When Praying Feels Like A Demand As A Christian Neurodivergent

0:02 - 0:38 Intro Hello, it's Denea your host of the NeuroDivergent Bible Teaching Podcast. This podcast is dedicated to helping you understand how to study the Bible. I'm Dené, I'm neurodivergent, I'm autistic, I have ADHD and OCD, and I know what it's like to struggle to understand how to study the Bible, let alone also honoring my brain while doing it. I've learned a few things through seminary, um, through life, and I want to share those things with you.

0:38 - 1:10 In this podcast, you will hear all about, um, studying techniques, some Bible studies so you can understand how to apply those techniques, some neurodivergent encouragement, and just some ways that I'm learning to honor the way that God has created my brain. I'm so happy that you're here. End of Intro

Let's get started. Hello, hello. It's your host Denea of the NeuroDivergent Bible Teaching Podcast.

1:10 - 1:51 I hope that wherever you are, you are giving yourself permission to allow yourself to live at whatever pace, uh, serves you and supports you right now. For the majority of the month of September, at the time of this recording, it's September, I have been in ADHD burnout. And I try not to sometimes... I don't know if, if you can relate to this or not, but I, I try not to, like, trace it back to a cause because I, I find that sometimes that, that it- that's a trigger for me to get very judgmental on myself.

1:52 - 2:25 But I did it this time. But I did it this time, and I think that some of the things that kind of, um, made my nervous system, my brain kind of protect itself with ADHD burnout, the fact that, you know, I had, I had surgery. I, I've said this before, uh, endometriosis surgery at the end of July. And pretty much for the month of August, I was just kind of, you know, around the house, healing, taking it easy, that sort of thing.

2:25 - 3:02 And then September hit, and it was back to school. And, you know, for us, back to school means, you know, meetings, um, all these back to school events, answering emails. Uh, it's also the start of soccer season, so there's that. And, and all of this is in addition to, like, being a human, right? Like me being my own, uh, being my own being, being, being someone who I need to take care of, who has chronic conditions, um, who works and who does this and who writes and...

3:03 - 3:35 And I think it... My brain was just like, "Woo, no." "This is, this is too much." And I have been in ADHD burnout, and I'll be honest with you, I really felt sad about that because September is my birthday month. Usually, I, I think I've given up on being excited about my birthday, and I'm just like, "I'll just do s- one thing. I'll just do one thing," and breakfast, and that'll, that'll be it. Um, but this year I was like, "You know what?

3:35 - 4:09 I'm gonna get back to being excited, and I'm gonna get back to doing little things for myself, big things, little things, throughout the week, uh, throughout the whole month, each week for myself." And then, you know, I found myself in ADHD burnout, and I knew I needed to take that off the table. And I think I've just kind of been accepting that. You know, ADHD burnout for me means that I need to find ways to make, uh, to decrease my decision-making, um, to automate a lot of stuff.

4:10 - 4:41 I usually give my... Like, when I'm trying to figure out what I'm wearing or something, or I don't know, um, trying to figure out something, I'll give myself like a, a three-minute timer to make that decision. Like, I can't spend a lot of executive function, that energy on that because that capacity is just not there. Um, and so this month was, was kind of a hard one for me, but I knew that towards the end of the month, I just needed to kind of, uh, work at accepting that this is the pace that I, that I'm at right now, and that needs to be honored.

4:42 - 5:14 And so for you, whatever pace you're... honors your capacity right now, I hope that you give yourself the