The Neurodivergent Experience

We don’t change our lives through effort alone. We change them by shifting the stories we live inside.

In this episode of Mindful Mondays, we explore the second pillar in the anatomy of a breakthrough: story - the inner narratives that quietly shape our identity, behaviour, and sense of what’s possible.

You’ll discover:

Why the brain naturally operates in stories and metaphors

How stories form through safety, repetition, and meaning

Why change can feel impossible when the story hasn’t moved yet

How beliefs can shape not just emotions, but the body itself

Why repeating patterns aren’t failures - they’re invitations to awareness

Ashley shares a personal story that brings this work into the body, along with gentle, nervous-system-safe language tools - ways of shifting story without forcing positivity or bypassing truth.

The episode closes with a guided, imaginal story - The Weaver of Stories - adapted from an upcoming Bedtime Alchemy track on Insight Timer. A symbolic journey designed to speak directly to the unconscious mind, where stories truly live.

This episode is for anyone navigating change, feeling stuck in familiar patterns, or sensing that something is ready to shift - even if you don’t yet know what that is.

You don’t need a new strategy yet. Sometimes, the story just needs room to breathe.

❤️ Support the Show
If this episode resonated with you:
✅ Follow or Subscribe to The Neurodivergent Experience
⭐ Leave a quick review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify
🔔 Turn on notifications for new weekly episodes

Our Sponsors:
🧠 RTN Diagnostics - Right to Choose – Autism & ADHD Assessments (UK)
🧘‍♀️ Ashley Bentley – Integrative Coaching, Breathwork & Hypnotherapy
→ https://bit.ly/ashleynde

🔗 Stay Connected
Instagram: @theneurodivergentexperiencepod
Facebook: The Neurodivergent Experience & Jordan's Facebook page
YouTube: @TheNeurodivergentExperience
TikTok: @neurodivergentexperience

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this Hot Topic episode of The Neurodivergent Experience, Jordan James and Simon Scott respond to the killing of a mother by an ICE agent in the United States — and the wider political climate that made it possible.

Speaking from a neurodivergent perspective shaped by heightened justice sensitivity and pattern matching, Jordan and Simon unpack how state violence, misinformation, and authoritarian language are being normalised, and why this is especially terrifying for autistic, ADHD, disabled, trans, and other marginalised people.

The conversation widens to examine the psychological toll of witnessing global injustice with no power to intervene — a familiar experience for many neurodivergent people. They reflect on how masking, meltdowns, and misunderstood behaviour could place neurodivergent individuals at serious risk in heavily militarised policing systems, and why the threat isn’t hypothetical.

Drawing on history, pop culture, pattern matching and lived experience, Jordan and Simon connect current events to patterns of dehumanisation, eugenics-adjacent rhetoric, and the dangerous framing of people as “undesirable” or expendable. The episode ends with a reminder to stay informed without burning out, protect your mental health, and prioritise safety — especially for listeners in the US.

They discuss:
The killing of a mother by an ICE agent and the official response
How video evidence is dismissed to uphold political narratives
Neurodivergent justice sensitivity and emotional overload
Why meltdowns and misunderstood behaviour can be dangerous under militarised policing
The fear facing disabled, trans, and marginalised communities in the US
State violence, propaganda, and authoritarian language
Historical parallels and warning signs
Staying informed without burning out

A heavy but necessary conversation about power, truth, and why neurodivergent people often feel the weight of injustice more intensely than others.

Our Sponsors:
🧠 RTN Diagnostics - Right to Choose – Autism & ADHD Assessments (UK)
🧘‍♀️ Ashley Bentley – Integrative Coaching, Breathwork & Hypnotherapy
→ https://bit.ly/ashleynde

🔗 Stay Connected
Instagram: @theneurodivergentexperiencepod
Facebook: The Neurodivergent Experience & Jordan's Facebook page
YouTube: @TheNeurodivergentExperience
TikTok: @neurodivergentexperience

❤️ Support the Show
If this episode resonated with you:
✅ Follow or Subscribe to The Neurodivergent Experience
⭐ Leave a quick review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify
🔔 Turn on notifications for new weekly episodes

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of The Neurodivergent Experience, Jordan James and Simon Scott are joined by Jordan’s wife, Sylvia, to reflect on 25 years of marriage as a neurodivergent couple.

This is an honest account of what a long-term partnership looks like when autism, ADHD, burnout, emotional regulation, and differing communication styles are part of everyday life. They speak openly about misunderstandings, meltdowns, shutdowns, conflict, repair, and the work it takes to keep choosing each other over decades.
Sylvia shares her perspective on supporting a neurodivergent partner through diagnosis, anger, burnout, and personal growth — while also holding boundaries and protecting her own wellbeing. Together, they explore how their relationship has changed over time, what nearly broke it, and what ultimately helped it survive and grow stronger.

This episode focuses on realistic relationship success: not perfection, but commitment, adaptation, humour, accountability, and learning how to come together after meltdowns and shutdowns. It’s a rare, grounded look at what a long-lasting neurodivergent marriage actually requires — and why longevity is possible without masking, fixing, or sacrificing your needs.

They discuss:
What 25 years of marriage has really looked like as a neurodivergent couple
Navigating autism, ADHD, burnout, and late diagnosis within a relationship
Conflict, emotional regulation, and repairing after difficult moments
How communication styles have changed over time
Supporting each other without losing yourselves
Why commitment matters more than perfection
What has kept the relationship going — and growing — after two and a half decades

A deeply honest, warm, and validating conversation about love, partnership, and what it takes to build a neurodivergent marriage that lasts.

Our Sponsors:
🧠 RTN Diagnostics - Right to Choose – Autism & ADHD Assessments (UK)
🧘‍♀️ Ashley Bentley – Integrative Coaching, Breathwork & Hypnotherapy
→ https://bit.ly/ashleynde

🔗 Stay Connected
Instagram: @theneurodivergentexperiencepod
Facebook: The Neurodivergent Experience & Jordan's Facebook page
YouTube: @TheNeurodivergentExperience
TikTok: @neurodivergentexperience

❤️ Support the Show
If this episode resonated with you:
✅ Follow or Subscribe to The Neurodivergent Experience
⭐ Leave a quick review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify
🔔 Turn on notifications for new weekly episodes

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Mindful Mondays, we continue our January series on The Anatomy of a Breakthrough, turning our attention to the first and most essential element of change: your state.

Before we can rewrite our stories or find the right strategy, we need to understand the condition of our nervous system - because when we’re dysregulated, overwhelmed, or operating from threat, meaningful change simply can’t take root.

In this episode, we explore nervous system regulation through a neurodivergent lens, including the often-overlooked (and heavily tied to masking) fawn response, the difference between reacting and responding, and why so many well-intentioned changes fall apart when our state isn’t supported.

You’ll learn practical, body-based ways to regulate yourself - through breath, posture, movement, sensory input, and pace - and why working with the body is often far more effective than trying to think your way into calm.

The episode closes with a gentle, grounding guided breathwork meditation, designed to help you settle your nervous system, return to safety, and reconnect with your capacity to respond to life with clarity and agency.

Whether you’re neurodivergent, highly sensitive, or simply feeling stretched thin, this episode offers a steady reminder: real change begins not with effort, but with regulation.

❤️ Support the Show
If this episode resonated with you:
✅ Follow or Subscribe to The Neurodivergent Experience
⭐ Leave a quick review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify
🔔 Turn on notifications for new weekly episodes

Our Sponsors:
🧠 RTN Diagnostics - Right to Choose – Autism & ADHD Assessments (UK)
🧘‍♀️ Ashley Bentley – Integrative Coaching, Breathwork & Hypnotherapy
→ https://bit.ly/ashleynde

🔗 Stay Connected
Instagram: @theneurodivergentexperiencepod
Facebook: The Neurodivergent Experience & Jordan's Facebook page
YouTube: @TheNeurodivergentExperience
TikTok: @neurodivergentexperience

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hey everyone! We’re taking our own advice this week and looking after our energy levels — both of us enjoying a week off post-Christmas to get back into our routines and doing our best to avoid PDA. So instead of a brand-new episode today, we’re re-running one of our most popular and meaningful conversations. Thank you so much for your understanding as we take a breather — so please enjoy one of our favourite episodes from 2025.

In this episode of The Neurodivergent Experience, Jordan James and Simon Scott open up about imposter syndrome — the belief that you’re never good enough, never qualified enough, and that one day everyone will “figure you out.”

With humour and honesty, they share personal stories of childhood bullying, masking, perfectionism and self-doubt, and how growing up misunderstood leaves many autistic and ADHD adults feeling like their achievements aren’t real. From turning down opportunities to assuming every success is luck, they explore why confidence is so difficult for neurodivergent minds.
They discuss how imposter syndrome shows up in work, relationships, creativity and social media — and how therapy, self-compassion and supportive people can slowly rewrite the story.

They explore:
Why imposter syndrome is so common for autistic & ADHD adults
Growing up hearing you’re “lazy,” “too much,” or “not trying”
How masking and people-pleasing destroy self-worth
The fear of failure — and the fear of success
Social media, comparison and anxiety
Why confidence takes time and why small wins matter
When self-criticism becomes self-harm
Why reaching out can save people from spiralling alone

This is a raw, validating conversation for anyone who has ever worked twice as hard and still felt like a fraud. If you struggle to believe in yourself, this episode is proof that you’re not alone — and that healing is possible.

Our Sponsors:
🧠 RTN Diagnostics - Right to Choose – Autism & ADHD Assessments (UK)
🧘‍♀️ Ashley Bentley – Integrative Coaching, Breathwork & Hypnotherapy
→ https://bit.ly/ashleynde

🔗 Stay Connected
Instagram: @theneurodivergentexperiencepod
Facebook: The Neurodivergent Experience & Jordan's Facebook page
YouTube: @TheNeurodivergentExperience
TikTok: @neurodivergentexperience

❤️ Support the Show
If this episode resonated with you:
✅ Follow or Subscribe to The Neurodivergent Experience
⭐ Leave a quick review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify
🔔 Turn on notifications for new weekly episodes

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.