In this episode of Clinically Awkward, I, Alyssa Zimmerman, sit down with trauma therapist Carly Falk to unpack surviving your twenties through the chaotic millennial time capsule that is HBO’s Girls.

We get into trauma work, EMDR, and why I don’t believe embarrassment belongs in therapy. Substance misuse, hypersexuality, sensory seeking, and messy friendships aren’t moral failures; they’re data about unmet needs. Neurodivergent women deserve care that is holistic, honest, and shame-resistant.

Then we use Girls as a neurodivergent case study. Ray’s rigidity and info-dumping. Shoshana as the masked, competent autistic little professor. Hannah’s chaotic hyperbole, glossed-over OCD, and relationship dynamics that still make me wince.

We revisit our millennial youth, six-beers-is-fine culture, warehouse parties, and the normalization of self-destruction in your twenties.

And yes, my special interest, the Enneagram, inserts itself. I cannot watch fictional characters without typing them. Hannah as a Four as so is Jessa and they’re both spiraling into sabotage. Marni’s need to be chosen as intergenerational trauma. Shoshana’s possible Six energy sending me into a live wing crisis.

We also touch on AuDHD patterns versus borderline personality disorder, including the difference between a “favorite person” and a “safe person,” and why black-and-white thinking hits differently in different neurotypes.

We close with a radical idea: friendships can end without anyone being the villain. Sometimes growth looks like letting go.

Carly shares about her practice, Lotus Embodied Counseling in Columbia, Maryland, and as always, I’m just out here saying what I needed to hear at 25.

0:00 - Welcome to Clinically Awkward: Quarter-Life Crisis Survivors (Feat. Carly)

3:54 - Therapist Origin Stories: The Practice I Accidentally Built

9:42 - Girls as a Neurodivergent Case Study (Respectfully)

15:46 - Millennial Optimism: Dollar Ubers, Chunky Necklaces, and Hipster Vibes

19:35 - Your Boyfriend Owns One Towel: Dating in Your Twenties

23:36 - We're Talking Too Much About Men Again (Derogatory)

27:22 - Shoshana, Masking, and the Little Professor Pipeline

32:30 - Hannah: Hyperbole, Bad Choices, and the Audacity of It All

37:01 - Shoshana's Six Energy & My Live Seven Wing Crash Out

41:10 - Jessa Is a Four and It's Not Fun: Chaos as Self-Sabotage

47:44 - Marnie Would Rather Be Chosen Than Be Okay

51:14 - Justice for Noreen: Second Adolescence, Please

52:51 - Okay We Have to Stop: Carly's Info + Emotional Aftercare

In this bonus episode of Clinically Awkward, I, Alyssa Zimmerman, your local stressy messy AuDHD therapist and self appointed Snake, join Rain Glenn, the Baby, to celebrate our unlikely friendship built entirely on the Game Changers universe, a completely normal and healthy bonding experience.

We spiral about our 50 day and counting Heated Rivalry hyperfixation and everything we know about season two adapting The Long Game, including the Spring 2027 release and the deeply suspicious six episode order that we do not trust.

We mourn the loss of the gladiator butt plug Halloween scene, celebrate Shane coming out to a teammate, and present a professional “please don’t cut this” list featuring the kitchen scene, couch and ice cream, phone smut, the Pike Kids wedding, and more jealous Ilya.

We campaign for maximum Yuna Hollander, debate the plane crash monologue logistics, defend Shane from the “he’s an asshole” discourse, analyze Ilya’s dad coded energy, and accept that waiting until 2027 is now part of our personality.

In this Eating Disorder Awareness Month episode of Clinically Awkward, I, Alyssa Zimmerman, stressy messy AuDHD therapist, am joined by Bailey Pilant to talk about disordered eating in neurodivergent people, especially binge eating disorder, with guest appearances by bulimia and ARFID. We explain why “just listen to your body” is wildly unhelpful advice when your hunger cues are basically non existent, and how restriction, calorie tracking, nighttime binges tend to show up together.

We get into the AuDHD mechanics behind it all, including executive dysfunction, hyperfocus, sensory issues, dopamine seeking, medication effects, and the fear of being perceived. We also talk about why shame and punishment don’t actually change behavior, despite diet culture’s strong insistence otherwise.

We challenge food rules like earning meals and labeling foods good or bad, share realistic strategies for getting fed when functioning is low, and discuss sensory barriers, clothing, body changes across life stages, and the emotional experience of weight fluctuation. We close with thoughts on self compassion, appreciating what bodies can do.

As an offshoot of my ongoing Heated Rivalry hyperfixation, I, Alyssa Zimmerman, LCSW, am joined by sexologist Dr. Samia Khan for a candid conversation about queer and neurodivergent sexuality. We talk about the stigma around different types of pleasure, why the prostate has a PR problem, and how shame tends to ruin perfectly good curiosity. We also get into consent, communication, aftercare, kink, ethical non monogamy, and why different generations are having very different conversations about sex. Along the way, Dr. Khan shares how sex became both her professional field and a full blown special interest, and we retire a few myths that have been confidently incorrect for decades.

In this episode of Clinically Awkward, I, Alyssa Zimmerman, your friendly neighborhood stressy messy AuDHD therapist, sit down with author Maria Ingrande Mora to talk about our shared and deeply unhinged hyperfixation on hockey. We unpack our hockey origin stories, including nostalgic and occasionally wacky adolescent fandom, how our relationship with the sport has evolved, and what neurodivergent joy, intensity, and identity look like both on and off the ice. We also get into sports and mental health, parasocial relationships with athletes (you are not alone), and Maria’s upcoming book A Wild Radiance.

In this episode of Clinically Awkward, I, Alyssa Zimmerman, AuDHD therapist, am joined by Dana Cea, a therapist from North Carolina, to explore the unique challenges neurodivergent individuals face around hair care and hygiene. Dana shares insights into their own neurodivergent identity, the impact of social expectations on appearance, and practical ways to make hair care routines more manageable. The conversation balances honesty and warmth as we talk through sensory sensitivities, societal pressures, and the often unspoken realities of personal hygiene, with an emphasis on self-accommodation and reducing shame. This episode offers compassionate, grounded strategies for neurodivergent folks navigating daily self-care.

00:00 Introduction to Clinically Awkward

00:33 Meet Dana Cea: Neurodivergent Therapist

04:42 Navigating Appearance Expectations

13:01 Curly Hair Chronicles

21:44 Hair Care Routines and Challenges

29:44 Professional Appearance Expecta tions

33:59 Hygiene Challenges and Neurodivergence

40:59 Simplifying Hygiene Routines

51:59 Self-Care Tips for Neurodivergent Individuals

In this episode of Clinically Awkward, I, Alyssa Zimmerman, your favorite stressy, messy AuDHD therapist, chat with Colette Bennett, a journalist, author, and Cohost of Colette and Matt Have Entered the Chat. Colette discusses how she turned her love for video games into a profession. She recounts her journey from geeking out over an Atari at age five to working in a high-speed newsroom. They laugh about ADHD mishaps, discuss the wild world of gaming journalism, why yelling 'get good' is the ultimate insult in gamer lingo, and her decision to ultimately leave the field. Colette offers sage (and hilarious) advice for young neurodivergent women diving into male-dominated spaces, reminding them it's totally okay to be the awkwardly brilliant queens they are.

Find Collette Here:

Colette and Matt Have Entered The Chat

00:00 Introduction and Special Interests

00:16 Guest Introduction: Colette Bennett

00:41 Colette's Diagnosis Journey

03:51 ADHD Treatment Experiences

06:18 Hyperfocus on Video Games

10:29 Challenges as a Woman in Gaming

20:30 Gaming as a Social Outlet for Neurodivergent Individuals

25:31 Navigating Online Communities

28:24 Masking and Competency in Gaming

33:54 Wholesome Gaming Communities

38:16 Gamergate and Its Impact

44:11 Advice for Neurodivergent Women

51:51 Where to Find More Content

In this bonus, supersized, and increasingly unhinged episode of Clinically Awkward, Rain Glynn and I discuss our current hyper-fixation, the Canadian “hockey” show Heated Rivalry. We dig into the show's character portrayals of neurodivergence, trauma, and interpersonal relationshiops. We dissect moments of clear autistic behavior, the show's handling of trauma and mental health, and the authentic representation of queer relationships. With plenty of humor, we also explore fan reactions, the importance of female characters, and the brilliant performances by the actors. Spoilers abound as we offer an enthusiastic, fan-girl driven therapist's breakdown of the show.

01:04: Introducing Heated Rivalry

02:50 Autism in Heated Rivalry

11:13: Trauma and Relationships

16:45 Fan Reactions and Adaptation Discussion

30:20: Hayden and Shane Friendship Dynamics

31:50 Unmasking and Evolving Communication

43:57 Shane's Coming Out and Family Dynamics

50:28:  Neurodivergent and POC Representation in Media

58:48 Final Thoughts and Future Hopes