Show Notes
Why Do Neurodivergent Individuals Experience Decision Paralysis? Do you freeze when faced with a decision? In Episode 3, we explore decision paralysis and the "don't knows" - unpacking why neurodivergent individuals are disproportionately affected, how alexithymia, shame, and anxiety intersect, and what self-understanding and psychological safety can unlock. In this episode, we discuss: decision paralysis and alexithymia, nervous system shutdown and overwhelm, the duality of shutdown vs impul...
More from The Neurodivergent Lens
Why can you do in two hours at 11:37pm the night before a deadline, what you couldn’t start for two weeks? If that question lands a little too close to home, this episode is for you. In this solo reflection, host Meryem Hassan explores ADHD and our relationship with time through two ancient Greek ideas: Chronos - clock time, the time we measure and organise our lives around - and Kairos - the opportune moment, the point at which something finally becomes possible enough to act on. It’s a stor...
She was diagnosed with ADHD at 16 in the US, thought she'd grown out of it, then diagnosed again in her 20s after the pandemic pulled the routine out from under her. In this episode, former GB tag rugby player and Tag Rugby World Cup bronze medallist Sophia Prout joins Meryem to talk about masking, rejection sensitivity dysphoria and the "shame spirals," and the striking contrast between the coaching environment that made her question everything and the one where she thrived and medalled. Sop...
"Think differently means at Holmewood we think differently - because we're neurodivergent." That's how one of her own students corrected Bridget Young on what her school's tagline actually means. Bridget is Head Teacher of The Holmewood School, London - a specialist school built around neurodivergent young people - and has spent more than 20 years in education. Host Meryem Hassan sits down with her for a wide-ranging conversation that moves from double empathy and masking in the classroom, th...
"I was told I just didn't read enough." For years, that was the explanation for Dr Rohini Sabherwal's struggles at school. It wasn't until she was 37 - mid-way through a Master's, and already a practising GP - that a chance moment revealed the truth: she's dyslexic. Host Meryem Hassan sits down with Rohini for a warm, honest and genuinely illuminating conversation about growing up undiagnosed, the "lightbulb moment" that changed everything, and what her dual perspective - as a dyslexic person...
⚠️ CONTENT NOTE: This episode includes open discussion of suicide, bereavement by suicide, mental health crisis and hospitalisation. Please take care while listening - pause or skip if you need to. Support resources are listed below. Jon Salmon kept his mental health experience hidden for almost 20 years - but the shame he felt about being dyslexic was even harder to talk about. Host Meryem Hassan is joined by award-winning Executive Producer Jon Salmon to explore dyslexia, late diagnosis, ma...