Welcome back to Friendship Therapy, the podcast where psychotherapist, author and podcaster Emma Reed Turrell looks at your friendship experiences through a therapy lens. This week, Emma chats to Jemima, who reached out to Emma to talk about the impact that neurodivergence has had on her friendships.
Diagnosed at just six years old, dyspraxia has affected every aspect of Jemima's life since she was a small child, from being put into remedial classes at school, to throwing and catching balls with her brother so she could be more like the other children. Jemima's family just wanted to keep her safe from a world that didn't necessarily understand her, but Jemima wanted to reject her dyspraxia diagnosis altogether. Now, as a woman in her forties, she has come to learn a lot about herself and the way she exists in the world as a neurodiverse woman with her own unique experiences in life and in friendship.
In this episode, Jemima generously shares how she navigates friendship and dyspraxia. We hear about her experience of being neurodivergent in a world that doesn't always celebrate difference, struggling with burnout and feelings of rejection and abandonment, and through it all, the unwavering support, love and encouragement that her friends and family have shown her.
Jemima's story reminds us that when we mess up, as we inevitably will, having grace for ourselves and for our friends can be an incredibly powerful metric of friendship.
To find out more about Eric Berne's Parent, Adult, Child theory, click here:
https://www.simplypsychology.org/transactional-analysis-eric-berne.htmlInformation on dyspraxia from the NHS website:
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/developmental-coordination-disorder-dyspraxia-in-adults/Exceptional Individuals -
https://exceptionalindividuals.com/Some book recommendations from Jemima:
The Lion Who Wanted to Love -
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lion-Who-Wanted-Love/dp/1860399134/ref=asc_df_1860399134/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=697208928393&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=9929041182393392105&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9046002&hvtargid=pla-537898099083&psc=1&mcid=36f7310928af3f02b640a4340b0442d0&th=1&psc=1&gad_source=1Autism in Heels -
https://booksplea.se/autism-in-heels-the-untold-story-of-a-female-life-on-the-spectrum-by-jennifer-cook-otoole/?setCurrencyId=1&gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIqanE7ZXbhgMVspVQBh3j_QLDEAQYASABEgL6MfD_BwERhinocorn Rules -
https://www.theworks.co.uk/p/picture-books/rhinocorn-rules/WKS_9780008617103.html?gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIyLf5iZbbhgMVw4hQBh2_rAo8EAQYASABEgJYv_D_BwEIf you’d like to apply to appear on the podcast in season two, please click the link below to fill out the form:
https://forms.gle/owsfs6DVxVdTMFo46
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