👉🏽 Subscribe for thoughtful, bite-sized emails — from Liz Zhou, a neurodivergent therapist — on how to take care of your nervous system & understand your brain.
May this season bring you exactly what you need 🌱
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This weekend marked the solstice - a transition across seasons, the longest day of light in the northern hemisphere & the longest night in the southern hemisphere. 🕯️ To me, these types of transitions feel important to celebrate & acknowledge – whether through the simple lighting of a candle, a moment of connection with nature, or a gathering with loved ones. This time of year reminds me of other types of transitions as well - endings, new beginnings, goodbyes, and hellos. Several years ago, I signed up to foster kittens through my local animal rescue. We (my partner & I) got to foster several adorable kittens, caring for them until they reached an adoptable age & weight, and sometimes nursing them back to full health after they’d had a rough start to life. Inevitably, several weeks after we would meet & bond with our adorable foster kittens, we would have to transition them to their next home – that is, return them to the animal rescue org, so they could be placed with these forever homes. Sometimes, when I share about this experience with people, they ask me, “is it hard to say goodbye to the kittens?” 💔 My honest answer? Yes and no. Yes, it was hard to say goodbye, because I cherished my time with these kittens & they brought so much joy and delight to the home. But also no, because I knew that they would be going to a home where they would be loved & cared for. My role in their life was as a bridge & transition space, but not necessarily as a forever home. I was in their life for a season - and then they got to transition to their next chapter. Once they left, we would have space to welcome the next foster kittens. Transitions - like the solstice; like goodbyes & hellos - remind me how precious life is. Each season of life plays a role in shaping who we are & how we relate to the world. May this season bring you exactly what you need. With care, P.S. Know someone who needs to hear this? Forward it along. New readers can subscribe here. P.P.S. If you’re interested in working together, I’d love to support you. 🌻 For folks who are overwhelmed & burnt out, but too busy for weekly therapy, I offer Nervous System Healing Intensives — three 90-minute sessions, using brain-body modalities (Brainspotting, IFS, EMDR) that go deeper than talk therapy & help you feel better, sooner.
Intensives are a type of short-term, accelerated therapy — for folks who prefer a hyper-focused approach to healing; who need longer than 50-min sessions to warm up & process deeply. 👉🏽 If you want to get an Intensive on the books, click here to book an intro call. I help highly sensitive, neurodivergent adults heal their nervous systems & connect with their authentic selves. 💗 Need a nervous system reset? —> Join me for a Calm Place meditation. |
Liz's Neurodivergent Letters
👉🏽 Subscribe for thoughtful, bite-sized emails — from Liz Zhou, a neurodivergent therapist — on how to take care of your nervous system & understand your brain.
While on a hike recently, I came across a sign that said: 🚫 If you see a bear, don’t make eye contact (which the bear may perceive as a sign of aggression) Which was right next to another sign: 👀 If you see a mountain lion, DO make eye contact (which shows the lion that you are aware of its presence & not afraid) These signs made me feel a bit spooked, reminding me of the possibility of encountering these creatures. (Though, to my relief, a third sign in the vicinity stated that the last...
Every single day, our brains are processing countless pieces of input. Notifications from five different apps. The ping of incoming text messages The microwave timer going off. Emails piling up in your inbox. The physical pile of letters & bills on your desk. Phone calls & voicemails. The to-do list that keeps growing. 🧠 Due to the sheer amount of stimulation around us, it can be hard for our brains to discern what is actually urgent vs. what seems urgent but is not a true emergency. The...
There’s a book on my shelf that I’ve been reading for... what feels like forever. Every week or so, I’ll pick it up & read through another chapter. The content of the book is complex, so I can only process one chapter at a time. Then, my brain gets tired and needs a break. (The book, for the record, is called A Disability History of the United States, and it’s definitely not a “light read.”) My point is: the slow pace of reading a physical book - feeling the material in my hands, turning each...