“You just need to step outside your comfort zone.”

For people who are neurodivergent, this advice can be helpful but more often than not, it can be deeply unhelpful.

Growth can involve trying something new, practising a skill, or gently expanding what feels possible. But there is a difference between stretching within your window of tolerance and repeatedly pushing your nervous system into overwhelm.

You cannot train yourself out of sensory needs. You cannot force your nervous system to respond as though you are not autistic. And you do not have to keep exposing yourself to environments that leave you dysregulated, exhausted, or shut down just to prove you are trying.

Your comfort zone is not always avoidance. Sometimes it is information. Information on how you stay regulated, grounded and what enables you to be present.

Notice the difference between a manageable stretch and a demand that costs you too much.

Support, accommodations, recovery time, and sensory regulation are not barriers to growth, they are what keeps us regulated and able to participate in life.

I prefer to use the phrase “regulated zone”. My regulated zone is wearing sensory friendly clothes in a quiet, sensory friendly environment -mainly PJs, tight headband in my hair and hair in a ponytail for the sensory input with my weighted teddy - named “Teddy” - original name...I know 😆

Tasha x