I’m Dr Miriam Mavia-Zając, Consultant Chartered Psychologist, late-diagnosed ND woman of colour, and founder of Neurodiverse You (NDY).
For twenty odd years I’ve sat in my clinic with high-capacity people who were labelled fussy, dramatic, lazy, or fragile, only to discover their brains were simply wired for a different rhythm.
This blog series, “Hidden Patterns,” decodes more than ten of the most common yet least-named puzzles inside ADHD and autistic lives. The series creates a living library, published one room at a time. It gives language (and practical scaffolds) to experiences most people only feel.
What this series is – and how it arrives
Think of each post as a freshly lit room in a big, previously dark house. We open one door, name the furniture nobody saw, and suggest kinder and more meaningful ways to arrange it.
Because real depth takes time, one new room appears every three-to-four weeks. That rhythm lets the science settle, the language stay sharp, and you keep up without drowning.
- If a title below sparks you, but isn’t live yet – pop back next month or watch out for the newsletter.
- If you’d like a room that isn’t listed – hit reply and tell me. Reader requests often set the blueprint for the next door we open.
Topics planned so far
# | Working title (may morph) | Teaser |
1 | Why Am I Always Hot? – The Dopaminergic Thermostat | Ever wonder why your ADHD or autistic body feels like a furnace while everyone else is fine? We’ll trace the brain pathways that hijack your thermostat, unpack which medications turn up the heat, and share real-world cooling hacks—from office desk fans to PPE gel-packs—so you can survive the next heatwave without a meltdown. |
2a | The Safe-Food Loop | “Picky eater” is a lazy label. This post shows how texture pain, decision fatigue, and dopamine dips lock ND people into tiny food menus—and why that loop is a nervous-system safety plan, not bad behaviour. You’ll leave able to explain your plate to sceptical relatives (and to yourself). |
2b | Fuel for a Neuro-Spicy Brain | Part-two dives into nutrition gaps most selective eaters never spot—think vitamin D, iron, omega-3s—and offers sensory-friendly, budget-aware ways to fix them. Smoothies that don’t taste fishy, four-meal fridge rotations, and supplement tips you can run past your GP. |
3 | Sleep, Time & the Circadian Saboteur | If your brain wakes at midnight and despises 7 a.m. alarms, this post is your map. We’ll demystify late body-clocks, show how meds and blue light shift melatonin, and sketch flexible workplace fixes that value output over 9-to-5 clock-punching. |
4 | Hormones on the Tilt | Puberty, cycles, pregnancy, perimenopause—oestrogen and progesterone can flip ND traits from super-focus to brain-fog overnight. Learn why stimulants “stop working,” how cancer meds mimic a hormonal cliff-fall, and which small schedule or HRT tweaks reclaim attention. |
5 | Old Wounds on Repeat | Rejection-sensitive dysphoria (RSD) isn’t simple oversensitivity; it’s stored pain that replays before new hurt arrives. We’ll explore the predictive brain science, how masking doubles the sting, and offer concrete co-regulation scripts plus body-based resets to break the loop. |
6 | The Overlooked Body | From migrating joint pain to “mystery” belly aches, ND people often carry sensations mainstream medicine misses. We’ll connect sensory hangovers, alexithymia, and autonomic zig-zags, then outline advocacy tips for getting taken seriously in clinics. |
7 | Sparks, Signals & the Consent Compass | Desire and touch can be exhilarating—or overwhelming—when your senses run hot and your timing’s out of sync. This post maps ND-friendly intimacy: reading green lights, offering clear opt-outs, and designing sensory-safe pleasure for every body. |
8 | Money, Work & the Professional Camouflage | Dopamine spending, invoice paralysis, and the cost of looking “together” at work—this piece pairs neuroscience with practical budgeting, plus workplace tweaks that swap shame for transparent support. |
9 | Friendship & the Quiet-Corners Club | Parallel play at 35? Ghosting while loving your friends? We’ll normalise ND social rhythms, share gentle re-entry messages after radio silence, and suggest friendship contracts that honour alone-time without hurt feelings. |
10 | Menopause – When the Mask Thins | Dropping hormone levels can peel back decades of social camouflage, revealing late-life ADHD or autism. We’ll spotlight signs clinicians miss, discuss inclusive HRT options, and show why this stage can be a portal to unfiltered authenticity—not the end of competence. It ids not late onset by the way. |
(Future rooms—parenting, study skills, etc.—will unlock as requests and research align.)
How to use the house
- Drop-in: grab the door that solves today’s friction.
- Deep-dive: read in order; the wiring between rooms becomes clearer.
- Newsletter: every 3–4 weeks you’ll get a short Room-Notes email – one cut paragraph, reader voices, and a prompt to keep the dialogue alive.
Someone asked me “Why focus on just ADHD & autism” [That is just for now]
Depth beats dilution. ADHD & Autism profiles share dopamine-sensory-masking dynamics that let one series serve two overlapping communities without vague generalities. Other neuro-profiles deserve equal nuance; they’ll get their own rooms rather than being squeezed into an over-crowded hallway.
Your key to the house
If a headline you need is missing, or you’re waiting on a door to open, tell me. This is a co-built map: the more you point to invisible furniture, the faster we can give it a name.
See you in the next room—
Dr Miriam | Neurodiverse You
