains), a candid story about changing majors, and a big, tender reminder: kids learn through experience—and so do we.

💬" We have seriously lost the plot on allowing kids to experience things and learn. We just are like, 'No, I know better. So do it this way!' When like making a fucking mess is part of the process." - Caitlin Liz Fisher

If this episode resonated with you, consider sharing it with someone who’s healing their relationship with trust, autonomy, or creativity.

And remember:
Making a mess is part of learning.
Making mistakes is part of becoming.
Your inner child is allowed to take up space here.

What We Explore in This Episode

• Why parenting requires slowing down to the pace of child development
• Erik Erikson’s Stage 1: Trust vs. Mistrust (and what it teaches us about safety)
• Erik Erikson’s Stage 2: Autonomy vs. Shame & Doubt
• Risky play, natural consequences, and why “making a mess” is part of learning
• How childhood shame shows up later as overdependence, anxiety, and people-pleasing
• Using Erikson’s stages for inner child work (especially for autistic/ADHD brains)

In this episode, Caitlin makes a heartfelt case for grumpiness, sadness, anger, and all the emotions we were taught to rush past or hide. Starting with a surprising realization about the purpose of Oscar the Grouch, Caitlin unpacks why children’s media gets emotional regulation right in ways adults often forget—and why we desperately need permission to have our “Oscar,” “Eeyore,” and anger moments as grown humans.

💬“We have to talk about stuff that upsets us, and we have to normalize our Oscar the Grouch moments, our Eeyore moments, and our anger moments—because they’re part of us, and they’re part of the messy human experience of being alive.” - Caitlin Liz Fisher

We go over reflections on Sesame Street, Winnie-the-Pooh, Inside Out, Disney movies, family estrangement, healing relationships, and the courage it takes to say, “Hey, that hurt me.” If you’ve ever felt ashamed of your grumpiness, afraid of your anger, or worried that being honest about your feelings might cost you love or safety, this episode is for you.

What We Explore In This Episode:

• Why Oscar the Grouch exists, how he teaches kids that it’s okay to be grumpy, have boundaries, and like things other people don’t
• The difference between processing emotions (Oscar) and bypassing them with forced positivity
• Eeyore energy: what it looks like to love and include people who are sad without trying to “fix” them
• How children’s media models emotional regulation, community care, and non-performative belonging
• Why avoiding difficult emotions doesn’t make life easier, it just makes it smaller
• Letting your inner child heal by allowing the full spectrum of feelings, not just the “nice” ones

PS - You don’t have to be cheerful to be worthy. You don’t have to be easy to be loved. Go make some weird art. Have the audacity. Stay hydrated.💜

Welcome to 2026, neurodivergent creatives! In this first episode of the year, Caitlin offers a gentle but powerful reset: you are not your productivity, your output, or your job title. You are who you are, and that matters more than anything you do.

💬"I need to reconnect with the stuff that makes me who I am, not the stuff that is just what I do. So if you also need that in 2026, there's a free resolution for you. Be who you are. Do not try to be what you do. Different, different." - Caitlin
This episode is an honest, whimsical reflection on burnout, identity, ADHD time, and the quiet realization that “rest and recover” isn’t enough anymore. Caitlin shares why they are taking a break from marketing and sales, what burnout has been teaching them (over and over again), and how redefining success might be the most radical thing we do this year.

So, if you’re tired, tender, disillusioned with hustle culture, or longing to reconnect with the parts of yourself that feel alive and joyful... come sit, let's talk about it!

What We Explore In This Episode

• Burnout as a systems problem, not a personal failure
• ADHD time distortion and why “wide open schedules” can actually make things harder
• The oxygen mask metaphor (yes, that one) and why asking for help is not selfish
• Letting go of hyper-independence and learning to be held by community
• Radical whimsy natural state and what happens when you give it to everyone but yourself

🎟️ 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/caitlinlizfisher⁠⁠⁠Join 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 of The Neurodivergent Creative, Caitlin—an avowed autistic anti-subtexter—unexpectedly makes the case for small talk. What starts as a ranty love-hate relationship with “talking about the weather” turns into a surprising reflection on community, nervous system safety, and how micro-connections (yes, even elevator weather chat) are part of how we build a village that can actually hold us when things go sideways.

💬 “There are ways to be safe that don’t completely isolate you.  And I think like that's what I'm going for here is, we do need to rely on each other a little bit. We need to wave to our neighbors a little bit, you know? Because if we don't do that, if we don't build the village, then we don't have the village when we need it.“
— Caitlin Liz Fisher

So if small talk makes you cringe, social rules confuse you, or you’ve been feeling the cold creep of hyper-individualism… buckle up. Caitlin’s about to reframe the whole thing!

What We Explore In This Episode

• Why small talk exists and how it functions as “I’m a person / you’re a person” connection (not meaningless filler)
• When “noise” is actually communication your nervous system can learn to decode
• How micro-social rituals help create community safety without forcing intimacy or oversharing
• Practical safety frameworks that aren’t pure isolation (e.g., “tricky people,” finding a parent with kids, and context clues that help in real life)

Mistakes are an integral part of the human experience. They help us learn, grow, and ultimately become better versions of ourselves. The systemic failure loop here is that we've been programmed to equate our self-worth with our successes and dread being labeled as failures.

In this episode, Caitlin challenges the concept of failure and calls for a ban on the word 'failure' in 2026. They emphasize the importance of self-compassion, adjusting goals, and reframing negative thoughts.

💬 " Let's not consider anything a personal failure, unless you did something like morally and ethically heinous." - Caitlin Liz Fisher

💬 " There's no more failure. No more personal failures. Only huge systemic failures. Don't compare yourself to huge systemic failures... You're a person doing person things, and as long as you are a person doing person things, it's not failure—it's learning." - Caitlin Liz Fisher

As far as Caitlin is concerned, unless your actions cross a moral or ethical line, a misstep is not a personal failing—it's an opportunity to learn. 💜

What We Explore In This Episode
- Why it's important to reconsider what we define as failure
- How to reshape our understanding of personal failure
- Recognizing the distinction between genuine mistakes and unethical behavior

🎟️ 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/caitlinlizfisher⁠⁠⁠Join 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 of The Neurodivergent Creative, Caitlin sits down without a set agenda and gently spirals through morning pages, phone addiction, creative habits, spirituality, and the quiet grief of living in a world shaped by capitalism and rising fascism. What begins as a reflection on journaling becomes a compassionate exploration of why we need personal rituals, spiritual hope, and tiny acts of care—not to optimize ourselves, but to survive and stay human.

💬“Do something that is just for you. Do something that makes you feel hope for a future that you cannot logically know is there, but spiritually you will allow yourself to believe in it—so that there’s a reason to get up in the morning.” - Caitlin Liz Fisher

If you’re tired, cynical, overstimulated, or struggling to imagine a future that feels safe or possible, this episode offers permission to slow down and choose gentleness anyway.💜

What We Explore in This Episode:

• Morning pages as a practice of mental and emotional clearing, not productivity
• Doomscrolling, phone dependency, and protecting your nervous system from constant bad news
• Why capitalism, shame, and moral perfectionism make rest and creativity feel “undeserved”
• Spirituality, creativity, and imagination as survival tools

🎟️ 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/caitlinlizfisher⁠⁠⁠Join 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 of The Neurodivergent Creative, Caitlin starts with a headline about “quiet hoarding” (aka: keeping your phone longer than capitalism wants you to) and spirals deliciously into a full-bodied rant about holiday consumerism, tech entitlement, ADHD time distortion, gift guilt, and the simple, radical act of wanting things without shame.

💬 “I saw a headline calling younger people ‘quiet hoarders’—like quiet quitting, but for not upgrading your iPhone the second a new one drops. And somehow that’s being framed as a failure on our part, as if keeping a billion-dollar company afloat is now our moral obligation. Corporate personhood has gone too far.” - Caitlin Liz Fisher

So, yeah! If the holiday season makes you anxious, overstimulated, or morally conflicted… this one's for you!

What We Explore in This Episode:

• The rise of “quiet hoarding” (aka: keeping your phone until it dies) and why corporations treat it like a personal failing
• How AI, data centers, and corporate entitlement drive up costs and drain resources
• How poverty, shame, and gift guilt shape what we feel “allowed” to want
• Values-based gifting and opting out of cheap consumerism

🎟️ 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/caitlinlizfisher⁠⁠⁠Join 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!

MLMs (multi-level marketing companies) don’t actually sell you freedom—they sell you scripts plus a story. For neurodivergent people, that combination can feel like safety, clarity, and belonging all wrapped into one.

When masking is exhausting, ambiguity feels like a threat, and job environments are deeply inaccessible, the promise of “work from home, be your own boss, follow this exact formula, and you’ll succeed” lands like relief. You don’t have to invent the structure, the branding, or the messaging.  You just follow the script and buy the starter kit. For an autistic brain that craves predictability, and an ADHD brain hungry for novelty and dopamine, that promise is catnip—and also a trap!In this episode, Liora and I unpack the MLM trap as someone who deeply gets it.

💬 " The more barriers we can remove, the easier it's gonna be for a neurodivergent person to do the thing." - Caitlin Liz Fisher

🌈 Meet Our Guest: Liora Natania (she /them)
Compassionate Career Coach • Fractional Recruiter • Inclusive Hiring & Recruiting Consultant • Founder of Colorful Futures

Liora is a queer, neurodivergent career coach who specializes in helping ND and queer job seekers navigate work, burnout, entrepreneurship, and transitions with clarity, agency, and self-trust. They bring their background in graphic design, creative recruiting, and DEI-focused career development to help people find work that actually fits their brains—and their bodies. Their business, Colorful Futures, is built on the belief that neurodivergent people deserve accessible careers, supportive systems, and workplaces that meet us where we are.

Go check out Colorful Futures, their queer, neurodivergent-owned career coaching business supporting ND and queer folks with job searching, entrepreneurship, and building work lives that actually fit.

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⚠️ Trigger WarningThis episode includes discussion of:

• Eating disorders and disordered eating
• Intentional weight loss and diet culture
• MLMs (Beachbody, Pure Romance, essential oils, etc.)
• Chronic pain, hypermobility, and overexercise
• Abusive relationship dynamics (brief mention)
• Mental health, shame, and burnout

Please take care of yourself, friend! Pause, skip, or return later if your body needs a break. 

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What Liora and I Explore in This Episode

• Why autistic and ADHD folks are especially vulnerable to MLM marketing
• Scripts, “be your own boss” messaging, and the illusion of easy income
• How Beachbody turned eating disorders and overexercise into a “business model”
• Grieving the past self who did harmful things to survive
• Relearning movement as care, not punishment or performance
• Moving from all-or-nothing to all-or-something self-care
• Healing from MLM shame and rebuilding your relationship with marketing, movement, and self-trust