(Neuro)Diverse Dialogues

A Diagnosis At 32 Gave Language To A Lifetime Of Overthinking

• Damian • Season 1 • Episode 10

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A fast mind can be a beautiful place—until the world demands it walk in a straight line. We sit down with Rebecca Jackson, a higher education administrator who found clarity at 32 with an ADHD diagnosis after years of masking, burnout, and misreads of mood. Her story is honest and practical, weaving personal turning points with the small, repeatable tactics that make daily life calmer and work more sustainable.

Rebecca opens up about the years when anxiety felt random and school life taught her to hide. That history shifts once ADHD becomes the lens: the nonlinear thinking, the memory drop-outs right after unlocking the phone, and the heavy cost of performing “office normal” in an open plan. She walks us through the hard start and real benefits of lisdexamfetamine—initial side effects, dose titration, and what improved when the morning fog finally lifted. We get into workplace adjustments that actually help: noise-cancelling headphones, a quieter desk, flexible hours, and the underrated power of a short dance break when working from home.

Beyond personal care, Rebecca is pushing for culture change. As a staff disability network co-chair, she champions training, community, and a more thoughtful approach to disclosure. She dismantles the “it’s a trend” trope with lived reality, and calls out hiring practices that privilege performance over proof. Her case for portfolios and practical assessments is compelling—hire the work, not the nerves. Along the way, we examine alcohol as a trigger, the sensory math of crowded family gatherings, and the comfort of familiar TV as a nervous system reset. The takeaway is both simple and strong: clear language, humane systems, and everyday boundaries can turn survival into growth.

If this conversation helps you feel seen, pass it on. Subscribe for more candid stories, share this episode with someone who needs it, and leave a review to help others find the show. What hiring change would make the biggest difference for neurodivergent candidates? Tell us.

Purpose And Guest Introduction

SPEAKER_01

Hello, um I really check to have another one of um one of my fireside conversations that I'm having with people who uh I work in academia who identify as being neurodiverse in some way. As always, my aim is to hear personal experiences and to hear what their journey has been. In this case, um the terminology or the wording is theirs and is based on their experiences and will be describing their own personal journeys. It might not be the terminology or the expressions that will be used by those of us listening, but that's not important because what I want to do is hear the authentic voices in ways that they feel comfortable. I want us all to learn from their life experiences. I'm learning so much from this process, and I'm really chuffed to have a new person with me today. Um, so will you tell us a little bit about yourself?

SPEAKER_02

Hello, yes,

Rebecca’s Life, Hobbies And Work

SPEAKER_02

of course. My name's Rebecca Jackson. Um I'm now in my mid-30s. I work as an administrator at Durham University, and I've been there for 14 years this year, so I've been there since I was 20. It feels like forever, but you know, 14 years is a long time.

SPEAKER_01

It is.

SPEAKER_02

Um, outside outside of work, I'm doing a diploma in counselling skills. Um I, you know, my whole life, I'm the oldest of two children. My sister's a little bit younger than me. I'm an auntie to a nephew who's eight. Things I kind of love doing outside of work, listening to music, and it could vary what type of music. One minute it could be the Bee Gees or Steps or the Spice Girls or coming in the 21st century, a bit of chap or run, but I'm not kind of down with what's in the charts these days. Um I run a foodie account on Instagram, and I've even gone to TikTok and I feel like a bit of a dinosaur, and it's called Scrands with Jackson. I like Instagram. Sorry? You do what on Instagram? Uh I run a foodie account. So Fuji account, I don't know. Okay. So I try out restaurants um and I also do like own recipe stuff as well. Um, and that's called Scrandsworth Jackson. So I like doing recipes and trying new restaurants, which I film and post on my pages. Uh I like going to the gym and going swimming, and I'm a big walker. Um, I'm over six foot, so yeah, it's um my strides are quite long. Yeah, I um so I arranged long walks with my friends. There's a big group of us who go out, um, and we'd probably describe it a 15 miles as a walk around the park.

SPEAKER_01

So so not a lot of sitting around doing nothing then.

SPEAKER_00

No, definitely not. Definitely go with new projects. Yeah, always, always looking for new walks to go on. Excellent, excellent, and and new activities as well.

SPEAKER_01

So, what was that you said you kind of had the steps kind of music, the other type of music you said?

SPEAKER_02

Uh so uh like I'll have a bit of 70s on, there might be a bit of the BGs in there, a bit of ABBA, a bit of like disco music. I could be listening to um Culture Club or um something from the 80s, could be the 90s, could be the noughties. I mean, I'm probably chuck a bit of Roy Orbison in there, but a pretty woman, but my music taste is very, very varied. I would say when I was young it was more dancey, but now it's a bit of everything. Very diverse. Yes, absolutely.

Naming Neurodiversity And Daily Burnout

SPEAKER_01

Talking of which, how would you describe yourself in terms of your neurodiversity?

SPEAKER_02

So personally, I I am diagnosed with ADHD, but I don't think I'm just ADHD, I think I'm ODHD. So I think I'm autis, autistic and ADHD. Okay, um, but according to the experts, I'm not. Um I would say I'm relatively high function, you know. I I drive, um I'm a homeowner, I'm studying alongside working full-time, yeah, but I do get very easily overwhelmed by certain things and suffer with burnout quite easily. Um, and you know, I would say I have the very um sort of common traits who are neurodiverse have, such as I think and temper regulation, as I'm getting older, mainly I get too hot. Um so I would say yes, I'm mainly I would say I'm more high functioning than than than anything.

SPEAKER_01

Okay, that's interesting. So um a question about the timeness thing. Um what what do you think causes that?

SPEAKER_00

What why what because like being tired?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, I think it's probably because I feel like my brain's working on overdrive all the time because you know I'm focusing on a lot of a lot of tasks, and then I'll probably be overthinking about a conversation I had earlier thinking, oh, did I say the wrong thing? Did I embarrass myself? So that's making my brain think harder, and then it it kind of like it just I think it just wears me out so badly. Um, sometimes to the point like I got, well, not so much these days, a couple of years ago, when sometimes on a weekend I would get up for the day, and an hour later I would my I felt like I had to go back to sleep, I couldn't lift my head off the pillow. It's not as bad as it was, and I think I've kind of learned to read those signs now of when I'm hitting that wall to say, right, stop, stop overthinking. And yeah, but I do think it's a lot of overthinking when I'm doing a bit too much, you know, then I can probably cope with and saying yes to things I probably shouldn't say yes to. Um, yeah, so that's probably why I think I get really exhausted quite easily.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, that makes sense. Um sometimes the tiredness is linked with kind of to masking. Do you find yourself masking, or do you think you're quite happy just yeah, yeah.

Masking, Exhaustion And Working From Home

SPEAKER_02

I I it's weird because I I had a conversation with um somebody this morning about neurodiversity, and I don't think I noticed the sort of uh the mask and then the anxiety sort of aspect until I was about 21. Um when I was younger, I didn't I didn't it didn't kind of cross my mind, but yeah, I feel like you know you you go into work and there has to be a certain sort of etiquette. Yeah, obviously it's great to be yourself, you and you you can be to a certain extent, but you can't if the office is silent, you can't sit and sing all day because it'll annoy the life out of your colleagues, especially when you're in an open plan office. So by the time you've masked all day and you come home from work, you're just exhausted, yeah, absolutely exhausted. And this is I'm working from home today, and the nice thing is I did some work this morning, but after a while I switched the radio on and I had a little bit of a dance around just to kind of give give myself that break, and having that um like you know, that option to do that is is brilliant.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, you kind of mentioned that this morning you were talking to someone about neodiversity.

SPEAKER_02

Yes.

SPEAKER_01

Do you find it quite easy to talk about?

SPEAKER_02

Now, yes. I think now I've you know I've I've been able to understand it a little bit better, absolutely, and I and I think I'm I'm more open to be honest about it open about it because a lot of people do know I have ADHD, so and I think it's bl I think a lot of people think it's blatantly obvious that I have it as well. So I am happy to openly speak about it now because yeah, I think I'll probably I'll go into I think I've got a more gonna go more in depth later into the questions, but yeah, yeah, I am really way more open to speak to people about neurodiversity than I would have been maybe a year or two ago.

Openness About ADHD

SPEAKER_01

Oh, really? That recently? Okay, yeah, okay. We'll come to that later though. Um you kind of mentioned um getting back to questions. Um you mentioned um that you've been diagnosed with ADHD. Well what led you to get to that diagnosis and how is it impacted?

Crisis, Misdiagnosis And Route To ADHD

SPEAKER_02

So this is very sort of real and and and raw kind of thing. So um I had a I would say it was a a bit of well, it was a quite a big breakdown at the end of 2022.

SPEAKER_01

Okay.

SPEAKER_02

And um I was under the care of like the local um sort of authority mental health team. And you know, I'd I'd I was getting a lot better. I was had my treatment and my courses and stuff like that. And I was having a meeting with the psychiatrist, and she said to me, Rebecca, she was like, I'm just having a look at your previous records here. I can see when you were 27 you were um assessed for bipolar because I was I had really bad uh bouts of depression and my mood was constantly up and down, so I was assessed for for bipolar and it wasn't bipolar. And she said, This back in and then this is fast-forwarding now till the start of 2023. The um the psychiatrist said, Have you thought you could have ADHD? Because oftenly bipolar and ADHD are very uh misdiagnosed within each other, so and vice versa. So I said, you know what? I have now I've been reading more about it now. People are speaking more openly about it. I thought this could actually be a possibility, so that's when um you know that's when I went onto the waiting list to be diagnosed. Um, and you know, it got 2024 when I was 32. So uh not knowing for all my life, and then 32, it was like bam, this is you've had issues a lot of your life.

SPEAKER_01

Goodness me, that's um that's quite a story. So um so how when you kind of got the diagnosis and how did it impact?

Relief, School Masking And New Support

SPEAKER_02

Um so um I think I was relieved because it was like, okay, I've realized um you know when I was younger why I was different. Um, you know, neurodiv sorry, bit of a cookie voice today, you know, back in the in the 90s, early 2000s, you know, it was never spoken about. So I would have gone to school and masked all day to hide, like, you know, hide who I was.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Um so essentially, so you, you know, it was a big thing at school to be in the in crowd or to be normal. So essentially masking so I could fit in with the crowd instead of actually just being myself, um, it kind of made me feel at ease about it. Um and it just gave me the answers that I needed to kind of try and think, right, okay, I'm new, I have ADHD. Now what can I do to support myself going forward? Is this the reason I suffer with bad bouts of anxiety and depression? Is this why I feel like I can never progress in life? How can I sort of help myself now going forward? So having that, it really did help. And sort of even stuff like my reasonable adjustments at work, and it it just it kind I would say it has changed my life for the better.

SPEAKER_01

So you kind of give you an explanation as to why you felt the way you felt.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, exactly. Yeah, it was like, okay, why have you suffered? I mean, to be fair, I I and you know, I didn't think I really experienced the really bad bouts of anxiety and and depression until I was 21. But then I I can I do have a theory of why I maybe felt it because you know you're young, you're partying a lot, you're drinking a lot of alcohol. I've never been, I don't, I've never been a drug taker, just alcohol. Um, and that's no shade to anybody else, by the way. Um, but for me, I did drink a lot of alcohol when I was younger, and I'm thinking neurodiversity and alcohol mixed together was probably not a good combination. I think is that why these bouts kept happening throughout my life?

SPEAKER_01

Okay.

SPEAKER_02

Um, so yeah, it it really did give me the answers I needed.

SPEAKER_01

That's really interesting. That's really interesting. Uh yeah, it's kind of what I'm hearing quite a lot, is kind of it's the it's giving the answers, the explanations. Um okay, so next question, feel free not to not not to answer it because um we had discussed these beforehand, but in terms of medication, have you considered that?

Medication Journey And Impact At Work

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, so I do take medication.

SPEAKER_01

Okay.

SPEAKER_02

Um so so I have been on it's called LizDex LizDextamophine, or is the company we call it Elvans. Um, and I started on 30 milligrams in November 2024, and it made me really pooly at the start. I oh, it was awful. And I knew, I mean, obviously, the psychiatrist and the um ADHD assessor pre-warned me that it could, the side effects could make me pooly. So um, yeah, it did at first, and then I kind of noticed um after a while, after two or three months, it wasn't kind of having the same effect because it gave me that massive boost in the morning, but then I was really badly crashing by about 2 pm, so I went back onto titration for 40 milligrams. Um and luckily I have been on 40 milligrams since January last year.

SPEAKER_01

Uh it's it's doing what you wanted to do.

SPEAKER_02

It's done what I wanted to do. Don't get me wrong, I do still crash about 2:33 pm, but it's not as big of a crash as the 30 milligrams was.

SPEAKER_01

Okay.

SPEAKER_02

So for me personally, it has been a very like apart from the sort of the the initial side effects, it's been really, really good for me. Positive. In what way? In what way has it been good? Give you know, it gives me the energy more energy on the morning, better focus. Um, I don't feel like my brain is as um congested with loads of different things. If I'm having meetings, I tend to like take notes better in the morning than I do in the afternoon. So you know, prof like especially professionally, it is like a life, it's changed my life. Excellent.

SPEAKER_01

And that's that's really really encouraging to hear and I really appreciate your honesty on all this. Um, in terms of work professionally, um, when you got your diagnosis, did you go straight to work and say, I've got this?

Disclosure, Adjustments And Workplace Passport

SPEAKER_02

Well, I was very on open with me with my line manager at the time about it because um I was on the waiting list for a year to be diagnosed.

SPEAKER_01

I I was open and I just said lead-in time, isn't there, to think about things.

SPEAKER_02

Absolutely. And you know what? I think I was so incredibly lucky that I only waited 12 months because I know people short that have and that was NHS, so but I think it's maybe because of the route I went in, because it wasn't like your normal um sort of referral, it was different. Oh, okay. Yeah, so my line manager, I had I was open with my line manager at the time and just said, listen, you know, I'm um I'm going in for sort of I'm on a waiting list to be diagnosed. Sorry, can you just repeat that question again?

SPEAKER_01

Um how would work? Did you did you disclose straight away that you got a diagnosis or?

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, so when I got once I got the formal diagnosis, um submitted it to my manager, submitted it to uh of occupational health, you know, we had the conversations around reasonable adjustments, and then I know, I know. Then three months after three months after um I was diagnosed, I changed, I went to a I changed job, so I took that past workplace passport with me.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Um, and you know, we just have the conversation, ongoing conversation. If there's anything that needs changing, that like like and I'm you know, the sort of things to support me are like being able to use headphones to block out noise, especially in the afternoon when I'm feeling a bit overstimulated, um, having um a spare sort of desk in a separate room that I can go to if needed, um flexible working, that type of thing.

SPEAKER_01

That's great to hear a positive story. Not everyone has that story, but it's good for people to hear. But I think things are changing. I think people are understanding better. I think there's still a lot of ignorance, but I think um that that's really encouraging to hear that um your institution was that good with it or the people. Okay, that's um, I'm just checking. Yeah, okay. So have you got a story or an anecdote that could be positive, it could be negative to share with us about. Oh no, no, no, before we go into that, I'm jumping ahead. You mentioned autism before.

Autism Traits, Masking And Identity

SPEAKER_01

Yes, that um that's not your diagnosis, but you uh believe that you self-describe.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, I uh I don't know because the uh the the assessor said, Oh no, you are you are way too outgoing to be RU DHD, you are ADHD. And I'm thinking, but it's it is interesting because obviously I was probably still masking a little bit in that sort of assessment. It's just natural, especially as an as a 30-something year old adult, it's it's you you it's it's come become a normal part of your life, but you know, generally I I'm quite I would say I'm an introverted extrovert. I like to be introverted, but I feel like I have to be extroverted, so that's where I think the AU comes in because it's a mask. Yeah, um, and people think I'm a very peeply person, which I am, and I am so happy to help anybody. And I my my thing in life is if you're nice to me, I'm nice to you. You scratch each other's back type of thing. But sometimes the human race can grind my gears, and that's why I kind of keep sometimes keep myself to myself.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, okay. That's interesting to say. Um that the clinician said it that way. Um, something to consider. Um, okay, so no, back to the question. So a story or anecdote.

SPEAKER_02

Um yeah, um, I mean, I hope I'm getting along the right tracks

Peer Support And Building Networks

SPEAKER_02

with this. So I'd say come off like coming off the back of having this diagnosis and getting more involved with sort of like um different networks in in my institution. Um, I've become the staff disability network co-chair, you know, where I work and you know, supporting those who are neurodivergent and other disabilities, you know, getting to have conversations uh with people who are recently diagnosed or seeking are seeking one or even just curious, it's just nice to share stories and see where the similarities and differences are, and you know, also creating creating more awareness of awareness of it in the workplace to showcase that it is okay to speak about things, but if you want to keep things private, that is also okay. Um, you know, following on from that, there's a team of us trying to get a speaker in to talk about neurodivergence and also you know, reaching out to autism charities to hopefully to come in to do some training with those either who are formally diagnosed, seeking a diagnosis, even those who are parents of neurodivergent children, and that they don't have to be little children, they can be adult children. Um, and we're really hoping to bring some exciting things soon. That's really great.

SPEAKER_01

So it's kind of um your openness, you're hoping to is almost contagious with other people.

SPEAKER_00

Oh, I try, I try. Excellent, excellent. Um, do you think there's uh there's still a fear of disclosure?

Stigma, “Trend” Narratives And Reframing

SPEAKER_02

Yes, absolutely. Um I think some yeah, I think there is because you see a lot of things in the media and a lot of things online saying, oh, it's just a trend, and it's actually no, if you live, if you are neurodivergent, you will know it's not a trend. Yeah. Um and it's trying to change those kind of attitudes of like of that stigma and people's attitudes towards uh neurodivergence and um anywhere on the autism spectrum, it's it's we need we need to keep having these conversations to change the attitude.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, yeah. Kind of um that leads on to the next question, really. Um

Myths, Memory Gaps And Nonlinear Thinking

SPEAKER_01

if someone says that they're ADHD, there's also a set perception by a lot of people of what that means or Autistic and this they expect people to fit in certain boxes and behave in certain ways. And is there anything that you could describe that affects you in the day-to-day life, which doesn't kind of fit into those boxes, which may come as a surprise to people?

SPEAKER_02

I mean, you know, it so uh going back to kind of childhood here. The only people uh the only sort um the only kind of thing was talked about with the ADHD was it within boys, so kind of going back to the you know, um like having if people think I have a brilliant memory, and you know, I do for such as things as like dance routines from the 90s, you know, if a song came on I can still do the routine, although maybe yeah, so you still yeah, um, but you know, I maybe alter them these days for my back of my knees, being over six foot, it's can be quite difficult. But my gosh, if you give me something like verbal instructions, it's a huge no-no. You could tell me 30 seconds ago, but if it isn't written down, I've forgotten. Um like you know, another example is, and most people would find

Wanting Clear Science And Heredity Answers

SPEAKER_02

this really easy, but I don't. Um, I might think, oh Rebecca, you need to go on the NHS app and put a request in for your repeat description. And then I go to log on to my phone and I've completely forgotten why I've logged on to my phone. And a lot of people are like, How can you forget that? And I'm like, well, be because my brain doesn't work like yours does.

SPEAKER_01

My brain's moved on. Yeah, it has now as um, yeah, it's it's it's kind of a nonlinear thing, isn't it? It's kind of you're you I think for a lot of new typical people their minds go in a straight line. They go, onto the app, do it, move on. Whereas it's onto the app, do that, do this, do that, do that. Oh, why am I on the app?

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, yeah. It's like I'll go onto my phone, like, oh, I need to transfer from like some money from my savings, or vice versa. I'm like, why have I done that again? Oh no, it's gone, it'll come back at some point.

SPEAKER_01

You have to rely on that, don't you? Like, it's gonna come back. Yeah, um okay, what what would you like to better understand about um your new divergency?

SPEAKER_02

Um, I think one of the things I'd really, really like to understand more is around the science around ADHD a lot more,

Family Gatherings, Overstimulation And Boundaries

SPEAKER_02

but in a way that I could understand because I'm not an academic, um, so uh a lot of the academic terminology I I can't understand. I appreciate that, you know, that's their research and and that is the way they present, that's absolutely fine. But essentially a more simplified version that I could understand.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, um I I yeah, I totally get that.

SPEAKER_02

And also kind of the hereditary side as well, because I know a lot of people who are neurodivergent, um either one or both of their parents are as well, um, and maybe siblings. So I would be intrigued to see um sort of kind of the statistics on parents with neurodivergence and children with as well. So see

Pet Peeves, Pace And Tangents

SPEAKER_02

what sort of the statistics across the UK and maybe across the world even.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, that's that'd be really interesting, yeah. Um yeah, there's um we're we're like my my my university is brought into a package for training, and it's got from John Innes Institute, and it's kind of got really nice little kind of cartoons of their science. I'll talk about that and maybe don't get into that. Um sorry, okay. So um is there anything a message you'd like to pass on to anybody in particular? Just generically, that um anything you'd like to tell them?

SPEAKER_02

Like, you know, um about like my family and stuff. It's uh and I all I've I've said this, you know, please don't be offended when I say no to family gatherings. Um especially with my families, both my parents are the youngest of five children. So it's a lot. It's a lot of people, it's a lot of people, so it just gets too busy. The temperature in the room is usually absolutely stifling. It's too cramped, it's too loud, and then I become too

Career Progression And Interview Barriers

SPEAKER_02

overstimulated, and I just can't cope. And I don't drink alcohol anymore, so everyone else is drunk and I'm sober, and it's just way too much for me to cope with, and everyone thinks I'm a taxi service because I'm driving.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I yeah, it could be interesting to explore a bit more the um alcohol and ADHD thing. It's not something that's really I'm not even considered much in the person, maybe is um something to yeah, for me to think about. Yeah, thank you. I always I always get something to think about from these chats. Okay, um pet peeve.

SPEAKER_02

Well, I don't know whether I don't know whether this is like an ADHD thing, but it can fall under two categories about slowness. So I don't again, don't know whether this is ADHD or whether it's because I'm just over six foot, but when people walk slowly, it's like howyman, get them get a move on. And okay, I understand people have no mobility, limited mobility, and slower mobility, but those who don't, it's just so annoying. Like when you go to a supermarket and they're like thingy in over the shelves for about 10 minutes. I'm like, how I'd like to get some cheese, a block of cheese, I know what I want, just move. But it's like when somebody's speaking about something, and it takes forever for them to get to the point, it's like, wait, will you just hurry up? Because I know what you're gonna say, type of thing, but then I do it myself because I'll go off on a million tangents, and I'm like, Rebecca, you can't be hypocritical there.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, yeah, it's kind of um finishing sentences is a big thing, isn't it? I think

Self‑Care, Comfort TV And Final Encouragement

SPEAKER_01

so, yeah. Absolutely, yeah. Okay, that's that's been amazing. Thank you so much for being so open and honest. Um, it's it's been great to hear, and people need to hear these stories, and I think um people will learn a lot from what you told us. Thank you. Um I think back a quick question, actually. Do you think it's um do you think it's uh interferes with your career path?

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, massively, massively. So um I would I I need to progress in my career. Um I feel like I've just been stuck for a while. And I I was having a conversation one with one of my really good friends on Wednesday. We've known each other for quite a few years now. We used to work together, and she's she's done, she's doing like she's done amazing she's amazing. Um and she said, Rebecca, we've just had a conversation here about what you can do. She goes, but I know because you're neurodivergent, you'll find it hard to pro uh to project it. So I don't know if you've ever seen the um the uh the no the comedian Miranda Hart.

SPEAKER_01

Oh yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Um, well, there's an episode of her sketch show where she goes in for an interview, and then I think it's for the Navy, and then the mention the navy and she starts singing in the navy, and that would be me in like uh in an interview because I get so nervous. The answer I can it's here, but I can't project it, and I'll just think of something else and start singing and do something really embarrassing. Um, but I can do the work, it's just projecting it, and I just kind of I feel like our interview systems are so outdated now. And instead of being assessed in a room and speaking about it, could there not be a portfolio of work you've done over the years to show that you are capable rather than having to put myself through hell and then I'll go home and overthink about what I've said and done and exhaust myself.

SPEAKER_01

Fair enough. Yeah, uh all makes sense. Thank you. Okay, so finally, um, you probably give us lots already, but any any specific advice or insights you'd like to share with people who are listening?

SPEAKER_02

I would honestly say just don't be ashamed, don't feel ashamed of who you are. You know, neurodiverse people are you know, we're so incredibly special to this world, and we bring so much, so be loud and be proud about it. Also, self-care is a huge thing. Um, too. If you feel overwhelmed, do something that makes you feel happy, whether it's having like a big, nice cup of hot tea or some chocolate, going for a walk, or you know, even watching your favourite show on TV, which is like my binge show. Mine's Gavin and Stacy. I can probably recite the programme, including the three series and Christmas specials. It's like ingrained in my brain because I've watched it that many times, but it's just it's a comfort blanket, it's my favourite. Um, and I can probably do it in the accent as well, but I won't embarrass myself today by doing it. I I I get, you know, I I've lived abroad and loads of people asked whether I was from the valleys. I'm like, no, but I can tell I can see why you would think that, but no, I'm I'm not Welsh. I'm I'm British, but I'm I'm um, you know, my heritage I think is more actually my heritage is from the Republic of Ireland. So is it I'm in I'm obviously I'm British, but heritage wise, I'm definitely not British.

SPEAKER_01

Fair enough. Excellent. Well, thank you very much. I really appreciate honesty and being open with us.

SPEAKER_02

And um no problem at all. My pleasure. Um, if it brings comfort if it listening to this brings comfort to somebody else, it it will make my day.

SPEAKER_01

Cheers.

SPEAKER_02

No problem.