Why do so many capable, resilient people struggle to care for themselves?

In this solo episode of Divergent Paths, Dr. Regina McMenomy, Ph.D. reframes self-neglect not as a personal failure, but as a learned survival strategy, especially for late-diagnosed neurodivergent adults who spent years masking, adapting, and pushing through. From skipping meals and ignoring pain to treating rest as something that must be earned, self-neglect often looks “functional” on the outside while quietly draining your nervous system.

Regina explores why high-capacity, over-functioning people learn to ignore their needs, how burnout and chronic dysregulation sneak in, and why self-forgiveness is so tricky when you judge your past self with present-day knowledge. This episode offers a compassionate reframe: you neglected yourself to survive.

You’ll also hear practical ways to begin practicing self-forgiveness, including releasing shame, lowering expectations without self-judgment, and building accommodations that actually support your brain and body.

If you’re navigating burnout, late diagnosis, or unlearning lifelong self-abandonment, this episode offers a gentle place to start.

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About Dr. Regina McMenomy, PhD

Regina is a neurodivergent coach and educator who helps late-diagnosed adults unmask, heal from burnout, and build lives aligned with how their brains work. She founded Divergent Paths Consulting to provide the type of coaching and support to late-diagnosed nerdy neurodivergent folks in educational leadership and tech fields that she needed when she got her late diagnosis.