Navigating business ownership as a neurodivergent entrepreneur can be both challenging and empowering, offering independence and autonomy in work life while also requiring constant self-assessment of needs and capacity. In this episode, Patrick Casale talks with Natalia Rivera, a trauma-informed therapist specializing in high-masking Autistic adults, about how late-in-life neurodivergence discovery impacts entrepreneurship and the importance of honoring authentic capacity.
Here are 3 key takeaways:
- Capacity isn't fixed: Burnout plays a role in how our energy and cognitive capacity change over time, and it's critical to continually assess and honor those limits as we grow professionally.
- Rest is a critical business strategy: Building in downtime, taking restorative breaks, and pausing to reflect are essential, not only for wellbeing but also to create and produce meaningful work sustainably.
- Embrace adaptation and outsourcing: Entrepreneurship allows for adaptability. This can look like slowing down, delegating tasks, and shifting business models to align with evolving needs and spiky neurodivergent profiles.
More about Natalia:
Natalia Rivera is a neurodivergent, trauma-informed therapist and clinical psychology intern who specializes in working with high-masking autistic adults. She is EMDR-trained and passionate about helping clients unlearn survival-based identities and reconnect with their authentic selves.
Her doctoral research explores the identity development of high-masking autistic women, and her background as a former English educator informs her love of storytelling, depth, and meaning-making in the therapeutic process. Natalia believes healing is holistic—integrating mind, body, and spirit—and that faith can be a powerful component of psychological growth. She enjoys nature, literature, and time with the people and animals she loves.
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