This episode comes with a content warning.
In this episode, we take a raw look at the intersection of neurodiversity and trauma. We talk about family violence, abusive relationships, trauma, bullying, anxiety, depression, CPTSD, psychiatric hospitalisation, and some pretty heavy mental health stuff. So if this is not for you today, save it for a day when you’ve got a few more spoons.
Today it’s just me, no Jayne, and I’m joined by Jacinta Dubojski from Just Another Girl.
This is a different kind of conversation.
Jacinta is someone a lot of people would probably look at and make assumptions about. Tall, beautiful, polished, put together. And that is exactly part of why this conversation matters. Because people do that all the time. They look at someone and decide their life must have been easy.
It wasn’t.
We talk about bullying, low self-worth, abusive relationships, trauma, what it does to your brain and body, and what it takes to keep going when life has absolutely kicked the sh*t out of you.
Jacinta also talks about the work she now does with girls in schools through Just Another Girl, and why speaking up can genuinely change, and sometimes save, lives.
This one is raw. It wanders a bit in places. It gets heavy. It also has hope in it.
And the reason it belongs on this podcast is because neurodivergent people are more vulnerable to abusive relationships, family violence, coercion and other forms of harm than a lot of people realise. We do not talk about that enough.
If this one hits close to home, please check the support links below. And if you need to, send this episode to someone and just say, I need to talk.
Timestamps
- 00:00 Content warning
- 02:42 Intro and meeting Jacinta
- 04:10 Jacinta on her work, motherhood, trauma and why she shares her story
- 09:10 Modelling, bullying, appearance and being judged on the outside
- 18:28 How Just Another Girl started
- 21:44 Being bullied at school and not telling anyone
- 24:30 Domestic violence, trauma and feeling trapped
- 32:44 If this is your story too
- 36:31 Speaking in schools and trying to change lives early
- 39:18 Social media, girls, and protecting the next generation
- 42:48 What Jacinta would say to her younger self
- 47:49 Proof that things can get better
- 51:38 Reaching out when you’re struggling
- 58:46 Where to find Jacinta
- 59:47 Why this matters for neurodivergent people too
- 1:03:27 Final support message and wrap up
Connect
Find us on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok at F Them Fish: AuDHD for Grownups
Send your stories and questions to FThemFish@gmail.com
AuDHD for grownups: honest, funny conversations about work, relationships, sensory overload, identity, and the stuff nobody explains after diagnosis.
Find Jacinta
Just Another Girl Project
Instagram: @just.anothergirl_
Website: https://www.justanothergirlproject.com.au/
Support
If this episode brings stuff up for you, please reach out for support.