You stare at your computer tabs with a completely blank brain. The "simple" phone call feels impossible. (Everyone else just picks up the phone - what's wrong with you?)

Nothing's wrong with you.

Your brain is seeing all the hidden executive function steps that others don't even notice. You're not managing one neurodivergent brain - you're mediating between two operating systems that sometimes want different things.

In this episode:

• The envelope that sat on my desk for months (and what it actually required)
• How to design breadcrumb systems instead of forcing willpower
• The shift that changes everything: making tasks easier for your brain

This isn't making excuses - this is making systems.

Connect With Adria:

• Full show notes at AuDHDSparks.com
• @audhdsparks
• AuDHD Coaching with Adria

You can spot when someone's uncomfortable from three tables away and immediately start problem-solving. But mention that the restaurant music is literally painful? Suddenly you're "being dramatic."

Sound exhausting? Welcome to the AuDHD sensitivity paradox.

Here's what nobody tells you: What if "too sensitive" was never about you being fragile? What if everyone else was just oblivious to the rejection sensitivity dysphoria and sensory data your nervous system was accurately detecting?

In this episode:

• The real reason you got called "princess" as a kid (spoiler: it had nothing to do with being demanding)
• Why highly sensitive people often appear cranky instead of eternally sweet (plot twist: you're protecting your nervous system)
• How most AuDHDers found "HSP" first - and why that pipeline makes perfect sense
• What happens when you stop apologizing for needs that aren't built into the system

Time to stop fighting your sensitivity and start listening to the intelligence it's been offering you all along.

Connect With Adria:

• Full show notes at AuDHDSparks.com
• @audhdsparks
• AuDHD Coaching with Adria

You were labeled the "shy kid" growing up. Now you're wondering - was that really shyness, or was something else happening?

If you've ever thought "I wasn't antisocial, I just needed different things" or felt confused about why you desperately wanted friends but found social situations so draining, this episode is for you.

There's a specific pattern many AuDHD adults recognize when looking back at their "shy" childhood - and it's not what most people think shyness actually is.

In this episode:

• Why you felt both left out and relieved to be alone
• The real reason you could connect easily with some people but felt paralyzed around others
• How labels like "difficult" or "princess" masked something adults around you didn't understand
• Why you may still feel that same internal conflict in social situations today

Looking back at your childhood with AuDHD understanding changes everything. The shy kid wasn't broken - they were just trying to survive in a world that didn't have language for what they needed.

Connect With Adria:

• Full show notes at AuDHDSparks.com
• @audhdsparks
• AuDHD Coaching with Adria