Living with combined Chronic Illness, Neurodivergence, & Complex Trauma
Living with chronic illness while also being neurodivergent and / or carrying the effects of complex trauma can create unique and often invisible challenges. Physical fatigue, pain, and fluctuating energy can interact with sensory sensitivities, heightened nervous system responses, and emotional triggers from past trauma.
This combination can lead to:
- Increased nervous system overwhelm, hypervigilance, or shutdowns
- Difficulty with daily routines, work, or relationships due to fluctuating energy and sensory needs
- Heightened emotional reactivity or anxiety linked to past relational or traumatic experiences
- Challenges in navigating systems (healthcare, education, social) that are not designed to accommodate neurodivergence or chronic health conditions
- Feelings of isolation, guilt, or self-doubt when coping strategies that worked in the past no longer suffice
Exploring Possible Neurodivergence
You may have been wondering if you may be autistic, ADHD, or otherwise neurodivergent, including late-diagnosed, self-identifying, or unsure about formal assessment and looking to explore:
- Making sense of burnout, shutdown, or overwhelm
- Unlearning shame and internalised stigma
- Re-evaluating your identity, relationships, by working through a neurodivergent lens
Support Following an Autism or ADHD Diagnosis
Receiving a diagnosis of Autism or ADHD in adulthood can bring relief, grief, confusion, validation, and overwhelm & more often all at once. Many people find that diagnosis opens up new questions about identity, past experiences, relationships, work, and wellbeing, rather than providing immediate clarity.
In therapy, we create space to gently explore what diagnosis means for you. Using a neuro-affirming, trauma-informed, biopsychosocial approach, we look at how years of masking, sensory mis-attunement, or unmet needs may have shaped your nervous system, self-beliefs, and patterns of coping. We pay attention not only to thoughts and emotions, but also to bodily responses, sensory sensitivities, fatigue, shutdown, or hypervigilance that can intensify after diagnosis. Sessions may support exploration of:
- Making sense of your history through a neurodivergent lens, without pathologising yourself
- Developing self-compassion for burnout, exhaustion, or relational difficulties
- Exploring identity, needs, boundaries, and communication in ways that feel authentic and sustainable
- Finding ways of living that honour sensory, energy, and relational needs
- Processing complex relational patterns, including early parent relationships, and how these have shaped coping strategies
- Understand how your nervous system has adapted to survive in environments that weren’t designed for you.
Rather than focusing on “managing symptoms,” therapy becomes a space for integration, understanding, and reconnection with yourself, guided by your nervous system and lived experience
Living with a Dynamic Disability &/or Invisible / Chronic Illness
Living with an invisible / chronic illness, disability, or fluctuating health conditions can be challenging, affecting not only your body but also your emotions, relationships, and daily life. Energy levels, physical capacity, and sensory sensitivities may fluctuate, making everyday routines, work, and social connections unpredictable and sometimes overwhelming. You may be looking for a space to process grief or frustration, and develop strategies for self-compassion, emotional regulation, and practical coping. For those in relationships, you may be looking for support as a partner, helping you to navigate the impact of chronic illness and disability on shared life, communication, and intimacy.
Supporting Neurodivergent People Through Perimenopause and Chronic Health Challenges
Perimenopause can bring a wide range of physical, emotional, and cognitive changes, including shifts in energy, sleep, focus, memory, mood, and stress tolerance. For neurodivergent people, these changes can interact with sensory sensitivities, executive functioning, and emotional regulation, creating unique challenges. When combined with chronic health conditions, such as fatigue, autoimmune conditions, or other long-term illnesses, these shifts can feel even more overwhelming, affecting daily life, work, and relationships.
Space to explore these changes, make sense of your experiences, and develop practical strategies to support your wellbeing is central to your whole self. Understanding how perimenopause impacts energy, cognition, and mood, especially in the context of neurodivergence and chronic health conditions. Explore the management of sensory sensitivities and emotional overwhelm, whilst recognising the impact on relationships and identity due to hormonal and health changes.