You understand your ADHD or autism, but you still tell yourself you should be able to cope. Why does needing rest, quiet or help feel like a personal failure, even after discovering you're neurodivergent?
In Episode 15 of Between Us | Neurodivergent Conversations, Christine and Mareike explore internalised ableism: the expectations we've absorbed about productivity, independence and what a capable adult should manage. We share how those rules show up differently for us, from pushing through exhaustion to feeling guilty about having needs. Understanding our neurodivergence hasn't automatically changed the standards we measure ourselves against. We're learning to notice when a genuine need is followed by judgement, and to get curious about whose rules we're following.
In this episode, we talk about
- Internalised ableism in late-discovered neurodivergent women
- Rest guilt, productivity and the pressure to push through
- Comparing today’s capacity with what you used to manage
- Why asking for help can feel like becoming a burden
- Noticing the “should” that arrives after a need
- Trying one small moment of believing your own needs
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About Between Us
Between Us | Neurodivergent Conversations is a podcast with Christine and Mareike for late-diagnosed, late-identified, self-identifying and questioning neurodivergent women. We share lived experience of ADHD, autism, AuDHD, masking, burnout, parenting, relationships and midlife, while learning to build lives that fit our nervous systems.
