Carly Steel

NEW WORKSHOP: A LOW-DEMAND APPROACH FOR ADULT LIFE

Thursday 6th August at 6pm
Live in the Rise community and available to watch on demand afterwards.

Demand avoidance isn’t only something that affects children. For adults, it can show up in work, relationships, household tasks, appointments, self-care and even the they want to do. Once something becomes expected, scheduled or urgent, it can suddenly feel much harder to begin.

In this workshop, we’ll explore what demand avoidance can feel like from the inside and what may be happening beneath it. We’ll look at anxiety, uncertainty, loss of autonomy, sensory overload, executive functioning, masking, and burnout.

We’ll also cover practical ways to make everyday life more manageable, including reducing the overall demand load, protecting choice, making tasks easier to begin, using body doubling and changing the way we communicate with ourselves and each other.

There will be plenty of real adult examples, including housework, work deadlines, healthcare appointments, plans, transitions and conversations with partners. We’ll also talk about boundaries and responsibilities, because a low-demand approach doesn’t mean that nobody can express their needs or that every demand can be removed.

You can join us live in the community at 6pm on Thursday 6th August. If you can’t make it, the recording will be available on demand afterwards.

I love writing this part of the book. This part is called Rise and has been inspired by our non-profit and the community we are creating.

One thing I've really noticed after speaking to so many people at the Neurodiversity Shows, Autism and ADHD Shows and other events this summer is how many people are waiting to start living.

They're waiting until they're less anxious or recovered from burnout.
Until they have finished school or changed jobs.
Until they feel more confident and they've worked themselves out.

We have this belief that life starts once we're "better" than we are now.

I get it, because I've been there too.

But what if there isn't a point where everything suddenly feels sorted? What if there will always be something you're working on?

Don't let your whole life become the waiting room.

Keep making space for the things that make you feel like you. People, places, interests. The little moments that remind you there's more to life than just getting through the day.

Personally, I know I can take on a lot. I naturally become an emotional anchor for the people around me, and I genuinely love being able to do that. But I've also learnt over the years that I need to step away sometimes too, to reconnect with myself, my children and the things that fill my own cup back up.

For me, that looks like a week of camping in the woods with my children, followed by a week of writing my book.

I'll be taking a proper break over the next couple of weeks, but I have a couple of mentoring spaces becoming available from September. If this feels like where you are right now, have a look at the link in my bio. I'll get back to any enquiries when I'm back or my lovely assistant Jess will be able to help you in my emails: [email protected]

Have a great summer!

Carly