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In this deeply validating episode of Quietly Autistic at Last, Dr. Allison Sucamele explores the part of autism meltdowns that is rarely discussed - what happens after the moment has passed. While conversations often focus on triggers and coping strategies, many autistic adults, especially those diagnosed later in life, are left navigating the quieter aftermath alone: exhaustion, brain fog, emotional rawness, shutdown, and lingering shame.

Through a compassionate, neuroscience-informed lens, this episode explains meltdowns as neurological overload responses, not behavioral failures, and unpacks how nervous system activation rises, crashes, and slowly recalibrates. Dr. Sucamele discusses the biological cost of overload, the “meltdown hangover,” the role of masking and accumulated stress, and why recovery takes longer than many people expect.

If you’ve ever wondered why you feel depleted for days afterward, why small demands suddenly feel unbearable, or why self-criticism shows up when you most need care, this conversation offers language, understanding, and permission to heal gently.

This episode is a reminder that recovery is not regression, rest is not weakness, and your nervous system is not broken, it is protecting you.

Follow Quietly Autistic at Last on Instagram for reflections, resources, and community support: @quietlyautisticatlastpodcast

Quietly Autistic at Last is a psycho-educational podcast intended for understanding and support and does not replace therapy or medical care.

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Why can you handle the gym, but not a crowded restaurant, party, or school event?

In this episode, Dr. Allison Sucamele gently unpacks a question so many late-diagnosed autistic women carry with confusion and shame: If I can tolerate something intense like the gym, why do crowds elsewhere completely overwhelm me?

This conversation reframes that experience through the lens of the nervous system, showing why this isn’t inconsistency or weakness - it’s contextual regulation. You’ll explore the roles of predictability, autonomy, masking, sensory coherence, and movement, and why environments that look “harder” on the outside can actually feel safer on the inside.

This episode is an invitation to release self-blame, trust your body’s intelligence, and stop using one area of tolerance as evidence against another area of sensitivity. Your nervous system isn’t selective - it’s wise.

✨ If you’ve ever wondered why your body says yes to some spaces and no to others, this episode is for you.

Brief disclaimer: This podcast is for educational and reflective purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical or mental health care. If you’re in the U.S. and need immediate support, you can call or text 988.

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So many late-diagnosed autistic women were told they were depressed when what they were actually experiencing was burnout.

In this episode, Dr. Allison Sucamele explores why autistic burnout is so often misdiagnosed as depression in women who spent decades masking, overriding their nervous systems, and performing competence at an enormous internal cost. We unpack the critical differences between mood collapse and capacity collapse, why traditional diagnostic frameworks miss autistic burnout, and how mislabeling it can lead to ineffective, and sometimes harmful treatment.

This conversation isn’t about rejecting mental health care. It’s about naming the right experience so the care can finally fit.

If you’ve ever thought, “I don’t feel sad the way depression is described. I feel empty, flattened, incapable, or shut down,” this episode is for you.

Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational and reflective purposes only and is not a substitute for individualized medical or mental health care.

If you are experiencing thoughts of self-harm or feel unsafe, please seek immediate support. In the United States, you can call or text 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. If you’re outside the U.S., please consult your local emergency resources.