In this episode of LATE BLOOMERS, Rich and Rox take on people pleasing head-on and introduce 10 real-life challenges designed to interrupt the habits that keep you putting everyone else first. They talk honestly about how people pleasing shows up day to day — over-explaining, apologising unnecessarily, saying yes when you mean no, and managing other people’s emotions at your own expense.

They walk through the discomfort that comes with breaking these patterns, including the guilt, anxiety, and fear of being seen as rude, selfish, or difficult. Rich and Rox share personal examples of how deeply ingrained these behaviours are, where they came from, and why “being nice” often costs far more than we realise.

This episode isn’t about becoming cold or uncaring — it’s about learning to tolerate discomfort, stop abandoning yourself, and practice choosing your needs without justification. If you’re exhausted from overgiving, overthinking, and constantly putting yourself last, this is your rehab.

20% OFF LOOP EARPLUGS: https://www.loopearplugs.com/pages/lp-adhdlove

In this episode of LATE BLOOMERS, Rich and Rox talk about what it really means to unlearn normal after growing up ADHD and autistic in a world built around rules that were never designed for their brains.

They reflect on the expectations they were taught to follow — around discipline, behaviour, productivity, emotional control, and “trying harder” — and how those rules quietly shaped their sense of self.They break down the rules they internalised growing up: being told to sit still, cope quietly, make eye contact, push through discomfort, and behave “appropriately.” Rules that were framed as character-building, but instead led to masking, shame, burnout, and the belief that something was fundamentally wrong with them.

This episode is about recognising those rules for what they were, questioning whether they ever deserved authority in the first place, and beginning the process of letting them go. Not to become someone new — but to finally stop forcing themselves to be someone they were never meant to be.

20% off Loop Earplugs: https://www.loopearplugs.com/pages/lp-adhdlove

In this episode of LATE BLOOMERS, Rox talks openly about going into burnout for the second time — and how this one crept up after things were finally going well. After launching the podcast, releasing her debut album, touring, writing a children’s book, running ADHD Love, and stacking her diary with self-imposed deadlines, she explains how momentum turned into pressure and rest slowly disappeared.

Rox and Rich unpack the warning signs she ignored along the way: telling herself she was “just tired,” flooding the bathroom twice by leaving the tap on, and pushing through weeks with no gaps at all. When they finally stopped and went on holiday, the burnout fully hit. Rox describes crying every day, feeling overwhelming shame, and experiencing burnout as a deadening of the spirit — where the world no longer looks blue, just grey.

Things intensify when Rox has to go on tour alone, terrified she won’t be able to do her job. She shares how she survived by switching into performance mode, crashing afterwards, and slowly realising that burnout didn’t come from failure — it came from pushing too hard for too long. This episode is an honest look at ADHD burnout, self-imposed pressure, and the real cost of always pushing through.