This Voice is Mine: the Unquiet Podcast

Emma Offord
  • 5.0 (11)
  • MENTAL HEALTH

For every neurodivergent mind that was masked, misread, or missed. Where identity is reclaimed and the system gets named. This Voice Is Mine is a podcast for those who were told they were too much, too sensitive, too chaotic, too intense or not enough. Hosted by Dr Emma, a clinical psychologist, neurodivergent woman, and unapologetic system disrupter, this podcast explores what happens when difference is pathologised and what becomes possible when we drop the shame, the script, and the medical model. Through stories, reflections, and conversations with people who were never meant to fit, This Voice Is Mine reclaims the truth of neurodivergent minds, bodies, and ways of being. This is not about fixing or fitting in. It’s about remembering who we are and unlearning everything they got wrong.

  1. 5 DAYS AGO

    Internal Realities: Tuning Into Your Neurodivergent Body with Dr Clare Jacobson

    Dr Clare Jacobson has spent over 20 years holding people's most intimate inner worlds. As a specialist clinical psychologist in teenage and young adult cancer care, she knows what it means to sit with invisible experience - the kind that doesn't show up on a blood test, but is completely real. Over the past year, Clare has been on her own journey of neurodivergent identification. And in this conversation with Emma, she brings both lenses: the clinician who has learned to approach people's inner lives with curiosity rather than certainty, and the late-identified person who spent decades being told  -  by the world and eventually by herself -  that the parts of her that didn't fit were somehow wrong. They talk about the hunter-farmer analogy, the card game metaphor, hypermobility and proprioception, receiving extra sensory data, and what Clare calls the original Internet  -  the idea that neurodivergent people might be evolved to tap into collective consciousness in ways that neurotypical people simply can't access. It's a conversation about bodies, belonging, and learning to trust what you've always known. If you've ever felt like the call was coming from inside the house, this episode is for you. It probably isn't. This Voice Is Mine: The Unquiet Podcast is hosted by Dr Emma Offord, clinical psychologist and founder of Divergent Lives. For every neurodivergent mind that was masked, misread, or missed.

    1hr 5min

  2. 27 APR

    When Everything Shifts at Once: Hormones, Neurodivergence, and the Midlife Unmasking with Sophie Cartledge

    What happens when perimenopause and neurodivergent identification arrive at the same moment? When hormones shift, the mask starts to slip, and nobody in the medical system has any idea what is actually going on? In this episode, Dr Emma Offord speaks with Sophie Cartledge, founder of Hormones on the Blink, a training platform working at the intersection of hormone health, menopause, and neurodivergence. Sophie is late-identified autistic and ADHD, discovered both through her own perimenopause journey, and has since dedicated her work to helping women, clinicians, and workplaces join the dots. This conversation covers identity whiplash, the oestrogen-dopamine connection, rage as information, burnout versus unmasking, and what it actually takes to get through the darkest moments of midlife. It also covers what becomes possible on the other side. If your nervous system is shifting and nobody is naming it properly, this one is for you. Connect with Sophie: @hormonesontheblink  This Voice Is Mine: The Unquiet Podcast is hosted by Dr Emma Offord, clinical psychologist and founder of Divergent Lives. For every neurodivergent mind that was masked, misread, or missed.

    58 min

  3. 20 APR

    Different, Not Less: Communication, Selective Mutism, and Finding Your Voice with Eve Harrison

    What does it take to build a movement of over a million people when you started secondary school unable to speak a single word? In this episode, Dr Emma Offord speaks with Eve Harrison, founder of Let's Make A Difference, a grassroots campaign raising awareness about communication challenges and the power of small acts of understanding. Eve is autistic, learned BSL during the pandemic when speech was not available to her, and has since used that journey to educate, include, and advocate for others. This conversation moves through selective mutism, the invisibility of quietly struggling neurodivergent young people, diagnosis, the SEND white paper, and the raw truth about what schools do not yet understand. Eve is 18 years old and already changing the conversation. Different, not less. That is the message. And it has always been true. Connect with Eve on Instagram: @lets.make.a_difference1 This Voice Is Mine: The Unquiet Podcast is hosted by Dr Emma Offord, clinical psychologist and founder of Divergent Lives. For every neurodivergent mind that was masked, misread, or missed.

    54 min

  4. 13 APR

    Be Gentle With Your Giant Heart: Self-Care, Self-Advocacy, and Reclaiming the Right to Receive with Suzy Reading

    What does it actually mean to take care of yourself, when every version of self-care you've tried has felt like another thing to fail at? In this episode, Dr Emma Offord speaks with Suzy Reading, Chartered Psychologist and author of How to Be Selfish, about what it takes to heal our relationship with self.  Not with a checklist or a spa day, but with the slow, courageous work of coming home to your own needs.  Suzy unpacks the gender conditioning that teaches women their worth depends on how much they give, why selflessness is a coping mechanism rather than a virtue, and why the resentment and anger so many women feel when they begin to say no is not the problem, it is the signal.  She also guides the group through two simple somatic practices that are more powerful than they look. This is a conversation about permission; permission to receive, to rest, to be one person, and for that to be enough. Connect with Suzy on Instagram: @suzyreading suzyreading.co.uk This Voice Is Mine: The Unquiet Podcast is hosted by Dr Emma Offord, clinical psychologist and founder of Divergent Lives. For every neurodivergent mind that was masked, misread, or missed.

    50 min

  5. 6 APR

    Riding the Tornado: ADHD, Skateboarding, and the Power of Finding Your Thing with Ryan Swain

    Ryan Swain was told from childhood that his energy was too much, his focus was wrong, and his way of being didn't fit. Teachers called him a liability. Nobody asked why. In this episode, Dr Emma Offord talks with Ryan, founder of the You, Me & ADHD awareness campaign, about growing up undiagnosed in a system that had no language for who he was. Ryan shares the story of finding skateboarding at eleven and how it gave him something school never could: a space where his neurobiology made sense. He also introduces his tornado analogy for ADHD, one of the most grounded and accessible frameworks for understanding why environment is everything. This is a conversation about survival, self-acceptance, and what becomes possible when you finally find your thing. Connect with Ryan on Instagram: @officialryanswain ryainswain.co.uk This Voice Is Mine: The Unquiet Podcast is hosted by Dr Emma Offord, clinical psychologist and founder of Divergent Lives. For every neurodivergent mind that was masked, misread, or missed.

    58 min

  6. 30 MAR

    When They Look Fine at School But Fall Apart at Home: Nervous Systems, Masking, and the Invisible Load of SEND Parenting with Jo Rodriguez

    What happens inside a child's body when they hold it all together at school, only to fall apart the moment they walk through the front door? And what does that cost the parents who are there to catch them, every single day? In this episode, Dr Emma Offord is joined by health psychologist, CBT therapist, and EMDR practitioner Jo Rodriguez for an honest, warm, and deeply grounding conversation about what it actually means to parent neurodivergent children inside a system that was never built for them. Jo brings more than 20 years of clinical expertise and something equally important: her lived experience as a mum to three neurodivergent boys. She speaks with clarity and compassion about the gap between what professionals are trained to know and what parenting actually feels like on the ground. About the exhaustion of being the family's main regulator. About the invisible grief of watching your child mask all day, then come home and need somewhere safe to fall apart. Together, Emma and Jo explore what is really happening in a child's nervous system when they suppress their needs to fit into environments that were not designed for them. They talk about the long-term cost of unmetabolised stress, the moment a nervous system reaches its limit, and why the post-school meltdown is not a behaviour problem. It is a body trying to return to safety. They also speak honestly about what this does to parents. The burnout that builds quietly. The pressure to know the answers. The loneliness of advocating for your child when the system keeps telling you that you are overreacting. And the small, cumulative ways that parents can begin to resource themselves, even when the big solutions are out of reach. This is a conversation for every parent who has sat in a parents' evening hearing "no bother at all" while knowing something else entirely. Connect with Jo: Instagram: @straightforwardpsychology

    49 min

  7. 24 MAR

    Permission to Parent Differently: Burnout, Regulation, and Finding Your Voice with Lisa Galley

    Lisa Galley built her career in autism the long way round: studying part time, raising three children, sitting her finals at nine months pregnant, and working in high-pressure NHS autism outreach before burnout took it all away. What followed was years of frightening physical symptoms, a diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome, and a profound loss of identity. What she built on the other side was something she never planned: a community, a business, and now a book. In this episode, Dr Emma Offord and Lisa explore what parental burnout really looks like when it is severe, somatic, and relentlessly minimised by the medical system. They talk about regulation-first parenting, why beige food and unlimited screens are not lazy choices but genuine nervous system tools, and why the instincts parents already have are so often buried under shame and social pressure. Lisa also shares the story of her daughter, identified as autistic only in adulthood, and what that taught her about quiet masking and the cost of being told you are the good one. This is also a conversation about bravery. The courage to advocate differently when colleagues, critics, and old professional identities are watching. Lisa's debut book, Parenting Your Autistic Child: Permission to Do It Differently (Penguin Random House, August 2026), is exactly what the title promises: not a manual, but a permission slip. If you have ever felt judged for parenting your way, dismissed when you knew something was wrong, or like burnout had taken everything you worked for, this episode is for you. Connect with Lisa: Instagram: @schoolrunmumautism Find the Autism Parenting Revolution membership at Lisa's website. Pre-order Parenting Your Autistic Child: Permission to Do It Differently (Penguin Random House, 27 August 2026). Connect with Divergent Lives:  Instagram: @divergentlives Website: divergentlife.co.uk  Free 15-minute consultation: hello@divergentlife.co.uk

    50 min

  8. 13 JAN

    The Voice of Anger: What Maternal Rage Is Really Trying to Tell Us

    In this episode of This Voice Is Mine, Dr Emma Offord is joined by clinical psychologist, author, and maternal mental health specialist Dr Caroline Boyd for a deeply honest and necessary conversation about motherhood, anger, and the stories we are taught to silence. Together, they explore the realities that so many parents live but rarely feel able to name: intrusive thoughts, maternal rage, emotional overload, and the crushing weight of expectation placed on mothers, particularly within a culture that still clings to myths of calm, self-sacrificing, endlessly patient ‘good’ motherhood. Caroline brings her clinical expertise, research, and lived experience to unpack why anger is not a failure, but a meaningful signal.  They discuss how suppressed anger can manifest as anxiety, shame, burnout, and even physical illness, and why learning to listen to anger, rather than fear it, can be a powerful act of repair and self-compassion. This episode also names the wider systems at play: patriarchy, unsupported caregiving structures, isolation, and the lack of societal scaffolding for parents. Rather than pathologising mothers, Emma and Caroline invite us to see anger as both a protector and a messenger, one that deserves attention, not punishment. This is a conversation about reclaiming voice, dignity, and humanity in parenthood. Not about fixing mothers, but about finally listening to them. Clinical psychologist Dr Caroline Boyd has over 10 years experience working in the NHS and mental health settings, and she supports parents from pregnancy to childbirth and beyond. Caroline offers anger courses, workshops and 1:1 therapy in her independent psychology practice, Parent Therapy Hub. Caroline is the author of Mindful New Mum, and her published research explores mothers experiences of intrusive thoughts about their babies. Her work has been featured in You magazine, Elle, Grazia, the Telegraph and Womans Hour on BBC Radio 4, and she is an Ambassador for UK perinatal mental health charity, PANDAS. Caroline shares psychology ideas on Instagram and in the media to help parents feel less alone and more connected - to themselves and their children. You can reach Caroline at drcarolineboyd.com or via Instagram @_drboyd Caroline offers a self-paced anger course for mothers (USE THE CODE “PODCAST” TO CLAIM YOUR £100 DISCOUNT): Download Caroline’s FREE GUIDE on how to handle anger in HOT moments: For an overview of Caroline’s work, including her book, Mindful New Mum, click here. If you’re struggling with difficult thoughts and feelings or if this episode raises any concerns for you, please talk to a trusted health professional such as your GP. You can also reach out to the services below: UK: PANDAS offer a free, bookable call service Samaritans – 116 123 US: Postpartum Support International - 1-800-944-4773 (4PPD) For emergency help - call 999 or visit your local A&E department.

    54 min
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5
out of 5
11 Ratings

About

For every neurodivergent mind that was masked, misread, or missed. Where identity is reclaimed and the system gets named. This Voice Is Mine is a podcast for those who were told they were too much, too sensitive, too chaotic, too intense or not enough. Hosted by Dr Emma, a clinical psychologist, neurodivergent woman, and unapologetic system disrupter, this podcast explores what happens when difference is pathologised and what becomes possible when we drop the shame, the script, and the medical model. Through stories, reflections, and conversations with people who were never meant to fit, This Voice Is Mine reclaims the truth of neurodivergent minds, bodies, and ways of being. This is not about fixing or fitting in. It’s about remembering who we are and unlearning everything they got wrong.

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