Embracing Intensity

Sometimes knowing exactly what you need to do doesn't make it any easier to actually do it.

If you have ADHD, anxiety, or another neurodivergence, you may be familiar with the experience of looking at a task that should be relatively simple and finding yourself completely unable to start. The longer it sits there, the more emotions build around it—frustration, disappointment, guilt, anxiety, and eventually shame.

Brendan Maha...

What does it really mean to own your worth—especially when you're gifted, neurodivergent, or someone who genuinely wants to make a difference in the world?

In this episode of Embracing Intensity, I'm joined once again by the insightful Dr. Kimberly Douglas for a conversation that begins with pricing and entrepreneurship bu...

What does it mean to thrive as a twice-exceptional adult in a world that often misunderstands both giftedness and neurodivergence?

In this episode of Embracing Intensity, I'm joined by author, therapist, and educator Melanie Hayes for a wide-ranging discussion on the unique challenges and strengths of twice-exceptional (2e) adults. Although this conversation was originally recorded several years ago as a guest call for the communit...

Not all rest actually restores. Sometimes it just delays the crash.

In this solo episode of Embracing Intensity, I talk about what shifted for me when I went back to working full-time in schools, and why having less free time pushed me to get more intentional about how I use my energy.

I used ...

In this powerful and deeply embodied conversation, I sit down with Juliana Allen - somatic experiencing practitioner, trauma-informed guide, and founder of Reclaim with Juliana - to explore nervous system regulation, reclaiming your body, and increasing your capacity to live from truth instead of obligation.

Juliana shares her journey of overriding her body for decades - through dance culture, perfectionism, an eating disorder, and...

This week on Embracing Intensity, I'm thrilled to finally sit down with the powerful and passionate Inger Shaye Colzie, a therapist and coach working at the intersection of ADHD, identity, and cultural experience. Inger shares her journey of being diagnosed with ADHD later in life, after decades of navigating systems and e...

Episode 290: Executive Functioning with Fizzah Zaidi

In this powerful episode of Embracing Intensity, I'm joined by the insightful and compassionate Fizzah Zaidi, a psychotherapist who specializes in working with neurodivergent individuals. We explore the complexities of executive fu...

In this week's episode, Aurora sits down with Portland-based multidisciplinary artist and filmmaker Ilima Considine to explore how neurodivergence, art, music, and personal experience intersect to spark powerful creative expression. Ilima shares her journey through long COVID, chronic illness, and how she channels her intensity into film, empowering others i...

In this deeply insightful guest call, we welcome Kaitlin Smith, a PhD candidate in the history of science at Harvard with a secondary focus in African American Studies. Kaitlin brings a powerful lens to the conversation around giftedness, drawing from her academic research, clinical background, and personal experience as a former support provider for gifted and intense Black adults.

Is work-life balance real—or just another unrealistic expectation? In this solo episode of Embracing Intensity, I unpack the myth of work-life balance and share my journey toward something more meaningful: harmony. Drawing from my personal life, this episode dives deep into how neurodivergent people navigate work hours, personal time, and the demands of life in a way that feels aligned, not forced.

After a summer of restorati...

In this powerful episode of Embracing Intensity, we welcome Caroline J. Sumlin—author of We'll All Be Free—for a deep, vulnerable, and inspiring conversation about collective liberation, the impact of white supremacy culture, and how we can begin to reclaim our worth. Caroline shares her perspective as a neurodivergent mother, speaker, and educator, and we explore the intersection of self-worth, systemic op...

In this thought-provoking episode of Embracing Intensity, Aurora sits down with Sheldon Gay, host of the I Must Be BUG'N podcast, which amplifies the stories and voices of Black, unidentified, underrepresented, gifted, and otherwise neurodivergent people. Sheldon is deeply insightful, warm, and grounded in his advocacy to...

This week on the Embracing Intensity podcast, I'm thrilled to welcome back the always thoughtful and illuminating Brendan Mahan, founder of ADHD Essentials and creator of the Wall of Awful. In this free-flowing and deeply relatable conversation, we dive into the realities of ADHD burnout, navigating screen time, and what it really means to rest. Brendan and I both share personally about our own experiences with burnout...

In this inspiring episode of Embracing Intensity, I'm joined by the vibrant and insightful Fizzah Zaidi, a psychotherapist based in Chicago who works with adults with ADHD, especially those navigating high-pressure environments like tech and finance. We originally connected at an ADHD conference over boots and breakfast, and I'm so excited to bring her energy and wisdom to the podcast!

Fizzah shares her jo...

After a bit of a break from long-form content, I'm so excited to be back with a solo episode that's deeply personal and incredibly timely. I've missed connecting with you more intimately through the podcast and am looking forward to bringing you more episodes like this in the coming months.

Lately, I've been diving into the to...

In this episode of Embracing Intensity, host Aurora Remember sits down with Caroline J. Sumlin, author of We'll All Be Free: How a Culture of White Supremacy Devalues Us and How We Can Reclaim Our True Worth. Together, they explore the intersection of intensity, self-worth, and collective liberation.

Caroline shares her journey from feeling like she was "too much" to reclaiming her intensity as a gift. The...

In this episode of Embracing Intensity, I'm thrilled to welcome Sheldon Gay, host of the I Must Be Buggin' podcast. Sheldon brings his insightful perspective on navigating life as a late-identified gifted and neurodivergent individual. His podcast and work are dedicated to amplifying underrepresented voices and empowering others to embrace their unique identities.

We explore the challenges and beauty of be...

The Science of Writing to Heal with Nneka Denise

In this episode of Embracing Intensity, we're excited to share the Q&A portion of our powerful conversation with Nneka Denise, founder of the Write to Heal Project. This discussion offers timely tools and insights as we reflect on letting go of the past year and preparing for a fresh, intentional start in the new year.

Nneka shares her...