Over my many years of supporting my clients with ADHD and Autism (and other neurodivurgence), I have learnt so much about how important self care and self caretaking are to secure mental health.
This week is Neurodiversity Celebration Week, so the perfect time to take a deep dive in to this!
If you, or someone you love or care for is Neurodiverse, you may notice how exhausted and wrung out you (or they) get by certain activities or life in general.
Living in a world which isn’t designed for you is so difficult. Sensory overload, emotional dysregulation, criticism and judgement to name just a few challenges. These all drain the battery and can lead to shutdown and anxiety.
I love to support my clients to begin to asses the ways they feel challenged, to keep an overwhelm diary and review it weekly.
Having someone to share this with can really help, so if you want to be an ally here, please do offer support, encouragement and kindness.
Neurodiverse people often struggle with self compassion, as they have so often been told to just get on with it and override their overwhelm to make others less uncomfortable.
Give yourself permission to ask for reasonable adjustments if you need them and use supportive tools like sound cancelling headphones, weighted blankets or stim toys. If you are an ally remind people they have permission to do this and support them.
Finally it’s so important to ask yourself, or the person you want to support, what they need. This might change over time and with the challenges in place, it’s important not to assume you know what people need.
I carry out diversity training in organisations and it saddens me how many people still make huge presumptions about neurodivurgent people. Each person is an individual and not a set of traits, if you want to know what is needed ask, never presume, and listen without judgement.
Being kind and allow yourself time and space to explore your own processing with compassionate interest.
As a therapist I know we can all thrive if we are shown understanding, compassion and respected as individuals. We all deserve that whatever neurotype we are. 😁