The Thought Spot

Hope all of your weeks are going well so far🐢  

Today’s episode I dive deep into the topic of camouflaging through fashion/ your appearance. Although this is something that I believe can affect everyone, regardless of Autism—it is something that deeply affects women with Autism. Girls and women statistically get under diagnosed and misdiagnosed due to being socialized and expected to camouflage more, and it is because of this that I find it so important to talk more about it.

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Executive Dysfunction…two words that may not have any meaning to some of you reading this but can deeply impact and derail the lives of others. As I have grown more and more into an independent adult I’ve come to realize the intricate ways we are expected to function and hold our lives together. The system at which we are expected to thrive in can come so naturally to most people, but for those of us who struggle with executive dysfunction, it doesn’t come naturally at all. So depending on how effectively you can pick up on or force yourself into weaving your way through maintaining life, your well-being, and your relationships—can deeply affect your outlook on yourself and how worthy you deem yourself.  I’ve found that as I understand my ND self, ND friends, and ND clients more; that we have spent a lifetime teaching ourselves that getting tasks done, being responsible, and maintaining life can be very painful and even paralyzing. We begin to loathe responsibilities, hate mornings, despise school or work, and as a result we may overindulge ourselves in “unproductive” activities in hopes of soothing ourselves from the immense amount of anxiety we experience due to our executive dysfunction. But as we escape our responsibilities time and time again we not only begin to lose faith in ourselves, but we begin to disassociate our original pure enjoyment in our favorite activities as it is now a means to enabling the very behavior that makes us hate ourselves. As you can see, executive dysfunction is not just a cognitive skill set, it profoundly affects those who struggle with it. It can deepen anxiety and/or depression and it can be truly devastating.  I put a lot of love and awareness into consciously developing the Sandwich Technique in order to help myself with my executive dysfunction. After years of following this technique, I’ve effectively taught myself to detach anxiety and fears away from tasks & taught myself how to manage all of my responsibilities at a steady pace that leads to a significantly lower rate of burnout. Not saying we can avoid burnout completely, but at least you’re keeping it to a minimum. Life can and is maintained and you don’t have to beat yourself bloody in order to do it. Hopefully, as I make this technique accessible to you guys through the weekly digital template I created, it can also help some of you begin to reverse engineer your executive dysfunction as well & will allow some of you to regain some power and hope in your life and in yourself.🐝  

🥪SANDWICH TECHNIQUE🥪 https://www.etsy.com/shop/selfembark 

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Warm welcome~  Some of you may or may have not noticed, but I took a two week mental health break to honor my well-being and take extra care of myself while I transitioned into working with a new device. I had not anticipated to feel a bout of depression upon trading in my old laptop, but here we are. I think moments like this is a good reminder to those of us with Autism that changes can be a very difficult time for us. Whether that's people coming in and out of our life, moving, a new schedule, a new set of rules to follow, a new skillset to master, a new haircut, a new blanket, and even a new work device--whatever it may be, bring awareness in the fact that not having someone or something there, that you have grown so accustomed to, can really shake up your world once it's gone. Learning about and how to work with someone or something new  is also very overwhelming. If it takes you some time to readjust, transition, and get used to your new normal, then THAT IS OKAY. Give yourself that time. Honor what you may feel during this transition. If you find yourself feeling a little depressed like I was, then know you're not alone. The feeling of being sad, confused, and maybe even paralyzed will pass. And before you know it, you will have become completely acclimated to this new normal!

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Oftentimes we don't realize that the anxiety we experience may not be a mental or even an emotional anxiety, it can very well just be physical anxiety. So instead of thinking yourself into a relaxed state, you need to implement physical practices to begin grounding yourself. Today I wanted to talk about ways I manage my physical anxiety in the mornings when I take my ADHD medication. A lot of people with ADHD struggle with taking medication because although very helpful, taking stimulants can take a toll on and exacerbate Anxiety. Hopefully some of these methods that have worked for me can help anyone else out there who may struggle with similar experiences.

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We've all been burnt out at least once in our lives. Where sustaining your lifestyle and/or job becomes genuinely impossible to do and you now have to pay for the repercussions of pushing yourself long past your limit.  On today's episode I wanted to talk about my experiences working multiple people-centered jobs in the past--the benefits of those experiences and also the very real pitfalls of them as well.  

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Hello lovely viewers, I hope all of you are having a smooth week so far. On today's episode I talk a little bit about some of my BFRBs that I have--specifically my hair pulling and my lip biting. I've had this for many years now and have tried so many different behavioral adjustments to try to stop the pulling and biting. All to say, some work better than others and that you can never truly "stop" but only transform how, where, the extent, and how often you partake in these repetitive behaviors. I don't necessarily believe that people should teach themselves to stop their BFRBs but to figure out a way to stim how they want and need to without harming themselves/others. And I think it's totally possible to do so! It just may take time, openness to explore, and the acceptance of yourself & your needs.   With that being said, I wanted to talk about two specific products that has helped me with my hair pulling and lip biting. Although these products don't completely stop the BFRBs it does help! Hopefully it can help some of you out there as well, or at least open you up to trying it out.

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Warm welcome to all of my beautiful neurodivergent & even my allistic viewers❣️ I've been receiving many questions from some of you guys on all of my platforms as to how one can begin their journey on seeking out an assessment for Autism. I know there isn't much information out there, so navigating this journey can be very hard and confusing. I myself had to do hours and hours of obscure research to gather the information I needed--with that being said, I thought it would be useful to condense some of the information I've gathered along the way into one video to help answer some of your questions. I hope this video was helpful in moving you forward in your diagnosis journey. I'm wishing all of you the best of luck. Never give up on yourself, the journey is difficult but you are WORTH IT.🌼

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💛💛Hello💛💛 On today's episode of The Thought Spot I wanted to talk about reclaiming your divine FEMININE energy.

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Happy new year everyone🌼 On today's episode of The Thought Spot I talk about 'Scripting'! As a woman with Autism I have had to learn and perfect the skill of Scripting as a masking technique throughout my whole life. It's impacted me greatly in so many different and profound ways as I'm sure it has for many of you as well. Hopefully in time ASD individuals will have a safer & more accepting environment where we do not have to script as much as we need to now. But until then, try to affirm to yourself that you are allowed to let go of those expectations and those projections.💛

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Welcome to any new viewers and any reoccurring viewers💛 On today's episode of The Thought Spot I reflect on this past year of 2021 and what it means to me. This year has been an amazing year of big shifts, deepening my relationship with myself/ knowing myself, and planting those seeds of intention with persistence and diligence. So much can happen if you took the time out to quiet down & listen. You'll often find that direction life is trying to have you flow into is filled with such deep Purpose that cannot be immediately fathomed at the moment, but pieced together as the years go by. But that's the importance of building trust in yourself and strengthening your intuition.🌼

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