Women Who are Autistic

Annelise

This is the podcast amplifying the voices of autistic women—smart, capable, vibrant women who are high on the spectrum and redefining what autism looks like. We talk health, love, work, money, identity, neurodiversity, and everything that shapes our world. Perfect for newly diagnosed women seeking clarity, friends and family looking to understand, and anyone wanting real insight into the autistic female experience. It’s time for awareness, authenticity, and unapologetic conversation. Instagram 📱: @blossom.and.thrive.coaching Book a Discovery Call 📞: https://calendly.com/blossomandthrivecoaching/30min **Disclaimer** I am not a mental health professional and I do not speak for everyone. I am simply a woman with AuDHD who wants to share experiences, stories, and knowledge.

  1. MAR 14

    Finding Joy When All Hope is Lost

    Send us Fan Mail In Episode 10 of the 2026 “careless era” series, Annelise shares her personal burnout recovery and how joy can feel distant after years in survival mode, especially for high functioning autistic women. She explains how chronic masking, overload, and pressure can keep the nervous system in sympathetic urgency or dorsal shutdown, leaving little room for pleasure, desire, or curiosity, and contrasts this with ventral vagal regulation where calm, safety, and connection allow joy to emerge. She reframes joy as something that returns through small moments of safety and softness rather than as a reward for achievement, offering sensory and relational examples like quiet mornings, textures, rain, laughter without masking, and special interests. She closes by inviting listeners to join a waitlist for a small support space focused on boundaries, rumination, regulation, and rebuilding life without constant performance. 🤍 Coaching available for autistic & neurodivergent women ready for clarity, regulation, and self-trust. Book A Discovery Call Instagram: @blossom.and.thrive.coaching Come Join the Conversation-Waitlist Need support or feeling stuck? Book a Discovery Call 📞: https://calendly.com/blossomandthrivecoaching/30min Instagram 📱: @blossom.and.thrive.coaching **Disclaimer** I am not a mental health professional and I do not speak for everyone. I am simply a woman with AuDHD who wants to share experiences, stories, and knowledge.

    24 min
  2. MAR 6

    Boundaries without Explaining Yourself and Understanding Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria (RSD)

    Send us Fan Mail In episode nine of the Women Who Are Autistic New Year’s 2026 “careless era” series, Annelise shares what she’s unlearning about boundaries, rumination, and the exhaustion of overexplaining as self-protection. She explains how autistic women may replay interactions and scan for threat, especially when fear of misinterpretation or rejection is heightened, and outlines how rejection sensitive dysphoria (RSD) can amplify perceived shifts like delayed texts into intense emotional pain. She explores why real relational safety can feel both beautiful and terrifying, and offers practical ways to calm the nervous system before seeking reassurance: pausing and naming what’s happening, grounding and breathing, delaying “repair,” reality-checking evidence, and using simple scripts to ask for clarity without apologizing. She also encourages savoring safety, building internal anchors, finding neurodivergent-informed support, and leaning on community. 🤍 Coaching available for autistic & neurodivergent women ready for clarity, regulation, and self-trust. Book a Discovery Call: https://calendly.com/blossomandthrivecoaching/30min Instagram: @blossom.and.thrive.coaching Need support or feeling stuck? Book a Discovery Call 📞: https://calendly.com/blossomandthrivecoaching/30min Instagram 📱: @blossom.and.thrive.coaching **Disclaimer** I am not a mental health professional and I do not speak for everyone. I am simply a woman with AuDHD who wants to share experiences, stories, and knowledge.

    32 min
  3. FEB 27

    The First Glimpse: What It Feels Like to Live Differently

    Send us Fan Mail n episode nine of the 2026 “careless era” series, Annelise shares a reflection (not advice) on “the first glimpse”—quiet moments when autistic women unmask in small ways, like saying no without overexplaining, adjusting sensory input without apologizing, or asking for processing time—and discover the world doesn’t end. She explains how these glimpses can initially trigger anxiety and guilt because the nervous system has learned that being seen without performance is unsafe, even though masking has carried a heavy toll of exhaustion and burnout. Through examples from women she interviewed—recognizing workplace toxicity sooner and feeling effortless peace with a safe person—she highlights how repeated, regulated moments teach the body that rest, boundaries, and authenticity are not threats, and invites listeners to seek gentle support if desired. 🤍 Coaching available for autistic & neurodivergent women ready for clarity, regulation, and self-trust. Book a Discovery Call: https://calendly.com/blossomandthrivecoaching/30min Instagram: @blossom.and.thrive.coaching Need support or feeling stuck? Book a Discovery Call 📞: https://calendly.com/blossomandthrivecoaching/30min Instagram 📱: @blossom.and.thrive.coaching **Disclaimer** I am not a mental health professional and I do not speak for everyone. I am simply a woman with AuDHD who wants to share experiences, stories, and knowledge.

    13 min
  4. FEB 20

    The Myth of Independence (And Why It’s Costing High-Functioning Autistic Women Everything)

    Send us Fan Mail In episode eight of the Women Who Are Autistic New Year’s 2026 “careless era” series, Annelise shares a personal reflection (not advice) on the myth of independence for autistic women often labeled “high functioning.” She explains how the label can hide private suffering, reinforce masking, and create the belief that needing help means failure. The episode reframes “high functioning” as “high adaptation,” explores how late diagnosis and nervous system needs can intensify hyper-independence, and outlines the costs of doing everything alone—exhaustion, isolation, resentment, shutdowns, and repeated burnout. Annelise emphasizes interdependence and co-regulation as stabilizing and essential, not weakness, and offers gentle challenges to notice the “I’ll handle it alone” reflex, name capacity, share small needs with safe people, and try a simple connection exercise (“I want to know what you’re thinking. I want your honesty.”). She closes by reminding listeners they deserve love and support without performance, and invites them to connect via links in the show notes and Instagram DMs. 🤍 Coaching available for autistic & neurodivergent women ready for clarity, regulation, and self-trust. Book a Discovery Call: https://calendly.com/blossomandthrivecoaching/30min Instagram: @blossom.and.thrive.coaching Need support or feeling stuck? Book a Discovery Call 📞: https://calendly.com/blossomandthrivecoaching/30min Instagram 📱: @blossom.and.thrive.coaching **Disclaimer** I am not a mental health professional and I do not speak for everyone. I am simply a woman with AuDHD who wants to share experiences, stories, and knowledge.

    18 min

About

This is the podcast amplifying the voices of autistic women—smart, capable, vibrant women who are high on the spectrum and redefining what autism looks like. We talk health, love, work, money, identity, neurodiversity, and everything that shapes our world. Perfect for newly diagnosed women seeking clarity, friends and family looking to understand, and anyone wanting real insight into the autistic female experience. It’s time for awareness, authenticity, and unapologetic conversation. Instagram 📱: @blossom.and.thrive.coaching Book a Discovery Call 📞: https://calendly.com/blossomandthrivecoaching/30min **Disclaimer** I am not a mental health professional and I do not speak for everyone. I am simply a woman with AuDHD who wants to share experiences, stories, and knowledge.