Even things as enjoyable as the holidays can be a struggle for a neurodivergent person. Loud kids running around, too many bright lights, and your aunt Mary's "dip" that shouldn't be that lumpy. It's A LOT. In this episode, T.J. Rose shares his experience growing up with autism. Now as an adult, he manages the holiday season a bit differently. T.J. shares his tips and words of encouragement for our neurospicy friends, so we can all enjoy the holidays too.

Have more questions about living with autism? T.J. is happy to chat with you! You can reach him at tj6488@yahoo.com.

I had to say goodbye to my mom all over again this week. My old car finally needed to be replaced and it was the last place that I had carried memories of her with me. The thing about losing a loved one is that you don't lose them just once, but in a million tiny ways too. Having to say goodbye over and over again can be painful, but before every goodbye, comes a beautiful hello.

The holiday season can bring tons of things, including stress. Road rage during holiday traffic, dealing with THAT aunt, fighting for the last fruit cake (seriously, let them have it!). We may not be able to control all the stressors in our lives, but we can control how much we let them impact us. That's why I live by the motto "everybody needs to sh*t". In this episode I share this stress management tool to help us all live a little more stress-free and protect our daily joy instead.

With the holidays around the corner, I wanted to take a moment and reshare this message: You're not alone when you feel despair in tough times. But we can't let moments of despair turn into lives of despair. In this episode we're talking about how to snap out of these moments of despair and tangible actions you can take right now.

No one likes having difficult conversations. They're uncomfortable, but they need to be done. Avoiding tough discussion only makes it more awkward and hard to have. Jamie and I are really proud of the fact that we can count the number of times we've argued on one hand. Strong communication is the foundation of our marriage. However, from years of putting my foot in my mouth, I'll learned these five things to help keep the conversation going, prevent resentment, and have a good conversation about a shitty topic.

You're not alone in this. Whether it's living with a chronic illness, battling cancer, going through grief, or facing food insecurity, we all need a community to get through. For anyone feeling helpless or hopeless during these really dark times, this episode is for you. There's still good happening in our communities. If you don't see it, start it.

It's good to be back....

I'm embarrassed to admit that I almost died a few weeks ago. I ended up in an ambulance, at the emergency room, with acute kidney damage. Ever since then, the biggest thing I can remember is the feeling of embarrassment of everything that happened and WHY it happened. Living with ADHD means our brains work a little different, and sometimes that means things that sound like they "should be easy" are actually REALLY FUCKING HARD. But whether you live with ADHD or not, we all struggle with feelings of embarrassment. And you're not alone.

Do you have your whole life figured out? I sure as hell don't—and I'm not sure when I will. But as soon as you turn 18, the world expects you to know WHAT you want to be, WHEN you're going to do, and HOW you're going to do it all. No pressure right? In this episode Jillian Reilly and I talk about how outdated the blueprints and paths we've been sold have led us astray and why we need to learn how to lean into our agency. What does that even look like? We talk about that too! If you've ever felt lost or confused as to why you've checked all the boxes society said you should, and still can't check the one that says you're happy and fulfilled, then this episode is for you.

Learn more about Jill and her upcoming book at tenpermissions.com.