In this reflective episode, Steph shares from a place of lowered capacity, describing what it can feel like when internal systems are "shaken up" during deeper therapeutic work.

Through the lens of plurality and lived experience, this episode explores the disorientation, increased dissociation, and need for retreat that can arise, and how these moments invite us to slow down and turn inward.

Steph also reflects on the identity of being a "helper," and how early experiences of conditional love and trauma can shape a belief that our worth is tied to being of service. This leads into an important question: what happens when the helper needs help?

This episode is an invitation to:

• Rethink the connection between worth and giving

• Practise receiving care and support

• Honour your capacity and need for rest

Steph shares how learning to pause, set boundaries, and care for themselves has deepened their ability to show up with presence and authenticity for others.

A gentle reminder that caring for yourself doesn't take away from what you offer, it strengthens it.

Check out the Embracing You course: https://www.sgroccupationaltherapy.com/embracing-you-course

The code PODCAST will also get you 15% off the course!

Connect with Steph:

www.sgroccupationaltherapy.com

Email: hello@sgroccupationaltherapy.com

Come and join us on the socials:

Instagram: www.instagram.com/sgroccupationaltherapy/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/SGROccupationalTherapy

Facebook group- The Neurodiversity Empowerment Movement

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1258437025035170/

In this episode, Steph shares the heart behind her new resource on autistic burnout, created after noticing how many people are quietly approaching exhaustion.

She explores what autistic burnout really is: a state of profound, long-term nervous system depletion caused by chronic environmental mismatch, masking, sensory overload, and the cumulative labour of navigating neuronormative systems. Through an occupational therapy lens, burnout is reframed not as failure, but as a signal that something in the current way of living is unsustainable.

Steph discusses common signs of burnout, the burnout cycle, and why recovery can feel overwhelming, especially when even "rest" feels unsafe. She introduces gentle, practical strategies for prevention and recovery, including radical demand reduction, recalibrating baseline capacity, and her "Urgency to Safety Bridge", a visual framework for moving from high-alert survival states toward safety, even by just 1–10%.

If you've been feeling depleted, this episode offers validation, reframes around productivity and worth, and small, compassionate steps toward sustainable living.

The full workbook resource, along with a podcast listener discount, is linked below.

Get the Resource: https://www.sgroccupationaltherapy.com/Autistic-Burnout-Resource

Use code PODCAST to get 15% off

Check out the Embracing You course: https://www.sgroccupationaltherapy.com/embracing-you-course

The code PODCAST will also get you 15% off the course too!

Connect with Steph:

www.sgroccupationaltherapy.com

Email: hello@sgroccupationaltherapy.com

Come and join us on the socials:

Instagram: www.instagram.com/sgroccupationaltherapy/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/SGROccupationalTherapy

Facebook group- The Neurodiversity Empowerment Movement

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1258437025035170/

In this episode of Alphabet Soup, Steph brings together a series of short "Back to Basics" recordings exploring the foundations of dissociation, Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), and Other Specified Dissociative Disorder (OSDD).

We cover:

• What DID is and how it develops as an adaptive response to early trauma
• The DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for DID
• How OSDD differs from DID
• Common signs of dissociation, including depersonalisation, derealisation, memory differences, and identity shifts
• The difference between everyday dissociation and clinically significant dissociative disorders

Steph also reflects on the intersection of plurality with autism and ADHD, and why dissociative experiences deserve space within broader neurodivergent conversations.

This episode offers a grounded starting point for anyone wanting to understand dissociation beyond media portrayals — whether for personal insight or professional learning.

As always, this content is educational and not a substitute for individual clinical advice.

Connect with Steph:

www.sgroccupationaltherapy.com

Email: hello@sgroccupationaltherapy.com

Come and join us on the socials:

Instagram: www.instagram.com/sgroccupationaltherapy/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/SGROccupationalTherapy

Facebook group- The Neurodiversity Empowerment Movement

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1258437025035170/