Finding Belonging and Navigating Micro-traumas with Devon Lowndes

1,500! That’s the number of micro-traumas neurodivergent people experience just at primary school age (5yrs - 12yrs). This includes things like saying; “you’re not trying”, “you’re lazy”, “you don’t work hard. You need to work harder!”. When we hear words like this what is actually being heard is “you’re not good enough” “you’re not worthy”, “you’re not enough”. It’s an attack on your personhood.  In this episode, our host Matt Head is joined by Devon Lowndes, Co-founder and Director of ‘Self Agency’ as they discuss the importance of finding belongingness and the impact of micro-traumas and how to navigate these challenges. Devon has Dyslexia and ADHD and therefore has first hand experience of these micro-traumas that many neurodivergent people experience in a life-time. Devon tells us that these micro-traumas don’t leave physical scars, but we do hold them within our bodies which has a far reaching impact in all areas of our lives, be it at home, at work, or in education! In this episode, Devon tells us how she found belongingness and how important this is to thrive with dyslexia. Because, when you’re expelling energy to masking, assimilating or pretending, you can focus that energy for your own success! Devon, like many other neurodivergent people, know what it’s like not to feel like you fit in anywhere and how much you crave feeling like you belong. Self Agency was set-up to shine a light on neurodiversity and give everyone the tools to understand the challenges and enable organisations to evolve their cultures. Devon believes that, people with dyslexia, dyscalculic, dyspraxia, ADHD, autism, OCD, Tourette syndrome, mental health illnesses and acquired neurodiversity (such as trauma) have a wealth of strengths to bring to our society, and it’s time that they were recognised and valued. Key Topics:Not feeling like you fit in,Finally finding belongingness,feeling like you can be 100% yourself, what are micro-traumas, andhow to navigate these challenges Find Devon at-LinkedInSelf Agency  - Proudly sponsored by neurobox. Working together with organisations and employees neurobox  builds neuroinclusive workplaces. They do this by creating awareness, improving wellbeing, and breaking down barriers through their tailored end-to-end support programmes For more hacks tip and tricks for dyslexia and full show notes please visit Dyslexia Life Hacks. Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter