1. Timeblocks. Planners never worked for me really, even though I love them a lot, but blocking out my tasks into chunks and specifying the time they are being done helps A LOT.

2. Chunking. Need to remember to brush your teeth? Do it as soon as you've done your morning porcelain throne visit. Add little tasks onto ones you do anyway and they all merge into one task you do automatically. This can vary in efficacy depending on how bad my ADHD/Autism symptoms are on the day.

3. Put breaks inbetween tasks. Transitioning from one task to another is hard when you have executive dysfunction. Giving yourself some room to do so makes things SO MUCH EASIER.

4. EMAILS ARE AWFUL - But, fret not, if you need more time to reply - just reply letting them know you'll get back to them in the next 48 hours - that gives you time to write a reply and gather your thoughts, schedule it into your timeblocks etc

5. In addition to the breaks between tasks - give yourself ideally one full day of doing sweet sod all. No housework, no work, nothing. Just pay games, binge a tv show, whatever. Give yourself the time off.

6. Stop being a dick to yourself. That goes without saying and it's probably the hardest thing to do - but like, you're a living, breathing, existing human fuckin miracle and thats just the beginning of how brilliant you are.

7. Not taking things personally was a huge step for me in making me happier overall. Someone doesn't talk to me for weeks? That's their issue, not mine. I could easily just send a message if I missed their interactions. It is not my problem how anyone else feels about or interacts with me - and OH MY GOD it's freeing as fuck.

8. Managing mental health problems that you've had for a long long time in itself is hard. It's like having an old coat you've had for as long as you can remember, you've worn it thin, it smells like wet dog, mould and sweat. It's comfortable even though you really should throw it out. You get complacent in the darkness, thats how MH shit works.

8. Pt 2. You don't have to keep wearing the shitty coat. It is not comfortable - it is highly uncomfortable to not be in the familiarity of the dark and the patterns we get into when we have long term MH issues. But it is worth it.

9. I recommend if you are in a good mood at any point, make it other peoples problem Redirecting your energy into supporting others can also be a good way to distract your noggin from it's usual toxic patterns.

10. Autistics - don't let any more motherfudgers tell you you don't have emotions or empathy, that shits a lie.

11. For all with executive dysfunction - struggling to navigate and manage life is not your fault - don't let anyone tell you that you're selfish or uncaring for it either.

And by don't let - I mean don't let those folks influence how you feel about yourself.

12. Having multiple MH and ND diagnoses is a fucking riot, in the worst way. Learning to work alongside/with them was a pivotal part of my recovery from suicidal depression and anxiety disorder. I'm still anxious, but I can handle that sucker much better now.

cba numbering anymore - I advise not modelling your wellness trajectory on how well or not well others are doing. You're on your own path, you can pick and choose how you want to walk it, and while it's good to have inspiration, comparison is the fucker who really takes it to a toxic level.

I lost a lot of people along the way who could not support me the way I needed, and I could not support them during this journey. I had to do the majority of this alone, but I also had support from Dan, and I ended up with support and love from cherished friends who understood me as I am and could be, not who I was. That shits important too.

It's OK to admit you couldn't maintain a relationship with a friend because you needed to go and deal with yourself. It's a large part of emotional intelligence growth. You sometimes have to prune a plant or tree to get the optimal growth.

I gotta leg it to work, but I hope there is help for someone else here, but even if this is just a record of my bullshit, it's all good.

Thank you for this, I'm gonna come back to it later because p r o c e s s i n g

oh and it sounds trite and bullshit but exercise does work, even just doing a stretch every day to shake out the demons

the ones I did when I was at my worst was to lie on my bed, and try and stretch my legs/toes to the corners of the mattress

I'd then scoot down a bit (am a tall bean) and do the same with my arms and fingers.

low effort, low impact and it starts your body off on the eventual dopamine addiction of body building

specifically to female presenting neurodiverse folx who are responsible for other humans, if they're your flesh and blood they're likely also neurodiverse too, family structure will work well

cis females with adhd and or autism especially have challenges related to societal and socioeconomic pressures, lemme tell you, you're doin a fuckin ace job

just existing with even a modicum of functionality (as defined by yourself, not anyone else) when you're neurodiverse is in itself a form of disruption to the stats quo and all that

oh and if you have a biological child with neurodiversity, and you dont think you are neurodiverse, guess what, it's highly likely to be genetic

(Literally just got off my first in 20 years therapy appointment, can you see me?) Will process after work! Ty for tips.

I'll likely have more stuff when I get back from work in 5 hours or so

a great tip from my sister - you might feel discouraged if something doesn't work for you, but keep trying different things to find what works for you

If you think stretching helps you but you don't know where to start and sometimes just need easy shit, I got a yoga wheel and it is a simple thing but has made such a big difference.