Introduction

In this episode, we respond to listener questions in a curious conversation about autistic burnout, hormones, and why life can sometimes feel overwhelming.

We explore themes that have come up again and again from listeners, including special interests, burnout, healthcare experiences, and navigating friendships and communication.

Episode Overview

We talk about special interests and what they actually feel like from the inside, moving beyond stereotypes to understand how they can offer joy, regulation, safety, and recovery.

We explore autistic burnout, drawing on research by Dora Raymaker and colleagues, and reflect on how burnout is often experienced as deep exhaustion, loss of skills, and reduced tolerance to sensory input.

We also discuss hormones, including PMDD, and the impact of perimenopause and menopause on autistic and ADHD experiences. We reflect on how hormonal transitions can be a time when many women begin to understand themselves differently, and the importance of recognising that this is still an under researched area.

We think about why medical and dental environments can feel overwhelming, and how sensory and environmental factors can impact access to healthcare.

We discuss the Double Empathy Problem, developed by Dr Damian Milton, which reframes social differences as a two way process of misunderstanding rather than a deficit within autistic people.

This episode touches on autism, ADHD, autistic burnout, masking, menopause, perimenopause, PMDD, late diagnosis, sensory sensitivity, and communication differences, and is rooted in both lived experience and professional reflection.

Links and Resources

Dora Raymaker et al. (2020) – Autistic Burnout https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/aut.2019.0079

APA summary of autistic burnout research https://www.apa.org/education-career/k12/infusing-diversity/mental-physical-health/research-summary-autistic-burnout

Dr Damian Milton – Double Empathy Problem https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/professional-practice/double-empathy

Dr Luke Beardon – What Works for Autistic Adults https://www.sheldonpress.co.uk/titles/luke-beardon/what-works-for-autistic-adults/9781399804646/

Dr Louise Newson – Newson Health https://www.newsonhealth.co.uk

The PMDD Project https://www.thepmddproject.org

The Knowledge – Dr Nighat Arif https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/455/455116/the-knowledge/9780241550557

Further Reflections

This episode is a conversation, not a conclusion.

We’re aware that research into autism, ADHD, hormones, and late identification in women is still developing. Many of the experiences we talk about are only just beginning to be recognised and understood.

If you find yourself relating to parts of this conversation, you’re not alone.

Connect with Us

Instagram: @twicetranslatedpod Website: www.twicetranslated.co.uk

Catherine: www.ckpsychotherapy.co.uk Carolyn: www.respecttherapy.com

Instagram: @ck_therapy | @respecttherapy

A Gentle Note

This podcast is a personal, reflective conversation between two friends, one autistic and one neurotypical. It won’t reflect everyone’s experience and is not intended as clinical advice.

All music used in this podcast is produced & licensed through Mark Kniveton.

In this episode, we explore big feelings, emotional intensity, and overwhelm, particularly in autism and neurodivergence.

We talk about emotional experiences that arrive loudly, linger longer, and can feel overwhelming or confusing in a world that often struggles to make space for strong emotion.

We talk about what big feelings are, why some people experience emotions more intensely than others, and how this relates to emotional regulation in autism and ADHD. We reflect on how emotional intensity is often misunderstood or mislabeled, and how this can leave people feeling “too much” rather than understood.

We explore how differences in information processing, sensory sensitivity, and interoception, awareness of body signals, can contribute to emotional intensity. Rather than viewing big feelings as something to fix, we talk about emotions as meaningful data, signals that something matters.

We reflect on how big feelings can show up in everyday life, including overwhelm, shutdowns, self protective behaviours, strong emotional responses, and being labelled as dramatic or sensitive for very real experiences.

This episode may feel relevant if you experience emotions intensely, struggle to regulate feelings in certain environments, or have been told you are “too much.” It may also be helpful for anyone wanting to better understand emotional intensity with more compassion and context.

As with our other episodes, we have created a gentle companion resource to support reflection. The resource includes explanations, prompts, and supportive strategies for holding big feelings, without trying to erase them.

Whether you are autistic, think you might be, or love someone who is, we hope this conversation helps big feelings feel less lonely and more understandable.

Download the resource: www.twicetranslated.co.uk/podcast-season-1-resources

Follow us on Instagram: @twicetranslatedpod

Connect with us: www.twicetranslated.co.uk

Follow Catherine at www.ckpsychotherapy.co.uk Follow Carolyn at www.respecttherapy.com

Instagram: @ck_therapy @respecttherapy

If this episode resonated, please follow, rate, or share. It really helps others find us.

This podcast is a personal conversation between two friends, one autistic and one neurotypical. It will not reflect everyone’s journey and is not a clinical guide.

All music used in this podcast is produced & licensed through Mark Kniveton.

In this episode, we share more of our personal and professional journeys with autism, and talk openly about imposter syndrome in the therapy room.

Carolyn reflects on her experience of working with autism in therapy, and how she has been guided by Carl Rogers’ writing on empathy, particularly the idea of entering the private perceptual world of another and being at home in it. This way of working has helped her stay curious, respectful, and grounded, even when sitting with experiences very different from her own.

More on Carl Rogers’ work on empathy:

https://www.definingempathy.com/development/Models/carl-rogers

Carolyn also speaks about how her supervisor introduced her to Dr Luke Beardon’s work when she worked with her first autistic client, and how this shaped her understanding and confidence in the therapy room.

More on Dr Luke Beardon’s work:

https://www.sheldonpress.co.uk/books/what-works-for-autistic-adults/

She mentions her work with Harmless and The Tomorrow Project, and highlights their websites as a source of thoughtful information and resources around self harm and suicide. Their services are funded in specific areas, but their resources may still be helpful.

To find out more about their work:

https://harmless.org.uk/

Catherine shares her personal and professional experience of autism, including times when it has felt like she is speaking a different language to the world around her. Together, we reflect on how we bring two different lived experiences into the therapy room, and how we each navigate conversations about autism with clients.

We talk openly about imposter syndrome. Catherine wonders whether she is autistic enough, and Carolyn questions how a neurotypical therapist can truly relate to autistic experience. We also touch on stigma, including media narratives around diagnosis, and why it matters to work in a neurodivergent affirming way and to consider autism thoughtfully in therapeutic work.

This episode may feel especially supportive for therapists who feel nervous about raising autism in the therapy room, as well as anyone navigating questions of identity, confidence, and belonging. It is also a more personal and vulnerable conversation for us.

We have created a reflective document that may be helpful for therapists alongside this episode. It can be found in our resources.

Whether you’re autistic, think you might be, or love someone who is, we hope this conversation brings some insight and comfort.

Download the resource:

www.twicetranslated.co.uk/podcast-season-1-resources

Follow us on Instagram:

@twicetranslatedpod

Connect with us:

www.twicetranslated.co.uk

Follow Catherine at www.ckpsychotherapy.co.uk |Follow Carolyn at www.respecttherapy.com 

Instagram: @ck_therapy |@respecttherapy 

If this episode resonated, please follow, rate, or share. It really helps others find us.

This podcast is a personal conversation between two friends, one autistic and one neurotypical. It will not reflect everyone’s journey and is not a clinical guide.

All music used in this podcast is produced & licensed through Mark Kniveton.

This episode follows on from our previous conversation about the diagnosis process. Here, we focus on what can come after an autism diagnosis.

Catherine shares her personal experience of life after diagnosis, including the emotional, relational, and practical adjustments that can follow. She reflects on how understanding herself differently shaped her sense of identity, and how diagnosis was not an ending, but the beginning of a new way of relating to herself and others.

We talk about what the post diagnosis period can look like for parents and family members too. Parents often carry feelings of guilt for missing it, and we reflect on how understandable this is, particularly when autism understanding has changed so much over time. When an adult receives a diagnosis, many people missed it along the way, not because of neglect, but because information, awareness, and language simply were not there.

Catherine references the BBC documentary Christine McGuinness. Unmasking My Autism, and reflects on how watching it with her dad helped create shared understanding and a starting point for conversation.

We reflect on how things may shift at work after diagnosis, including questions around disclosure and workplace adjustments. We do not offer advice on whether to tell or not tell an employer, as this is deeply personal, but we talk about the kinds of considerations people often weigh up. In the UK, autism is recognised under the Equality Act 2010, which can offer a framework for reasonable adjustments, while still emphasising that choice and safety matter.

We also talk about the wider narrative around diagnosis, and challenge the idea that people are jumping on the bandwagon. We reflect on why increased diagnosis often reflects increased understanding, rather than trend following, and why this matters for compassion, support, and self acceptance.

This episode may feel helpful for autistic people navigating life after diagnosis, parents or loved ones trying to understand how best to support, and professionals working alongside clients during this period of adjustment.

As with our previous episode, we have linked the same practical resources in our materials for anyone seeking further information about diagnosis pathways and support options.

Whether you’re autistic, think you might be, or love someone who is, we hope this conversation brings some insight and comfort.

All client information shared has either been used with permission or modified to prevent identification.

Download the resource:

www.twicetranslated.co.uk/podcast-season-1-resources

You can find our ‘getting a diagnosis’ resource here https://www.twicetranslated.co.uk/getting-a-diagnosis-resources

Follow us on Instagram:

@twicetranslatedpod

Connect with us:

www.twicetranslated.co.uk

Follow Carolyn at www.respecttherapy.com | Follow Catherine at www.ckpsychotherapy.co.uk 

Instagram: @respecttherapy | @ck_therapy

If this episode resonated, please follow, rate, or share. It really helps others find us.

This podcast is a personal conversation between two friends, one autistic and one neurotypical. It will not reflect everyone’s journey and is not a clinical guide.

All music used in this podcast is produced & licensed through Mark Kniveton. 

In this episode, we talk about the diagnosis process, focusing not on how to obtain an autism diagnosis, but on Catherine’s personal experience of going through one.

Catherine speaks openly and vulnerably about her journey through assessment, including the emotional toll of answering questions about past experiences and long standing patterns. She reflects on how confronting some of the questions felt, and what it was like to revisit memories and experiences that had not always been easy to hold.

We talk about commonly used screening tools such as the AQ10 and AQ50, and reflect on how completing these kinds of questionnaires can stir up uncertainty, emotion, and self doubt. We gently suggest that if someone is considering completing them, it can be helpful to do so with the support of a therapist or someone trusted, rather than carrying the experience alone.

Catherine also shares what the assessment appointment itself felt like, including the video element, and how the process was experienced emotionally and relationally, not just practically. She talks about what she wishes she had known before starting the process, and why she chose to speak so openly, in the hope of making things feel less isolating for others.

Together, we reflect on how a diagnosis process can affect identity, self understanding, and professional life. We also consider how this episode may be helpful for therapists supporting clients through assessment, loved ones who are unsure how best to offer support, and anyone preparing to begin the process themselves.

We acknowledge that everyone’s experience of diagnosis is different. This conversation is not intended as a guide on how to seek a diagnosis, but as a shared and honest reflection on what the process can bring up.

We have linked a practical document in our resources for anyone seeking information about diagnosis pathways, including NHS routes, the NHS Right to Choose pathway, and private options.

This episode is the first of two. In a follow up conversation, we will be talking about what can come after diagnosis, including telling friends and family, navigating work and employment, and making sense of what diagnosis means over time.

Whether you’re autistic, think you might be, or love someone who is, we hope this conversation brings some insight and comfort.

Download the resource:

www.twicetranslated.co.uk/podcast-season-1-resources

You can find our ‘getting a diagnosis’ resource here https://www.twicetranslated.co.uk/getting-a-diagnosis-resources

Follow us on Instagram:

@twicetranslatedpod

Connect with us:

www.twicetranslated.co.uk

Follow Carolyn at www.respecttherapy.com | Follow Catherine at www.ckpsychotherapy.co.uk 

Instagram: @respecttherapy | @ck_therapy

If this episode resonated, please follow, rate, or share. It really helps others find us.

This podcast is a personal conversation between two friends, one autistic and one neurotypical. It will not reflect everyone’s journey and is not a clinical guide.

All music used in this podcast is produced & licensed through Mark Kniveton.

In this episode, we explore processing styles. The different ways our brains take in, organise, and make sense of the world. We talk about bottom up and top down processing, how they show up in everyday life, and why many autistic people experience the world through a detail first lens.

We draw on the work of Pellicano and Burr (2012), which helps explain why autistic perception can feel vivid, intense, or too real, and how differences in prediction and sensory processing shape experience.

https://research-repository.uwa.edu.au/en/publications/when-the-world-becomes-too-real-a-bayesian-explanation-of-autisti

We think about how environments can support or overload different processing styles. Autism friendly adjustments in cinemas are one example of attempts to make spaces more accessible for autistic people.

https://www.odeon.co.uk/accessibility/autism-friendly/

https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/topics/going-out-leisure-and-travel/cinemas

Carolyn mentions Dr Luke Beardon’s Golden Equation. Autism + Environment = Outcome. A reminder that it is often the environment that needs to change, not the autistic person.

https://www.sheldonpress.co.uk/titles/luke-beardon/what-works-for-autistic-adults/9781399804646/

If you’re interested in exploring these ideas further, two helpful books are:

Elle Middleton. Unmasked. The Ultimate Guide to Autism and Wellbeing

Dr Devon Price. Unmasking Autism

Whether you’re autistic, think you might be, or love someone who is, we hope this conversation brings some insight and comfort. We’ve also created a gentle companion resource to support you with reflection prompts, definitions, and encouragement if you’d like to explore more.

Download the resource:

www.twicetranslated.co.uk/podcast-season-1-resources

Follow us on Instagram:

@twicetranslatedpod

Connect with us:

www.twicetranslated.co.uk

Follow Catherine at www.ckpsychotherapy.co.uk |Follow Carolyn at www.respecttherapy.com 

Instagram: @ck_therapy |@respecttherapy 

If this episode resonated, please follow, rate, or share. It really helps others find us.

This podcast is a personal conversation between two friends, one autistic and one neurotypical. It will not reflect everyone’s journey and is not a clinical guide.

All music used in this podcast is produced & licensed through Mark Kniveton.

In this first episode, we talk about masking. The ways many autistic people adapt or hide parts of themselves to feel safe. We explore how masking has shown up in our personal and professional lives, the cost of long term masking, and what it can feel like to begin unmasking.

Catherine mentions Brené Brown’s idea of shame gremlins, and how internalised messages shape the way we present ourselves.

https://brenebrown.com

Whether you’re autistic, think you might be, or love someone who is, we hope this conversation brings some insight and comfort. We’ve also created a gentle companion resource to support you with reflection prompts, definitions, and encouragement if you’d like to explore more.

Download the resource:

www.twicetranslated.co.uk/podcast-season-1-resources

Follow us on Instagram:

@twicetranslatedpod

Connect with us:

www.twicetranslated.co.uk

Follow Catherine at www.ckpsychotherapy.co.uk |Follow Carolyn at www.respecttherapy.com 

Instagram: @ck_therapy |@respecttherapy 

If this episode resonated, please follow, rate, or share. It really helps others find us.

This podcast is a personal conversation between two friends, one autistic and one neurotypical. It will not reflect everyone’s journey and is not a clinical guide.

All music used in this podcast is produced & licensed through Mark Kniveton.

Hello were Catherine and Carolyn, two friends, colleagues and psychotherapists who love a curious conversation. Twice translated is a safe space to gently explore trying to bridge the experiences of everyone. Season 1 explored autistic and non autistic experiences from masking, diagnosis, big feelings and how processing styles may differ between individuals. With curiosity, compassion and humour, we  share insights, psycho-education, tools, personal experiences and fictitious case examples from the therapy room to help everyone feel more understood. We would love to hear from you.