Ep13. AuDHD Flashfowards & Being a Person of Colour with Mish

Content Warning: This episode contains discussions of...

• Trauma and systemic oppression
• Racism, colonisation, and minority stress
• Misdiagnosis (including BPD) and mental health stigma
• Brief mention of self-concept distress

Please take care while listening and pause if needed.

Summary: In this deeply thoughtful and expansive conversation, Bri sits down with Mish - a non-binary, neurodivergent, South Indian mental health social worker - to explore what it really means to live as an AuDHD person at the intersection of culture, identity, and systems.

Together, they unpack the concept of flash forwards - a lesser-discussed but powerful experience of anticipatory dread - and how AuDHDers may vividly “pre-live” the future in ways that feel intensely real.

Mish shares their lived experience of being misdiagnosed with BPD, the impact of stigma, and the relief and rage that can come with finding more accurate, affirming frameworks.

The conversation expands into how neurodivergence is always filtered through culture, and how people of the global majority experience compounding layers of minority stress, masking, and misinterpretation.

They explore:

• Why safety is not universal, but can be “safe enough”
• How identity shapes both trauma and healing
• The role of flash forwards in burnout, anxiety, and survival
• And what it means to move toward your “favourite self”, rather than your “best” or “most productive” self

This episode is an invitation to stay curious, to listen deeply, and to rethink what we’ve been taught about both neurodivergence and healing.

Takeaways:

• Flash forwards are real and valid. Not just “overthinking”. They can feel like vividly living a feared future, with full-body responses.
• Your brain is trying to protect you. Flash forwards are often your system attempting to anticipate and prevent harm.
• The “where self” matters. Reorienting to where you are (not just what you feel) can help anchor you in the present.
• Neurodivergence is shaped by culture. It is never experienced in isolation. Race, gender, queerness, and systems all shape how it shows up and how it’s perceived.
• Minority stress compounds everything. Being neurodivergent and part of marginalised communities amplifies burnout, masking, and anticipatory anxiety.
• Same traits, different judgments. Behaviour seen as “leadership” in some may be labelled “too much” or “intimidating” in others.
• Masking is not the enemy. It can be a survival tool. The goal isn’t always to unmask, but to have choice.
• “Safe enough” is the goal. Healing doesn’t require perfect safety, just moments where your system can soften.
• Find your “favourite self”. Not your most productive, healed, or optimised self, just the version of you that feels most like you.
• The greatest privilege is not having to know. And the invitation is to choose curiosity anyway.

Mish can be found via email at mishma@niram.com.au and on Insta at @neuroqueer.emdrtherapist.