Jenna Dalton

How much of your day is spent trying to blend in, be the good boy/girl/person, and adhere to social norms?

Do you ever find yourself sitting in work meetings, nodding and smiling, while internally you feel like your brain is about to explode from the incessant buzzing of the fluorescent lights overhead?

How about being at a busy restaurant for a friend’s birthday that you promised you’d be at weeks ago but you desperately want to retreat to your favourite chair in your house with a good book?

Or what about those times your partner is craving connection and intimacy when the thought of being touched right now makes your skin crawl, but you grin and bear it because you don’t want them to feel rejected?

If you’re neurodivergent, chances are you know this feeling all too well. What you’re experiencing is called masking, and you probably do it more than you realize.

In a world where you’re expected to be a certain way in all situations at all times, the tendency to mask can become this consuming blanket of exhaustion.

But there’s hope. Let’s dive into what exactly masking is, the toll it’s likely taking on you, and how you can start taking small steps to explore unmasking.

[Read more…] about The Hidden Exhaustion: Understanding Masking & Why It’s Time to Let Your Guard Down

Imagine you’re sitting in a crowded coffee shop. Your leg bounces nervously under the table as you struggle to stay calm. You’re on a date with someone you just met a week ago and everything is going wrong.

The espresso machine hisses loudly behind you as the barista yells, “Large latte for Cheryl. Latte for Cheryl! Cheryl!”

Conversations from nearby tables blend together as the overhead lights somehow burn brighter by the minute and the tag on the shirt you’re wearing is digging into your ribs like a dagger.

Your date is talking rapidly about a new project they’re managing at work; often using corporate jargon you don’t quite understand. When he asks, “Enough about me, what about you?” You freeze. Is he asking what you do for a living? Or more generally about you? Who you are? What you like? The pause stretches uncomfortably long. You finally mumble something about what you do for work. Then quickly change the subject and watch his face transform from confusion to boredom as you rattle on about what you’re planning no planting in your garden this year.

Later, you’ll replay this conversation in your head dozens of times, trying to figure out where it went wrong.

When you’re neurodiverse, it can feel like you’re constantly guessing (and second guessing) how to communicate without coming across as weird or anxious or incoherently wordy.

In order to navigate these communication challenges, I’m going to help you understand how your brain works differently and learn how to work with your brain instead of fighting against it.

“Fixing” your brain or trying to make you think or act more like a neurotypical person isn’t what we’re after. Learning how to manage these situations with your unique differences in mind is.

So let’s try some practical tools to help you maneuver through some of the more prickly communication scenarios you may come across.

[Read more…] about Rewiring Connection: 5 Transformative Solutions for Neurodiverse Communication Challenges

How often do you find yourself making decisions that feel like a good idea at the time without any thought as to how they could impact you in a week, month, year, or decade?

The truth is, the decisions you make today become the life you live tomorrow (and for years to come).

This doesn’t mean you need to constantly weigh the pros and cons of every little decision; or become paralyzed by the thought that each decision could make or break your life.

Rather, I want you to consider that you may be making decisions based on what you think you should do, or what feels like a good idea in the moment, rather than what truly matters to you.

[Read more…] about What Drives You? 5 Questions to Discover Your Core Values & Live a Meaningful Life