We all experience the world in different ways. But for many of us, the assumptions about what suits most people simply don't feel like a good fit. That's certainly been my experience. For a long time, I wrestled with feeling different, with challenges and frustrations others didn't always understand, and strengths that were often overlooked. After facing mental health challenges in early adulthood, I began carving my own path, finding self-compassion and embracing the idea that everyone's needs and ways of being are different. That path led me into pastoral support work, helping others foster their own self-compassion through struggles that were often uniquely theirs.

When I later recognised many of my experiences in other late-identified Autistic and ADHD women, it helped me let go of the feeling that something was wrong with me. Instead of asking "How do I make myself fit?", I could start asking:

What do I need? What matters to me? What could work differently?

That shift is what led me to train as a health coach, and it's what shapes how I work with people today.