Content Warning:

• Discussion of burnout and overwhelm
• Experiences of feeling misunderstood or “not fitting”
• Academic and school-related stress
• Perfectionism and pressure around potential
• Mental health challenges (including anxiety and low self-worth)

If these are prickly for you today, go have a cuppa instead!

Summary:

In this episode, Bri sits down with Caitlin to explore multi-exceptionality — the experience of being both gifted and multiply disabled (aka AuDHD).

Together, they unpack the complexity of having strengths and challenges that can mask each other. High intelligence, strong verbal skills, or creativity can often hide support needs, while struggles with executive functioning, emotional regulation, or sensory experiences can be misunderstood as a lack of effort or inconsistency.

The conversation explores how many twice-exceptional individuals grow up feeling “out of sync” — excelling in some areas while quietly struggling in others — and how this can impact identity, self-worth, and access to support.

Bri and Caitlin also challenge the idea that capability equals coping, highlighting the invisible effort it can take to keep up, mask difficulties, and meet expectations.

At its core, this episode is about recognising and validating the full picture — and creating space for both strengths and support needs to exist at the same time.

Takeaways:

• You can be gifted and still need support. Strengths don’t cancel out challenges — both can exist at the same time.
• Capability ≠ coping. Just because someone is achieving or performing well doesn’t mean it feels easy or sustainable.
• Twice exceptionality can be invisible. Strengths can mask difficulties, and difficulties can mask strengths — leading to missed or delayed understanding.
• “Inconsistency” often has an explanation. Fluctuating performance is not a character flaw — it reflects underlying differences in processing, energy, and support needs.
• The pressure of “potential” can be heavy. Being seen as capable or “bright” can create unrealistic expectations and internalised pressure.
• Many multi-exceptional individuals feel out of sync. Being ahead in some areas and behind in others can lead to confusion, frustration, and disconnection from peers.
• Masking can come at a cost. Trying to maintain a capable or “put together” image can contribute to burnout and identity confusion.
• Support should be based on need, not visibility. You don’t have to struggle more obviously to deserve help.
• Understanding changes everything. Having language for your experience can shift self-blame into self-compassion.
• You are allowed to be both. Both capable and struggling. Both strong and needing support.

You can find Caitlin on Instagram at @cathartic.collaborations, at her website www.catharticcollaborations.com.au, and listen to her podcast Divergent Dialogues.

Content Warning:

• Burnout and chronic exhaustion
• Workplace stress and misalignment
• People-pleasing and self-sacrifice
• Parenting stress (including early childhood challenges)
• Internal pressure, overwhelm, and productivity struggles

Summary:

In this episode, Bri sits down with Adina to explore what it really looks like to build a life and business that actually fits an AuDHD brain, not one shaped by neurotypical expectations.

Adina shares her journey from speech pathology private practice owner to burnout, and the pivotal moment where everything “collided”, forcing her to completely rethink how she worked, led, and lived.

Through that process, she began deeply examining her needs, energy, and capacity, realising that the “expected” path (growing a team, scaling a business, pushing through) wasn’t sustainable for her neurotype. Instead, she rebuilt a business model centred around autonomy, flexibility, and alignment.

The conversation explores the tension between internal drives (like urgency, hyperfocus, and overwork) and the need for rest, boundaries, and self-compassion. It also highlights how tools like AI can act as accessible supports for decision-making, boundary-setting, and reducing cognitive load.

At its core, this episode is about letting go of “shoulds” and moving toward small, intentional steps that honour your actual brain and capacity.

Takeaways:

• You don’t have to follow the “expected” path. The traditional progression (grow, scale, lead a team) isn’t right for everyone, especially for many neurodivergent brains.
• Burnout can be a turning point, not just a breaking point. Moments where everything “collides” can create space to rebuild something more aligned.
• Self-examination is the foundation of an aligned life. Regularly asking “what actually works for me?” is what allows meaningful change — not guessing or copying others.
• Autonomy isn’t a luxury, it’s often a need. Many AuDHDers thrive when they can control environment, schedule, communication, and workflow.
• Internal demands can be louder than external ones. ADHD urgency + autistic deep focus can create intense internal pressure, even without external deadlines.
• You don’t need to do everything at once. Small, iterative changes are often safer and more sustainable than “all or nothing” leaps.
• AI can be an accessibility tool — not a replacement for thinking. It can help with decision-making, scripting boundaries, and reducing overwhelm, while you stay in control.
• People-pleasing and self-advocacy can coexist. You can care about others and still set boundaries that honour your needs.
• Time-for-money work can be limiting (and exhausting). Diversifying income (even slightly) can create more flexibility, capacity, and sustainability.
• Creativity and joy matter, even without productivity. Doing things just because they feel good (not because they’re useful or profitable) is regulating and necessary.
• The goal isn’t perfection, it’s alignment. You don’t need a perfect system, just one that fits you better over time.
• “Little steps toward something that fits you better” is the work. Sustainable change happens through small, ongoing adjustments, not overnight transformation.

Adina can be found on Instagram at @differently.aligned (Business Coaching) and @play.learn.chat (Therapy focus).

Content Warning:

• Burnout and shutdown
• Masking and identity confusion
• People-pleasing and self-sacrifice
• Discussion of childhood experiences and labels
• Social pressure, fitting in, and internalised expectations

Go gently if these topics are dysregulating for you.

Summary:

In this episode, Bri sits down with Laetitia Andrac to explore AuDHD through the lens of parts, identity, and the roles we develop to survive and succeed.

Laetitia shares her journey from high-achieving strategy consultant to burnout, and how discovering her daughter’s neurodivergence led to her own late diagnosis. Together, they unpack how growing up without the “right” label often leads to collecting harmful ones instead: shaping identity through external expectations rather than self-understanding.

The conversation dives deeply into parts work, from Internal Family Systems to psychodrama, exploring how certain parts (like the “get shit done” achiever or the selfless leader) are highly rewarded, while others (like the need for silence, rest, or deep interests) are pushed to the back of the bus.

Laetitia introduces a powerful analogy:👉 AuDHD as your operating system, and your parts as apps.

The episode ultimately invites listeners to move away from “fixing” themselves and toward building relationships with all parts, even (and especially) the ones that have been hidden, dismissed, or shamed.

Takeaways:

• If you don’t get the right label, you collect the wrong ones. Growing up without understanding your neurotype can lead to harmful identity narratives and reduced self-worth.
• Some parts are rewarded, others are rejected. Productivity, selflessness, and high achievement are often praised, while rest, quiet, and deep internal worlds are dismissed.
• The “get shit done” part can come at a cost. Capable parts often dominate until burnout forces other needs to the surface.
• People-pleasing is often relational intelligence, not a flaw. Being attuned to others can be valued socially, but can lead to self-abandonment when it becomes the dominant role.
• Masking can disconnect you from who you are. Many AuDHDers develop a strong “masking part” that performs externally while internal distress goes unseen.
• Burnout can reconnect you with lost parts. Experiences like shutdown or burnout can bring forward parts that were previously ignored, like the need for stillness, silence, or non-productivity.
• Special interests are often dismissed, but deeply protective. They bring joy, meaning, and regulation, yet are frequently minimised because they don’t align with social norms.
• AuDHD is the operating system, and parts are the apps. Your neurotype is your wiring, but your parts (roles, adaptations, identities) are layered on top and can be understood and reshaped.
• You don’t need to delete parts; you need relationships with them. Trying to “get rid of” parts doesn’t create change; it creates disconnection. Healing comes from understanding their role and intention.
• Befriending your parts is an act of rebellion. In a world that prioritises performance and conformity, choosing authenticity and internal connection is powerful and countercultural.

You can find Laetitia on Instagram at @understanding.zoe and on the web at www.understandingzoe.com.