Christmas is over but we’re still technically in Yuletide territory so we decided to do something a little different this year to acknowledge the festivities before they slip away from us for another year. We like folklore. We like weird creatures. We like traditions and rituals that make no sense to us because they’re not part of our time period or culture. If you like those things too, we hope you’ll join us as we indulge in a hilarious exploration of some of the legendary and iconic characters behind Yule folklore. Hide your children and your sheep, tidy up your house, get some new clothes, grab your colander for home defense, and let’s go!

If you’re enjoying the podcast we’d love it if you could help us spread the word by telling your friends, subscribing to the podcast, and leaving a rating or review. If you’d like to support us on Patreon we are at www.patreon.com/differentfunctional Thanks so much for listening and remember, different does not mean defective.

Happy Holidays! Shopping for gifts sucks! Unless you’re one of those people who is naturally gifted at knowing exactly what to give as gifts to other people. Let’s be honest though, most of us probably don’t have that talent, so we sat down and did some brainstorming about what might make for good gifts. We can’t guarantee you’ll want any of these gifts or that you’ll know someone who will but there’s probably a pretty good chance we’ll at least get those gears turning. This episode is for the neurodivergent folks who procrastinated their shopping and now feel overwhelmed about what to get that you can actually afford.

If you’re enjoying the podcast we’d love it if you could help us spread the word by telling your friends, subscribing to the podcast, and leaving a rating or review. If you’d like to support us on Patreon we are at www.patreon.com/differentfunctional Thanks so much for listening and remember, different does not mean defective.

Ivy is sick! And so is everyone else it seems. It’s that time of year when bugs and viruses and bacteria skulk around and infect the unsuspecting. So, we interrupt our scheduled content to talk disease instead. Grab a box of tissues and join us as we spill the tea on 90s sick day nostalgia, our tips and tricks, embarrassing moments, and some good old-fashioned complaints.

If you’re enjoying the podcast we’d love it if you could help us spread the word by telling your friends, subscribing to the podcast, and leaving a rating or review. If you’d like to support us on Patreon we are at www.patreon.com/differentfunctional Thanks so much for listening and remember, different does not mean defective.

Things are rough right now, and by right now I mean for so long that it’s getting hard to remember when they weren’t rough. Walking through the world feels a bit like getting a scrub down with coarse grit sandpaper. If you’re feeling a little raw too then join us for a cognitive restructuring game where we look for the silver linings and seek out some meaning in the misery.

If you’re enjoying the podcast we’d love it if you could help us spread the word by telling your friends, subscribing to the podcast, and leaving a rating or review. If you’d like to support us on Patreon we are at www.patreon.com/differentfunctional Thanks so much for listening and remember, different does not mean defective.

Is it just us or has Halloween ghosted everyone this year? Usually this is a holiday loved and looked forward to by dang near everybody, but this year the enthusiasm feels a bit lacking. We’re not seeing as many decorations for Halloween or even for fall in general. Our social media feeds are dripping with political bickering instead of flowing over with the annual ghosts, ghoulies, pumpkins, costumes, hot spiced apple cider recipes, or the warm and cozy autumn aesthetics. Times are tough for sure but it’s sad to think that maybe this holiday and all the magick it brings might slip away unnoticed.

Join us as we talk about where the spirit of the season may have disappeared and how we can get it back before the candles in the jack-o-lanterns burn down and flicker out completely.

If you’re enjoying the podcast we’d love it if you could help us spread the word by telling your friends, subscribing to the podcast, and leaving a rating or review. If you’d like to support us on Patreon we are at www.patreon.com/differentfunctional Thanks so much for listening and remember, different does not mean defective.

Okay, we’ll admit, this reaction isn’t very reflexive since it took several weeks to come to any conclusions, however, we will say that the outcome did not meet the reflexive expectations. Social media is full of creators touting all kinds of health and nutrition advice; and with so much of it seeming extreme, conflicting, or too good to be true it’s easy to look at these recommendations with a skeptical side eye. That’s exactly how we felt about the advice that women should adapt their diet and lifestyle in accordance with their menstrual cycle, so Ivy decided to do a little experiment.

We’re not experts and we’re not selling anything. We understand that good health and nutrition practices are not one-size-fits-all, but if you’ve ever been curious about what it might look like to live according to your cycle, we hope you’ll join us for this discussion. We break down what’s supposed to be happening with your hormones at different stages of your cycle and how that can manifest in your body and mood. We also explore some of the diet and activity recommendations for each week. And finally, we discuss Ivy’s personal experience with living this lifestyle: what she had to change, the challenges involved, the measurable results, and her final opinion about whether it’s worth trying.

If you’re enjoying the podcast we’d love it if you could help us spread the word by telling your friends, subscribing to the podcast, and leaving a rating or review. If you’d like to support us on Patreon we are at www.patreon.com/differentfunctional Thanks so much for listening and remember, different does not mean defective.

If you’re an OG listener, you’ll remember a couple of years ago when we played a game we made to encapsulate the neurodivergent social experience. Well, for our first installment of Games for People Like Us, we decided to revisit this game and see if it was just as fun as it was the first time. We had a blast, and we hope you’ll enjoy it as much as we did.

If you’re interested in playing the game yourself you can purchase a printable version of it on our website at https://www.differentfunctional.com/products/p/taking-off-the-mask-a-neurodivergent-tabletop-rpg

If you’re enjoying the podcast we’d love it if you could help us spread the word by telling your friends, subscribing to the podcast, and leaving a rating or review. If you’d like to support us on Patreon we are at www.patreon.com/differentfunctional Thanks so much for listening and remember, different does not mean defective.

Do you ever feel like you get trapped in your own thoughts, spiraling out into negative rumination and worries about the future? If you do, then you know how detrimental it can be to your quality of life, your capacity to truly enjoy anything, and your ability to maintain healthy and happy relationships.

In this episode, we’re discussing the concept of cognitive restructuring, a valuable tool that can help you hit the pause button on anger, fear, and rumination so that you have the opportunity to positively shift your perspective and your responses to daily life stressors.

If you’re enjoying the podcast we’d love it if you could help us spread the word by telling your friends, subscribing to the podcast, and leaving a rating or review. If you’d like to support us on Patreon we are at www.patreon.com/differentfunctional Thanks so much for listening and remember, different does not mean defective.