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Ah…emotion. It’s a relatively small word that evokes a lot of feels. Emotion can not only be experienced and interpreted differently, but avoiding it can literally be the roadblock we are looking to remove. Emotion, pending your history and neurotype, can be experienced in the felt sense in different ways and can be communicated differently both internally and externally. For those with emotional processing and interpretation variances, inclusive of those with alexithymia, th

Sometimes when we focus on the end product and we don’t see the effort that went into it, it can be really easy to become discouraged, disillusioned, and never start. You may also be sitting with a different level of skills, privilege, and supports than others too. It’s important to take this into account and use your resources towards consistency in the way that fits you best. Overall, effort through consistency applied appropriately is what will allow you to reach your goal

Change begins when we notice something, when our awareness is present enough to acknowledge what is happening. This means we may need to… -Bring the unconscious into our present moment, examine that, and really get honest about the way we feel about something. -Figure out and sit with the overall state of our nervous system which for most people can become pretty uncomfortable especially if it’s not something you are used to practicing. -Identify previous events that may unco

Action delivers. Belief is half of that deal and action is what brings all of those thoughts into a 3-D perspective. You must take a step forward and put beliefs into practice through action to get the follow through, rewards, and goal completion you want. This can be incredibly easy or super difficult if you are neurodivergent. That is dependent on whether you can tap into hyperfixation or special interests and whether the mundane tasks that often accompany goals get in the

Failure doesn’t have to mean the ultimate end and lead to self-doubt and shame. It does, however, show up this way for a lot of people, especially neurodivergent individuals when self-ableism is present. Removing failure all together often does not mean that more success is present and can even take away from success, learning, and adaptation in the long run. The trick is learning from failure, seeking out what underlying feelings perpetuate any negative self-talk that arise

We people please and change our behaviors to make others comfortable for too many reasons to list here. For many of those reasons, they are also likely very valid and important ones. That doesn’t change the cost or use of resources associated with continuing to do it. If you are a people pleaser, you may fall into external focus where the primary concern is everyone else’s comfort. Over time, it can feel as though you lose your identity in continuing to focus outwardly and i

Muscle goes beyond strength and can mean a lot of different things. Metaphorically, it can mean being ok with taking up more space. For a lot of people, often those who are marginalized for whatever reason and especially those who are neurodivergent, are told, intimidated, or made to stay small, be little, or take up less space. This is to remind you to take up whatever space you need, be big, go bold…you are not too much. For everyone, muscle, approaching movement, can mean

Finding, engaging in, and living your purpose as a human being and as purpose may change throughout the seasons of life is important to your wellbeing and mental health. This doesn’t mean that purpose has to be a grandiose thing, just that it aligns with your values, goals, and is workable with your external circumstances. All of these things matter when we take into consideration that life will come with it’s normal roadblocks, bumps, and even amazing shiny opportunities tha

Perfectionism is tricky and is often a fear-based trauma response for a lot of people. At one point in time our brain found a way to keep us safe and now responds the same to things that mirror or mimic some of the same aspects in the original situation that was traumatic. The issue is that our brain struggles to see what is actually a threat and what may just be scary, difficult, or uncomfortable at times. That fear that is often associated with perfectionism and the need t

Expectations can be super tricky, but the majority of them definitely begin with you/me/us…we are typically the epicenter for why we have them and why we continue to place demands on others to meet them. We all have reasons why they are important to us…perhaps they are a trauma response, maybe we want the best for our kids and for them to be independent when they leave home, we could be really putting our relationships and connections with others as a super important componen

While there is often a very real reason why people pleasing happens, often avoidance, fear, and trauma. Our brains also latch onto things that work, and it’s likely that people pleasing, at least at one point in time, worked for you because in general people respond well to others who are agreeable or meet their needs. Therefore, there can be a lot of scenarios where this is the best option some people have, though it does come at a high cost. Often our own safety, needs, and

Boundaries can be super difficult…both in how others respond to them and the way in which they make you feel about yourself. They also are multifaceted; you must first create them, at times communicate them to others, and then maintain them…especially when people push them, attempt to move them, or ignore them entirely. However, they can be instrumental to your growth as well as to your wellbeing and emotional, physical, and mental safety. This can be even more impactful and

Staying comfortable and comparing yourself to others is a surefire way to keep you in the same place. We all choose to stay in false comfort sometimes. Sometimes this appears in the following things we say to ourself: · “I’ll start tomorrow.” · “ I have to do this for my kids instead, I just don’t have time.” · “It doesn’t really matter, I’ll never be as good as __________(insert other person/place/comparison).” · “I don’t know.” These statements allow u

We all carry things and many of us have not had the ability to choose what happened to us, how it happened, or the way in which we feel about it for all sorts of reasons. We do, however, have a say and decision making in what we choose to bring into today. The start to that process is by looking at what is weighing you down; the burden of emotions, events, and roles you fill. Our brains can tell us that it is far easier and much more comfortable to avoid this and use distract

Progress and consistency always overshadow attempts at perfection. Why? It’s because showing up for yourself, in physical, mental, and emotional ways, produce lasting change with compounded growth whereas striving for something unachievable produces self-judgement and often internalized negative self-talk. It’s important not to override your nervous system and any messages related to safety that you are getting, but also to work with those to determine if they actually meet t

A kind and trusted colleague pointed out the importance of vulnerability last week and that also includes transparency in business and entrepreneurship. So we got back to basics and highlighted ways that make Neuro-Roots LLC different and how we approach therapy. The biggest way people find Neuro-Roots LLC is often referral and it’s because we’ve had deep, honest conversations around acceptance, values, and belief in possibility as well as serving as a consultant for other cl

We all move in different ways, sometimes due to our neurotype and sometimes based on preference. Movement can be influenced by time, setting and surrounding, schedules, commitments, beliefs in ourselves, stigma, patterns, injuries, seasons, resources, and support systems among so many other things. When we move and engage in stimulation, it impacts our nervous system. When we look at stimming behaviors, they can appear (though not always and this certainly is not an exhaustiv

You matter…and that goes along with your physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing. The body and the brain work together and when you ignore one, the other or both, when events seem to bombard you and you can’t catch your breath, or when life seems unmanageable, things start to slow, feel overwhelming, or inevitably begin to break down. It can be difficult to prioritize your mental health, not only due to external resources in finding care, but also in allocating your own res

Emotions can be noticed, felt, and experienced differently based on your neurotype. Some of that affects processing and potentially causes a delay in emotional response, some may be in a felt sense of dysregulation and confusion about the emotions especially if sensory awareness and overwhelm is heightened, and other times individuals may just have overall difficulty with emotional identification and the ability to label the emotion and communication what is happening, especi

Strength…seeing that versus the deficit, weakness, or failure can be the difference between possibility and feeling stuck. If we don’t understand a behavior, whether that be in ourself or others, we can move to judgment and pathologizing. A good example is the often misunderstood info dump that can happen as an autistic person. For an autistic person, it can be a means of connection, deep vulnerability in sharing a special interest or part of who they are, and even at times a