Feel Better Every Day with Eve Menezes Cunningham

Eve Menezes Cunningham
  • 0.0 (0)
  • MENTAL HEALTH
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Fáilte! Welcome! I'm Eve Menezes Cunningham, a trauma survivor, AuDHDer, columnist, author of 365 Ways to Feel Better: Self-care Ideas for Embodied Wellbeing, trauma therapist, senior accredited supervisor, and self-care coach at Feel Better Every Day (selfcarecoaching.net). Through solo and interview episodes, I share trauma-informed and neuro-affirming (especially for ADHD and AuDHD) self-care and Self care (for that highest, wisest, truest, wildest, most joyful, brilliant and miraculous part of yourself) ideas, practices and rituals. Reconnect with your Self. Learn self-care practices and rituals to help you regulate, create a life you don't need to retreat from, and help build a world in which everyone feels safe, welcome, and loved. Ready to thrive? The Feel. Love. Heal. framework This framework evolved from decades of pain, exploration and recovery. I’m happy it’s helping making things easier for other trauma survivors, ADHDers and AuDHDers: • Feel: Take better care of yourself with active self-care to regulate your nervous system, work with your energy, and connect with your Self. • Love: Create a life you don’t need to retreat from with Self care to help you accept yourself completely with love, compassion, and kindness. Remember, you're already whole. Peace is within you. • Heal: Help build a world in which everyone feels safe, welcome, loved and able to thrive. Collective care to turn what hurts your heart into action, coregulate and heal with others. New episodes every Tuesday morning (Ireland time). Subscribe for notifications. For previews, bonuses, polyvagal-informed journal prompts and more, sign up for my Míle Buíochas Mondays newsletter at https://feelbettereveryday.kit.com/f7f730d651 Is the Feel Better Every Day Podcast helping you? Please share and leave a ★★★★★ rating and review. Your support helps me reach more trauma survivors and people with ADHD or AuDHD. Learning to care for, love and accept yourself is a radical act. Your healing creates ripples and helps others remember peace and ease is everyone’s birthright too. Míle buíochas (a thousand thank yous).

  1. Movement and Meaning: John Wilson's Self-care

    5D AGO

    Movement and Meaning: John Wilson's Self-care

    “We get a lot of meaning from creating spaces where people can come and connect, and feel like they’re in a place where they’re welcomed, and that some good things can happen.” ~ John Wilson, Co-director, Online Events It was SUCH a joy to talk to Online Events’ co-director, John Wilson. As well as talking about his own ideal and actual self-care, Self care and collective care practices, he shares some of what he’s learned through co-creating such a nourishing online community for therapists, counsellors and supervisors. Chapters 0:01–2:26 Introduction, movement and nervous system support 2:26–3:38 Welcoming John Wilson of Online Events 3:38–6:22 John’s work, community building and setting the context 6:22–9:10 The Feel part: movement, walking, and self-regulation 9:10–12:16 Sleep, flexibility, and adapting self-care when plans change 12:16–14:04 Letting go of perfection and allowing partial practices 14:04–16:59 The Love part: nature, presence, and remembering connection 16:59–19:01 The Heal part: community, meaning, and shared purpose at work 19:01–22:38 Leadership, slowing down, and staying connected under pressure 22:38–24:04 Advice to a younger self and sustaining long-term projects 24:04–26:39 Closing reflections, where to find John, and final notes Links Where to find Online Events: Website: https://OnlinEvents.co.uk/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Online Eventscpd/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Online Events LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/Online Events/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/Online Events_saz Episode 86: Tracy Otsuka on the 43% of ADHDers with Excellent Mental Health FULL TRANSCRIPT Definitely movement is helpful for me. I’m not really a stationary person so anything that has movement in it is helpful for me. And that’s both physically and psychologically. Hi, I’m Eve Menezes Cunningham, and you’re listening to the Feel Better Every Day Podcast. You can find out more, and access older episodes, at thefeelbettereverydaypodcast.com, and you can also access loads of free resources, and find out more about the book 365 Ways to Feel Better: Self-care Ideas for Embodied Wellbeing, the column I write for Platinum every month, other titles I contribute to, my work, loads of free resources I’ve created over the years. I really hope you enjoy this episode, and if you haven’t already signed up for my free newsletter, it goes out on a Monday, Míle Buíochas Mondays. Míle Buíochas means a thousand thank yous in Irish, which I’m very slowly learning. It’s polyvagal informed journal prompts, to help you each week. There’s the gratitude practice element, figuring out more of what brings you joy on a daily basis, what helps you feel in that ventral vagal, what I call Purr! when I use the rescue cats, with the Polyvagal Purrs approach and I also share some of my own gratitudes, some of the things that have helped me feel more in the ventral vagal that week. Some of those will be resources that might benefit you. I also share news about upcoming events, special offers, things like that, but the journal prompts also include encouragement to look at what is creating sympathetic survival responses (that Hiss! with the Polyvagal Purrs approach) and, potentially, the dorsal vagal (Freeze!). It’s really helping you learn to map your own nervous system, get to know yourself, and get to support yourself, and it’s

    27 min
  2. Sensory Soothers for Trauma and AuDHD this Brigid

    FEB 3

    Sensory Soothers for Trauma and AuDHD this Brigid

    Sensory Soothers for Trauma and AuDHD this Brigid: Episode 96 of the Feel Better Every Day Podcast Do you want to learn to soothe and support your extra sensitive (whether through trauma/s, AuDHD (autism and ADHD) or anything else) nervous system? The Goddess Brigid (we had a bank holiday yesterday to honour her, as well as her namesake, St Brigid, yesterday) is associated with so many wonderful qualities. Use her inspiration, healing and wisdom energies to protect and work with your sensitive nervous system instead of pushing through. I share some of my personal journey with swimming and sensory challenges, offering practical strategies for finding activities that bring you joy (glimmers) as well as triggering more challenging sensory issues. Navigate sensory triggers with self-compassion and create a self-care practice that honours your AuDHD brain. #brigid #sensorydifferences #sensitivenervoussystem #audhd #trauma CHAPTERS 0:00–2:24 Introduction, AuDHD, balance, and nervous system support 2:24–3:13 Honouring Brigid and working with an extra-sensitive nervous system 3:13–6:03 Swimming as sensory soothing, regulation and coming home to the body 6:03–8:16 Glimmers, play, balance and how swimming supports ADHD symptoms 8:16–10:23 The Feel part: identifying glimmers, benefits and sensory blocks 10:23–12:28 The Love part: self-compassion, adaptation, and working with sensory needs 12:28–14:04 The Heal part: community, co-regulation and choosing when togetherness helps 14:04–15:50 Closing reflections, encouragement and next episode FULL TRANSCRIPT I love the balancing elements in terms of ADHD, balance is really helpful in terms of working with the cerebellum part of the brain and that’s really helpful in terms of some of our symptoms. Hi, I’m Eve Menezes Cunningham and you’re listening to the Feel Better Every Day Podcast. You can find out more and access older episodes at thefeelbettereverydaypodcast.com and you can also access loads of free resources and find out more about the book, 365 Ways to Feel Better: Self-care Ideas for Embodied Wellbeing, the column I write for Platinum every month, other titles I contribute to, my work, loads of free resources I’ve created over the years. I really hope you enjoy this episode and if you haven’t already signed up for my free newsletter, it goes out on a Monday, Míle Buíochas Mondays. Míle Buíochas means a thousand thank yous in Irish, which I’m very slowly learning. It’s polyvagal informed journal prompts to help you each week. There’s the gratitude practice element, figuring out more of what brings you joy on a daily basis, what helps you feel in that ventral vagal state (I call Purr! when I use the rescue cats with the Polyvagal Purrs approach) and I also share some of my own gratitudes, some of the things that have helped me feel more in ventral vagal that week. Some of those will be resources that might benefit you and I also share news about upcoming events, special offers, things like that. The journal prompts also include encouragement to look at what is creating sympathetic survival responses (that Hiss! with the Polyvagal Purrs approach) and potentially the dorsal vagal (Freeze!). It’s really helping you learn to map your own nervous system, get to know yourself and to support yourself and it’s all free. If you haven’t already, you can sign up at selfcarecoaching.net and if you have any questions again, let me know eve at selfcarecoaching.net. I hope you enjoy this episode. Welcome to episode 96 of the Feel Better Every Day Podcast and this week we’re honouring the Goddess and Saint Brigid. It’s a new bank holiday in Ireland the last few years and Brigid has enormous associations with many, many things but particularly healing, inspiration, wisdom and protection. I thought that for today’s...

    16 min
  3. RSD Part 1: Embrace Your Inner Farty McFartface

    JAN 27

    RSD Part 1: Embrace Your Inner Farty McFartface

    Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria (RSD) can feel debilitating when you’re living with AuDHD (autism and ADHD). In this episode, I share some of my personal journey with RSD - even at age 50! - and introduce some practical tools that help me and which can support you in stopping rejecting yourself. CHAPTERS 0:00–2:22 Introduction to RSD and nervous system–informed support 2:22–5:23 Why RSD is so excruciating and how self-rejection develops 5:23–8:15 Early criticism, negative conditioning, and the ADHD/RSD cycle 8:15–11:47 RSD in creativity, work, relationships, and self-worth 11:47–13:45 Self-acceptance, self-love, and healing RSD in community 13:45–15:58 Expanding life again: stopping self-rejection and finding support 15:58–19:40 The Feel Love Heal framework and non-violent communication 19:40–24:52 Giraffe and jackal energy: compassion, blame, and nervous system responses 24:52–27:54 Fear of rejection, shame, and a very human yoga story 27:54–31:55 Integration, encouragement, and closing reflections LINKS Episode 71: Shadow Work with Black Cats and Sharks Episode 72: The “Independent Woman” Trap 365 Ways to Feel Better: Self-care Ideas for Embodied Wellbeing https://selfcarecoaching.net/book/ https://selfcarecoaching.net/2018/12/05/wellbeing-wednesday-advent-gratitude-practice-and-giraffes-and-jackals-for-better-communication-with-yourself-and-others/ FULL TRANSCRIPT Welcome to Episode 95 of the Feel Better Every Day Podcast and it’s part one of on RSD, Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria, which is so prevalent with AuDHD and that’s autism and ADHD. And it can feel debilitating. Hi, I’m Eve Menezes Cunningham and you’re listening to the Feel Better Every Day Podcast. You can find out more and access older episodes at thefeelbettereverydaypodcast.com and you can also access loads of free resources and find out more about the book, 365 Ways to Feel Better: Self-care Ideas for Embodied Wellbeing, the column I write for Platinum every month, other titles I contribute to, my work, loads of free resources I’ve created over the years. I really hope you enjoy this episode and if you haven’t already signed up for my free newsletter, it goes out on a Monday, Míle Buíochas Mondays. Míle buíochas means a thousand thank yous in Irish, which I’m very slowly learning and it’s polyvagal-informed journal prompts to help you each week. There’s the gratitude practice element, figuring out more of what brings you joy on a daily basis, what helps you feel in that ventral vagal (I call Purr!) when I use the rescue cats with the Polyvagal Purrs approach. And I also share some of my own gratitude, some of the things that have helped me feel more in ventral vagal that week. Some of those will be resources that might benefit you and I also share news about upcoming events, special offers, things like that. The journal prompts also include encouragement to look at what is creating sympathetic survival responses (that Hiss! with the Polyvagal Purrs approach) and potentially the dorsal vagal (Freeze!) It’s really helping you learn to map your own nervous system, get to know yourself and get to support yourself and it’s all free. If you haven’t already you can sign up at selfcarecoaching.net and if you have any questions again let me know either in the comments or at selfcarecoaching.net I hope you enjoy this episode. I’m not normally someone who re-records things, my style is quite natural and unpolished and sometimes haphazard, but this is possibly the latest, since I...

    32 min
  4. Neuro-affirming Self Acceptance with Dr Emma Bede

    JAN 20

    Neuro-affirming Self Acceptance with Dr Emma Bede

    Am delighted to be sharing this interview with the fantabulous Dr Emma Bede. We met online when we were both presenting at Online Events’ Living and Working with Neurodivergence Conference last year and she is SUCH a joy. SIGN UP FOR THE FREE NEWSLETTER AND GET MORE INFORMATION HERE Here are some of my favourite quotes from our conversation: “These are the structures I need to have in place. I think as someone with ADHD, I think if I think of that as like, ‘Come on, you’ve got to do this every day for the rest of your life,’ I just get angry.” ~ Dr Emma Bede “I’m not very good at forming habits. Things don’t become autopilot except for the really unhelpful things. I played Candy Crush once and I’m going to play it every day for the rest of my life. But for the helpful things, I’m never on autopilot, you know, I always need the reminders, the prompts, the visual cues, the apps, the habit trackers. But I’ve been gradually adding more and more things.” ~ Dr Emma Bede “I can’t do all of those things every day, but they go in waves and I’m getting better over time at noticing, oh, I’ve skipped a few days of this actually. And I quite kind of miss it and I want to come back to it. I want to feel how I feel when I do that thing and that might mean that I give up on something else a little bit.” ~ Dr Emma Bede “I’m saying to other people, ‘Well, that’s OK. That’s how your body works. That’s how your brain works. Let’s find a way to go with that. Let’s find a way to go with the rhythm of that.’ And then to walk out of the room and swear at myself for doing the exact same thing? You can only sustain that for so long.” ~ Dr Emma Bede “If you’re holding a screwdriver in your hand and everyone else is holding a spanner, you can sit there for years trying to use it as a spanner and it’s not going to work. But then you go, ‘Do you know what? This is a screwdriver. I cannot do the things that those people can do with their spanners, but screwdrivers can do amazing stuff. I’m going to go do some of those things!’” ~ Dr Emma Bede JOURNAL PROMPTS As you watch or listen to our interview, ask yourself: · Who can you be that honest with in your life? Advocating for your sensory needs while also loving and accepting them?· How can you be kinder to yourself when you meltdown? What will help you repair? Remember, the reparation allows deeper healing and connection than if you were to somehow magically become the perfect parent/partner/therapist etc.Let me know in the comments or by email – eve@selfcarecoaching.net le grá (with love), Eve CHAPTERS 0:00–1:54 Self-care without punishment: the paradox of acceptance and change 1:54–5:13 Welcome and introductions: Dr Emma Bede 5:13–13:02 Ideal vs actual self-care: ACT, gentleness, and finding a rhythm that works with ADHD/autism 13:02–20:06 Self-acceptance, perfectionism, and “acceptance permits change” (including the screwdriver metaphor and RSD moment) 20:06–28:21 Support systems and boundaries: co-regulation, humour, cats and spotting capacity before meltdown 28:21–33:06 Healing your Younger Self: reassurance, being more of you, and not being a “tribute band” 33:06–35:35 Where to find Emma, book mention and closing notes LINKS Emma Bede’s website: https://www.willowpsychology.co.uk/ https://thefeelbettereverydaypodcast for all episodes and more information https://selfcarecoaching.net for free resources (including Míle Buíochas Mondays), more...

    36 min
  5. More Joy, Less Angst: Trauma-Informed Yoga for AuDHD

    JAN 13

    More Joy, Less Angst: Trauma-Informed Yoga for AuDHD

    GET YOUR FREE POLYVAGAL-INFORMED JOURNAL PROMPTS HERE If it hadn’t been for the immediate pain relief from the endometriosis, I’d have run a gazillion miles in the opposite direction from yoga, breathwork and meditation. Back in 2001, I didn’t understand about the impact my trauma history had on my capacity to feel safe around other humans, let alone my differently wired brain and extra sensitive nervous system. I’d adore elements (was getting up for 6.30am classes in London at one point) but be full of angst – which I blamed myself for – around many other seemingly inevitable parts of every class (e.g. other people’s feet waaaay too close to my face when I struggled with even my own feet being so close). In this episode, I share some of my yoga glimmers as well as triggers and ideas – using the Feel. Love. Heal. framework – to help you give yourself the chance to experience calm and ease as you build strength, resilience, flexibility, focus, stamina, balance and reconnect with the peace and joy that are your birthright. JOURNAL PROMPTS As you watch or listen to this episode, ask yourself: What do I hate about yoga, meditation and breathwork? Might there be ways around it? To get the benefits without wanting to run a gazillion miles in the opposite direction? What do I LOVE about them? In the moment? For minutes, hours and even days afterwards? What will you do differently (with your self-talk and communicating your needs and wants to others) as a result of watching or listening to this episode? Let me know in the comments or by email – eve@selfcarecoaching.net And if you’re feeling sad reading this because you can’t think of anything that supportive, let it be a cue to encourage you to be open to more of it in 2026 and beyond. LINKS Moving into 2026 with Roxy Romaniuk: https://youtu.be/3fZVHL_4wzk Community as Self Care (with Elizabeth Potts): https://youtu.be/ukjngIR6U_w Book bonus videos: https://selfcarecoaching.net/book/ Míle Buíochas Mondays: https://feelbettereveryday.kit.com/f7f730d651 Trauma-informed and neuro-affirming yoga, breathwork and meditation: https://selfcarecoaching.net/services/yoga-and-meditation/ Endometriosis: https://selfcarecoaching.net/?s=endometriosis CHAPTERS 0:00–4:12 Introduction and recognising the benefits of yoga, breathwork, and meditation 4:12–8:43 Trauma-informed and neuro-affirming approaches and adapting practice to your needs 8:43–11:34 Sensory considerations, self-advocacy and embracing self-love 11:34–15:34 Community, co-regulation and giving yourself permission to experiment 15:34–20:16 Resources, support and moving further into 2026 FULL TRANSCRIPT Do you like the idea of yoga, breathwork, meditation, but think that with your trauma history, hypervigilance, AuDHD (that’s autism and ADHD) brain, you simply can’t? This episode will share some of the things that I use with clients and students, as well as the things that have helped yoga, breathwork and meditation really become a way which I come home to myself, rather than a way in which it often felt quite torturous. Welcome to Episode 93 of the Feel Better Every Day Podcast. I’m your host and producer, Eve Menezes Cunningham. I’m an author,...

    20 min
  6. Moving into 2026 with Roxy Romaniuk

    JAN 6

    Moving into 2026 with Roxy Romaniuk

    Happy New Year! And welcome to Season 3 of the Feel Better Every Day Podcast! As we move into 2026, am delighted to share my (Eve Menezes Cunningham, author, podcast host, columnist, trauma-informed and neuro-affirming therapist, Self care coach and senior accredited supervisor – https://selfcarecoaching.net has more information) interview with yoga teacher, Roxy Romaniuk. I adore her yoga classes and really loved our conversation and her honesty about moving through difficult feelings, emotions and situations by paying attention and moving them through her body with movement and journalling. I know yoga students and groups have often called me serene (and that I so often feel anything but!) AND while I don’t know how Roxy feels on the inside while she’s teaching, I do know that she wouldn’t embody such serenity as a yoga teacher if she wasn’t doing all this inner work. Nothing’s good or bad. Everything is simply information. But we all need support (compassion for ourselves as we face challenges, the courage to ask for help and support and community around us to offer it when we can’t ask). JOURNAL PROMPTS As you watch or listen to our interview, ask yourself: How might you make more space to process, reflect and work with ALL the feelings in 2026? How and where might you access support and that essential feeling of being held we all need in order to co-regulate and thrive? Maybe there’s a yoga class local to you where you feel able to exhale deeply and let go? Maybe a great friend or loved one you don’t have to mask around? A therapist or coach? Some other kind of relationship? Let me know in the comments or by email – eve@selfcarecoaching.net And if you’re feeling sad reading this because you can’t think of anything that supportive, let it be a cue to encourage you to be open to more of it in 2026 and beyond. THE SOLE TO SOUL CIRCLE IS EVOLVING Whereas before, the deeper dive exclusive content would go out on Wednesdays, this will now be an additional bonus for my Míle Buíochas Mondays newsletter subscribers (as well as the regular polyvagal-informed journal prompts and some of the things I’m most grateful for and delighted to share with you). If you’re not already a subscriber, you can sign up for free at https://feelbettereveryday.kit.com/f7f730d651 And I’ll share more about the evolving Sole to Soul Circle soon. Happy New Year! Le grá (with love), Eve LINKS @yogawithroxy theyogaroot.org – check out their upcoming open weekend with free classes CHAPTERS (0:03) Difficulty expressing “negative” emotions (2:07) Introducing guest Roxolana Romaniuk (3:47) Ideal vs actual self-care through my Feel. Love. Heal. framework (6:00) Small daily rituals and intuitive movement (8:13) Expressing anger and difficult emotions safely (12:21) Community, belonging, and collective care FULL TRANSCRIPT Do you struggle to express yourself when you’re feeling really sad or angry or hurt or any of the so-called negative emotions? Today’s guest is an absolute delight and while she’s one of my favourite yoga teachers, I especially love what she shares about her own self-care in terms of giving space, making space for messy movement and expression. I hope you love listening to her as much as I enjoyed talking to her and I’d also love to hear from you in terms of maybe the emotion you struggle most to process and what you’re going to do differently, what you’re going to try as a result of today’s episode. Welcome to episode 92 of the Feel Better Every Day Podcast and I look forward to hearing from you. I’m your host and producer Eve Menezes Cunningham. I’m an author, columnist, trauma therapist, self-care coach and senior accredited supervisor specialising in ADHD and

    21 min
  7. Trauma-informed and Neuro-affirming Self Care Rituals for NYE and NYD

    12/30/2025

    Trauma-informed and Neuro-affirming Self Care Rituals for NYE and NYD

    Happy New Year! Do you love New Year’s Eve? Do you hate New Year’s Eve? Do you feel indifferent to New Year’s Eve? However you feel, I hope you have a wonderful New Year! Watch or listen to episode 91 of the Feel Better Every Day Podcast wherever you get your podcasts for some of the self-care rituals and practices that I do every year or most years. I hope they’ll help you work with your own ADHD brain, AuDHD brain, and also to continue to heal from any trauma. Use this time of year, where there is so much external pressure in terms of how you might be thinking you should be celebrating or what you should be doing to go for it with all that appeals and ignore all the rest! [Link to selfcarecoaching.net/blog for show notes, full transcript and more] le grá (with love), Eve LINKS Sign up for Míle Buíochas Mondays (Polyvagal-informed and more every Monday) here Westport Lunar Circles Your vibe for 2025: Episode 38 of The Feel Better Every Day Podcast Choose your transpersonal quality for the year ahead Happy New Year and bring what was good about the break into your year ahead Make the most of the seasonal energies CHAPTERS 0:00 – Mixed feelings about New Year’s Eve? 2:28 – Checking in with what actually appeals 4:53 – New Year intentions and PDA-friendly resolutions 6:01 – Lessons, blessings and reflecting on the year 8:18 – Choosing a guiding word or theme for the year ahead 10:26 – Clearing space and symbolic release rituals 12:02 – Self-acceptance instead of self-improvement 13:39 – Community, connection and designing New Year’s Day 16:12 – Creative visioning and sensory mood-setting FULL TRANSCRIPT Do you love New Year’s Eve? Do you hate New Year’s Eve? Do you feel indifferent to New Year’s Eve? However you feel, I hope you have a wonderful New Year and in this episode, episode 91 of the Feel Better Every Day Podcast, I’m going to be sharing some of the self-care rituals and practices that I do every year or most years in order to help you work with your own ADHD brain, AuDHD brain, and also to continue to heal from any trauma and just to really use this time of year where there is so much external pressure in terms of how you might be thinking you should be celebrating or what you should be doing and they’re very tentative invitations in terms of if anything appeals, go for it and ignore all the rest. I’m your host and producer, Eve Menezes Cunningham. I’m an author, columnist, trauma therapist, self-care coach and senior accredited supervisor specialising in ADHD and ADHD friendly trauma-informed, neuro-affirming, transpersonal and somatic approaches. I help people heal through self-care practices that honour your body and your brain and your nervous system as well as your Self, that highest, wisest, truest,...

    20 min
  8. Practice Resting in the Rest of 2025

    12/23/2025

    Practice Resting in the Rest of 2025

    With ADHD, with AuDHD, with trauma, our nervous systems can really struggle with rest. It can feel unsafe to rest. Why do I share how hard I find rest this while extoling the virtues of rest? Because it’s STILL an advanced practice for me. The whole point of this podcast is to show the gap, sometimes gulf, between what we – as self-care and Self care professionals – want to be doing and are actually doing. Especially with trauma histories and the hypervigilance that comes with having needed to survive. And AuDHD and ADHD where endless cycles of burnout eventually teach us how to honour our sensitive nervous systems. It doesn’t have to take you the decades it’s taken me! Everyone (and I’ve interviewed neuroscientists, other therapists, somatic therapists, energy workers and coaches, nutritional therapists, choreographers, artists and more) knows what would help us. We just need to give ourselves permission to make the necessary changes. For me, that’s constantly taking more and more off my plate and becoming more strategic (and actually getting MORE done while feeling better about it all!) by paying closer attention to my own nervous system and energies. I hope that you’ll gift yourself some extra breathing space over the holidays. Begin to ponder ways in which you can build in sustainable changes for a more restful, easier, more peaceful and joyful 2026. I’ve shared loads of resources to support you (and myself!) over the decades and you can access some here (including some research on rest) as well as listening to Tracy Otsuka (am imagining that the 43% of ADHDers with excellent mental health are better at prioritising rest. I know my mental health has improved along with my capacity for more rest), Caroline Shole Arewu and others share some of their tools to support prioritising rest. Enjoy the episode and let me know what you’re going to do to rest more today, this week, this month and in the New Year! le grá (with love), Eve CHAPTERS 0:00 – Why rest feels so difficult 2:55 – AuDHD, ADHD, trauma and nervous system safety 4:02 – Different ways of resting 5:27 – Productivity, pressure and burnout 8:25 – Rest, holidays and emotional release 11:37 – When rest feels unsafe to the nervous system 13:59 – Learning to love a sensitive nervous system 16:24 – Collective care, boundaries and co-regulation FULL TRANSCRIPT Do you struggle to take time to rest, to give yourself a break, to take things off your plate? It can be especially challenging with trauma histories, with AuDHD (autism and ADHD) with ADHD. It’s especially important to pay attention to your nervous system and make sure that you are getting enough rest, because we’re mammals, just like my little role model here, Meadbh. Cats don’t feel guilty about all the snoozes, all the rest, it enables them to play harder, to climb, to do other things, but we humans, we are in a world which doesn’t encourage rest. It encourages us to think we need all sorts of things we don’t necessarily need. Welcome to Episode 90 of the Feel Better Every Day Podcast. I’ve talked and written about rest a lot and there’ll be links...

    26 min
See All (98)

About

Fáilte! Welcome! I'm Eve Menezes Cunningham, a trauma survivor, AuDHDer, columnist, author of 365 Ways to Feel Better: Self-care Ideas for Embodied Wellbeing, trauma therapist, senior accredited supervisor, and self-care coach at Feel Better Every Day (selfcarecoaching.net). Through solo and interview episodes, I share trauma-informed and neuro-affirming (especially for ADHD and AuDHD) self-care and Self care (for that highest, wisest, truest, wildest, most joyful, brilliant and miraculous part of yourself) ideas, practices and rituals. Reconnect with your Self. Learn self-care practices and rituals to help you regulate, create a life you don't need to retreat from, and help build a world in which everyone feels safe, welcome, and loved. Ready to thrive? The Feel. Love. Heal. framework This framework evolved from decades of pain, exploration and recovery. I’m happy it’s helping making things easier for other trauma survivors, ADHDers and AuDHDers: • Feel: Take better care of yourself with active self-care to regulate your nervous system, work with your energy, and connect with your Self. • Love: Create a life you don’t need to retreat from with Self care to help you accept yourself completely with love, compassion, and kindness. Remember, you're already whole. Peace is within you. • Heal: Help build a world in which everyone feels safe, welcome, loved and able to thrive. Collective care to turn what hurts your heart into action, coregulate and heal with others. New episodes every Tuesday morning (Ireland time). Subscribe for notifications. For previews, bonuses, polyvagal-informed journal prompts and more, sign up for my Míle Buíochas Mondays newsletter at https://feelbettereveryday.kit.com/f7f730d651 Is the Feel Better Every Day Podcast helping you? Please share and leave a ★★★★★ rating and review. Your support helps me reach more trauma survivors and people with ADHD or AuDHD. Learning to care for, love and accept yourself is a radical act. Your healing creates ripples and helps others remember peace and ease is everyone’s birthright too. Míle buíochas (a thousand thank yous).

Information