Neurodivergent Strategies for Late-Diagnosed Adults: Find Your Divergent Path

Is it emotional immaturity or the long-term impact of masking, trauma, and survival mode? In this heartfelt episode of Divergent Paths, Dr. Regina McMenomy explores how neurodivergent individuals often experience delayed or disrupted emotional development, not because they’re broken, but because they’ve been adapting to environments that never fully accepted them. Co-host Russ Catanach asks the big questions as Regina shares lived ...

What exactly is a special interest and why are they so essential to neurodivergent people? In this episode of Divergent Paths, Dr. Regina McMenomy breaks down how special interests go far beyond hobbies. From emotional regulation to identity formation, we explore the deep role these passions play for ADHD and autistic folks. Joined by co-host Russ Catanach, Regina shares personal stories, clinical insights, and cultural observation...

Do you ever feel emotionally overloaded without knowing why? Or find yourself mirroring someone else's mood without realizing it? You’re not alone—and you’re not broken. In this episode of Divergent Paths, Dr. Regina McMenomy and cohost Russ Catanach unpack two powerful but often misunderstood neurodivergent experiences: emotional contagion and alexithymia.

You’ll learn what these terms mean, how they often show up together, and why...

In this episode of Divergent Paths, Dr. Regina McMenemy and co-host Russ Catanach explore the all-too-relatable phenomena of DOOM piles and task saturation—when your physical and mental clutter team up to ambush your productivity and sanity. From unopened mail to emotional overload, this conversation blends humor, insight, and compassion for chaotic brains trying to survive modern life. If you've ever hidden a mess in a box just to...

Burnout isn’t just about being tired—it’s what happens when your nervous system is screaming for a better way to live. In this episode of Divergent Paths, host Dr. Regina McMenomy is joined by Russ Catanach for a deeply honest conversation about neurodivergent burnout. They unpack how masking, misaligned environments, and hyperfocus can quietly push us toward the edge and why recovery isn’t about powering through, but embracing res...

Welcome back to Divergent Paths, the podcast that explores neurodivergent life beyond the stereotypes. In this episode, host Dr. Regina McMenomy, Ph.D. dives deep into one of the most misunderstood aspects of neurodivergence—Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA), sometimes reframed as a Persistent Drive for Autonomy.

If you’ve ever irrationally resisted a task—even one you actually want to do—this episode is for you. Together with co-...

What if your struggle to focus, stay motivated, or meet deadlines wasn't a character flaw—but a mismatch between your nervous system and your environment?

In this episode of Divergent Paths, I explore the concept of interest-based nervous systems—a defining feature of many neurodivergent experiences, especially ADHD. We break down how traditional motivation models fail neurodivergent folks and why "just try harder" is both unhelpful...

Clutter: some of us thrive in it, some drown in it, and for many neurodivergent folks, it’s a constant battle. In this episode, Russ joins me as the curious co-host to explore the complicated relationship between clutter, executive function, and neurodivergence.

We talk about why traditional organizing methods don’t always work for ADHD and autistic brains, how clutter impacts our mental health, and the emotional weight of "stuff." ...

In this episode of Divergent Paths, I sit down with Juliana Allen, a somatic healing coach, civil service executive director, and mother, to explore the deep and often complex journey of discovering neurodivergence later in life. Juliana shares her personal experience of being diagnosed with ADHD as an adult, unraveling years of masking, perfectionism, and societal expectations that never quite fit.

We discuss the impact of late dia...

Perfectionism, for many neurodivergent folks, can look like a source of motivation but is most often a roadblock that keeps us stuck in cycles of procrastination, burnout, and self-doubt. In this episode, Russ joins me as the curious co-host to dig into the ways perfectionism uniquely impacts neurodivergent minds.

We talk about how perfectionism ties into masking, why it can make even starting a task feel impossible, and how societa...

In this episode of Divergent Paths, Dr. Regina McMenomy and her longtime friend, Russ Catanach, explore the complex world of masking for individuals with ADHD and autism. Masking involves suppressing authentic behaviors to conform to societal norms, often at great personal cost.

Regina shares her insights as a late-diagnosed neurodivergent individual, revealing the emotional toll of masking and the liberating process of unmasking. D...

Sam Rockwell is a mistress of many trades. She shares her story with Divergent Path about struggling with anxiety and depression and how her ADHD diagnosis changed her life. Listen to our discussion about the revelations of how medication can help significantly curb anxiety for people with ADHD and the life changes we both experienced after our official diagnosis.

Check out Sam's favorite organizational tool, the Eisenhower Matrix. ...

One of the most challenging aspects of getting a late diagnosis (at least for me and this week's guest) is recognizing the impact it's had all through your life and then finding a community that accepts, welcomes and understands you. Kendra Koch is the founder of Divergently, an online community designed specifically for late diagnosed neurodivergent women. We discuss her divergent path and the role managing her physical health had...

RSD... Yeah you know me... Well at the end of this episode, you will know a lot more about me! In this episode of Everything you Wanted to Know about Russ and I talk about RSD, Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria. Understanding RSD has been key to me understanding how deeply my late diagnosis impacted my sense of self. I've heard countless times in my life how I am "too sensitive" and understanding RSD really helped me understand where s...

For this episode of Divergent Paths, we explore the intersection of identity, neurodivergence, and photography with our guest, Rachel Konsella, a professional elopement and wedding photographer. Rachel shares how she thrives in the dynamic, often chaotic wedding environment, and we dive into the powerful role photography plays in helping neurodivergent people, or those with "spicy brains," retain memories and capture important mome...

This week, Kaytalin Platt joins Regina on the show. Kaytalin shares stories of growing up in rural Alabama and how life changing it was to move to the big city. This is the first time Kaytalin talks about her spicy brain and I deeply appreciate her sharing her story with us!

Checkout Kaytalin's books on her website https://kaytalinplatt.com/ and her artwork on TikTok and Instagram.

Make sure to subscribe to the show so you don't miss...

Regina and Russ discuss executive functioning. They define what it is, what challenges its disfunction causes, and some tips and tricks to get your spicy brain to make more of those sweet, sweet decisions. Have you struggled with executive disfunction? Have you ever experienced decision paralysis? Hit us up on @DivergentPathsConsulting and share your experiences! Make sure to subscribe so you don't miss an episode!

Divergent Paths C...

Horses, and zebras, and King Henry the 8th's wives.... oh my! Join Regina as she chats with Rachel Ferdaszewski, a professional organizer in the Portland, Oregon area. They discuss the process of learning about masking, what it's like to unmask later in life, and talk about their lives as spicy brained moms of spicy brained kids.

If you are looking for help organizing, Rachel and Serenispace do amazing work. Check out the site and h...

"Everything you Wanted to Know about: hyperfocus." Russ joins Regina on the show again to go into greater depth on a topic of particular interest to spicy brained people: hyperfocus. We discuss in greater detail how hyperfocus is different from being goal oriented, how it feels to be in a hyperfocused state, and what it's like to have it suddenly end. (Hint: that last one is NOT GOOD.)

Check out the Pomo-Doro timer that Russ' cowork...