The Neurodivergent Creative Podcast

Caitlin Fisher
  • 4.8 (33)
  • Self-Improvement
  • Updated Daily

The podcast for creatives of all types (and neurotypes) to celebrate passion and creativity, stop hiding your unique brilliance, and embrace what makes your mind and spirit come alive! Previously known as Run Like Hell Toward Happy, this show is hosted by Caitlin Fisher, a writing and creative coach who helps neurodivergent, chronically ill, and/or queer folks connect with their most passionate lives.

  1. 6d ago

    Stop Confusing Privacy with Lying | #216

    In this episode of The Neurodivergent Creative, Caitlin explores the psychology of secrecy, honesty, rumination, and the very neurodivergent pressure to be “fully transparent” all the time.Because sometimes keeping secrets is not dishonest. Sometimes, it is safe. Sometimes, it is healthy. Sometimes, it is necessary.Inspired by a Psychology Today article and research from Michael Slepian and Alex Koch, Caitlin unpacks why humans keep secrets, what kinds of secrets people commonly carry, and when secrecy becomes emotionally or physically harmful. They also share how OCD, black-and-white thinking, and burnout created a belief that being a good person meant being endlessly open, endlessly nuanced, and endlessly available. (Spoiler: it does not!)💬"Sometimes keeping secrets is a safety thing. You don't have to tell everybody everything about you." - Caitlin Liz FisherWhat We Explore in This Episode: The difference between privacy, secrecy, and dishonestyHow OCD and black-and-white thinking can create pressure to be “honest” at all costsWhy oversharing can become unsafe or unsustainableHow secrets can cause distress when they create shame, isolation, or uncertaintyWhy rumination is often more harmful than the secret itselfHow confiding in a safe, compassionate person can reduce the burden of secrecyThree questions to ask yourself when deciding whether a secret is harmful

    25 min

  2. Jun 19

    Bisexuality, the Kinsey Scale, and the Myth of “Straight as Default” | #215

    In this Pride Month episode of The Neurodivergent Creative, Caitlin Fisher dives into bisexuality, queer history, compulsory heterosexuality, and the social systems that taught us to treat straightness as the default.💬" Heterosexuality as norm is a social construct. Without hierarchy, it's all just neutral behavior." - Caitlin Liz FisherThey also explore the Kinsey Scale, its historical importance, its limitations, and why newer models of sexuality offer more nuance. Caitlin connects this conversation to queer erasure, religious and patriarchal control, colonialism, defunded queer research, and the ways queer history has been intentionally suppressed.At the heart of this episode is a liberating reminder: human sexuality is fluid, layered, and far more expansive than the rigid categories society often tries to enforce.What We Explore in This Episode:- Compulsory heterosexuality and how it shapes self-understanding- Bisexual erasure, queer gatekeeping, and the fear of not being “queer enough”- The Kinsey Scale as an early model of sexual orientation and where it falls short- Alternatives to the Kinsey Scale, including the Klein Grid, SASO, and MSS- Queerness in animal behavior and why “natural” is not synonymous with heterosexual- How religion, patriarchy, colonialism, and political power have shaped sexual norms- The intentional erasure of queer history and queer researchMentioned in this episode:- Episode 167: Why We Are 60 Years Behind on Queer Rights: https://youtu.be/YM24FA_s9lg- Episode 168: Pride, Bisexual Erasure, and the Harm of Queer Gatekeeping (with Bailey Merlin): https://youtu.be/f7JBJYXAC44- Alfred Kinsey and the Kinsey Scale - https://bi.org/en/famous/alfred-kinsey/- The Klein Sexuality Grid - https://bi.org/en/bi-101s/kinsey-klein/- The Sell Assessment of Sexual Orientation - http://www.lgbtdata.com/uploads/1/0/8/8/10884149/ms003_sell_details.pdf- The Multidimensional Scale of Sexuality - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2230111/- Queerness and bisexual/homosexual behavior in animals - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homosexual_behavior_in_animals- History of Human Sexuality - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_human_sexuality#Religion_and_sex

    37 min

  3. Jun 12

    Heated Rivalry Is the Queer Romance We Deserve | #214

    It’s Pride Month, and Caitlin is kicking things off with a very queer, very passionate, very neurodivergent deep dive into Heated Rivalry—the gay hockey romance that has officially become a hyperfocus.💬"If we didn't have the hetero patriarchal state that we live in that just assumes straight is the norm, people would be so much more fluid and open and just not scared of their own sexualities." - Caitlin Liz FisherThis episode begins with a Pride Month PSA about visibility, queerness, shame, and the ridiculous amount of work people do to avoid accepting the full spectrum of human sexuality. Caitlin reminds listeners that Pride is not about “shoving sexuality in people’s faces.” It is about being alive, being out, and refusing to disappear in a world that still tries to push queer people back into the closet.What We Explore in This Episode: Why Pride Month is about survival, visibility, celebration, and resistanceThe shame and fear many people carry around sexuality and same-sex attractionHow heteronormativity limits people’s ability to explore their own desireWhy Heated Rivalry became Caitlin’s latest hyperfocusWhy slow-burn enemies-to-lovers stories can feel so emotionally powerfulThe risks Shane and Ilya face as queer athletes in a deeply unsafe worldHow fear, secrecy, intimacy, and longing shape the central romanceQueer media resources mentioned: Heated Rivalry: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt35495073/Game Changers book series by Rachel Reid: https://www.goodreads.com/series/245053-game-changersSchitt’s Creek: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3526078/

    19 min

  4. May 22

    Healing Happens in Safe Relationships | #213

    In this episode, Caitlin reflects on nervous systems, shame, emotional safety, and what happens when we finally experience relationships where we don’t have to suppress ourselves to be loved.💬"If somebody's shaming you and telling you to, like, 'Shut that up and get a handle on it,' I don't think they have your best interests at heart. I think they have their best interests at heart, and their best interests are, 'You don't make them deal with anything.' And part of humanity is dealing with each other, right? That's community. That's love. That's relationship."Through stories about startling easily, autistic burnout, relationships, and midnight dog walks, this conversation explores how healing often begins when our reactions stop being treated like inconveniences.What We Explore in This Episode How shame can train us to suppress normal human reactionsWhy safe relationships can reveal old wounds and triggersThe difference between being told you're safe and actually feeling safeNervous system healing and learning that you do not have to carry everything aloneWhy healthy relationships create room for your full humanity

    16 min

  5. May 15

    People Pleasing, Polyamory, and the Relationship Escalator | #212

    In this episode, Caitlin Fisher reflects on trauma responses, people-pleasing, relationship conditioning, compulsory heterosexuality, polyamory, patriarchy, and the surreal realization that maybe… not everything is her fault.💬"I'm constantly blaming myself for emergencies and problems that have not even occurred yet. I'm just walking around with a little sign above my head that says, 'You can blame me for that.' And I've been giving that away for free to people. I've just been giving them a get out of accountability free card... We're not doing that anymore because I'm tired, and I have better things to do with my life, such as living a life." - Caitlin Liz FisherWhat begins as a story about running out of whipped cream spirals into a layered conversation about nervous system healing, accountability, toxic conditioning, queer identity, relationship structures, and the strange cultural expectations we absorb without realizing it.And honestly? Sometimes healing looks like sitting in your kitchen realizing someone said “damn it” and your body didn’t immediately prepare for a full on emotional battle.What We Explore in This Episode How trauma can create hypervigilance and chronic self-blameThe emotional relief of realizing you are not responsible for everyone’s feelingsCompulsory heterosexuality and questioning relationship normsPolyamory, kitchen table dynamics, and relationship hierarchyPatriarchy, gender conditioning, and why hygiene somehow became “feminine”The relationship escalator and why default societal scripts deserve questioningHow nervous system safety changes the way we experience conflict and mistakes

    23 min

  6. May 8

    Art Class, Sensory Issues & Making Friends as an Adult | #211

    In this episode, Caitlin reflects on taking their first in-person drawing class in years and accidentally stumbling into a bigger realization about creativity, friendship, perfectionism, and neurodivergent self-worth. What starts as a story about pencils, charcoal, and sensory nightmares slowly unfolds into a conversation about being perceived, finding safe people, and realizing that maybe making friends isn’t about performing correctly after all.💜💬“Apparently all you have to do is just be yourself, and the people that like that will come sit by you.” - Caitlin Liz FisherWhat We Explore in This Episode Perfectionism and the fear of “wasting” good art suppliesAuDHD work experiences and supportive workplacesFriendship, authenticity, and accidental community-buildingLetting hobbies exist without monetizing or mastering themReconnecting with the crafty, playful parts of yourselfGentle Reminders From This Episode Your hobbies do not need to become productive to matter.Warm-ups count.Tiny creative crumbs count.You do not have to earn the right to use nice materials.Friendship is often less complicated than trauma taught us it would be.Accommodating yourself is not failure.Your human experience is worthy of the paper.

    20 min

  7. May 1

    Why You Crave Attention (And Why It’s Not Bad) | #210

    Attention is not just about being seen. It’s about being known. The people closest to us are close because they notice us.  They pay attention to our needs, our moods, our patterns. Giving our attention says: This matters to me. And when that’s missing, it can shape how we show up in relationships—whether that looks like avoiding needs altogether or longing to be noticed without knowing how to ask.In this episode, Caitlin explores something many of us quietly wrestle with: our very human need for attention. They also introduce us to a psychological concept called the Spotlight Effect, which explains why we tend to overestimate how much people notice us. This conversation reframes attention not as something shameful, but as something we need to feel seen, held, and understood.“We are shaped and molded by people around us. But at the end of the day, like we have to know ourselves and we have to know how to take care of ourselves. So like your world should include other people, but it cannot revolve around other people because then you are losing yourself."What We Explore in This Episode Why needing attention is a fundamental human experienceThe difference between healthy attention and shame-based narrativesHow trauma can push us to center others and abandon ourselvesBecoming the center of your own world (without losing connection)The “spotlight effect” and why people notice you less than you thinkReframing attention as intimacy, care, and mutual recognition

    19 min

  8. Apr 17

    Autism, Masking, and Moral Rules About Honesty | #209

    In this super short episode, Caitlin reflects on masking, honesty, and the complicated relationship many neurodivergent people have with truth, safety, and self-expression.💬" You can't just academically study yourself, right? You're still living a life. So it's very hard for me to like be able to talk about the effects of masking if I am like constantly demanding of myself that I never mask." - Caitlin FisherThrough the lens of a romance novel character perceived as “difficult,” we’re invited to question our assumptions about behavior. Because WHAT IF what looks like dishonesty or harshness is actually someone creating distance to feel safe?And while masking can be exhausting, this episode also gently reframes it as something more nuanced:Masking can be a boundary.Masking can be a shield.Masking can be survival.Tune in as they explore what it means to protect your peace, even when that means not being fully “honest” all the time.What we learn in this episode:- What masking actually is (beyond the usual definition)- Why honesty can feel like a moral obligation- The link between neurodivergence and black-and-white thinking- How to choose safety without guiltThings to reflect on:- Where am I demanding total honesty from myself in ways that feel unsafe?- Who in my life has earned access to my full, unmasked self?- Where can I offer myself more flexibility instead of rigid rules?

    8 min
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4.8
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About

The podcast for creatives of all types (and neurotypes) to celebrate passion and creativity, stop hiding your unique brilliance, and embrace what makes your mind and spirit come alive! Previously known as Run Like Hell Toward Happy, this show is hosted by Caitlin Fisher, a writing and creative coach who helps neurodivergent, chronically ill, and/or queer folks connect with their most passionate lives.

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