For A Neurodivergent Woman, Self-Compassion is a Hard Lesson To Learn

So many messages from society and ourselves work against it

Photo by Til Jentzsch on Unsplash

I f I’m really honest, I’m struggling at the moment. A lot of things are hard, things that I used to be able to do easily. Day-to-day stuff. Getting organized. Getting moving. Even writing. It may be days before this story appears.

It feels like functionality in a whole lot of things is slipping away; the gap between what I want to do and my capacity to do it ever widening. I’m constantly disappointed in my inability to achieve anything or even see any evidence that I’m getting closer to it.

It’s hard not to beat myself up about it. For not being productive. For not having anything to show for my efforts. For comparing unfavourably to those I see around me. For not measuring up to some mythical standard I cling to.

It’s not until I get to the end of the week exhausted to my bones that I’m forced to stop. It’s only then that I realise what I’m up against that is making everything so hard.

What’s called for is self-compassion, but it’s easier said than done.

Podcasts are my best friend these days. There’s usually one I can turn to when I’m looking for guidance about something that is going on in my life…