A little task I’ve been asking my clients to perform before they leave a room. A task to develop their sense of what their body is feeling (and to then honour those feelings). If you sense that you’re feeling too tense, hot and anxious - maybe think about either reducing what you’re about to do, or not do it at all (find an alternative time, when your body score is higher) :)

This short article has been on my radar since PhD days, when the idea that chronic stress, hypervigilance and repeated “micro‑threats” could shape immune and autonomic function was only just emerging in the literature. At that time, linking frequent rejection and criticism (as described in this ADHD opinion piece) with later presentations such as POTS, MCAS, hEDS and broader dysautonomia was still considered speculative, rather than clinically obvious.

What stands out now is how clearly this estimate of tens of thousands of additional negative messages helps explain the allostatic load many ND peeps carry into adolescence and then adulthood (and this load just gets bigger and bigger). It really helps me explain why so many present with complex, overlapping dysautonomia and autoimmune‑like symptom profiles. We are a fragile ecosystem!