“On the human spectrum” with Katherine May

Things we talked about:Allowing ourselves to feel good when things actually go wellThe synchronicity of things happening when they’re supposed to (and when you’re ready)Defining success for ourselves (and it’s not always what we assume it might be)How lockdown taught Katherine to create her own “sense of safety” following the success of her book, by creating courses to shore up her incomeFinding ways to own your own story, message and brandHow Katherine’s approach to Instagram evolved from “sharing pictures” to “telling stories”Katherine’s experience of coming back from “an anxious pattern of behaviour” around social mediaThe quiet activism in the premise of Katherine’s book, Wintering, which is all about periods of life in which we feel cut off from the rest of the worldNot always having to be “on” and “up.” As Katherine says, “The vision of us being always up discounts useful wonderful things like thinking, reflecting…”How we’ve all learned things about ourselves during lockdown, and the way our priorities (and what we are willing to accept) have changedBeing diagnosed as autistic, quite late in life, allowed Katherine to make the personal changes she needed: “How to meet my own needs, rather than how to solve me”The experience of living life as a neurodivergent personFinding your right people online (if you lose followers after sharing your true self, then you’ve lost the right followers - you don’t want them)And this piece of wisdom from Katherine, for anyone who identifies with our “neurodivergent” conversation: "Your identification is yours. It doesn’t need the approval of a doctor or your mum.”The Insta Retreat - My tell all, best selling course for Instagram creatives and business owners.Where to find Katherine online:Katherine’s website, katherine-may.com [https://katherine-may.co.uk] where you will also find her booksKatherine on Twitter: @_katherine_may_ [https://twitter.com/_katherine_may_]Katherine on Instagram: @katherinemay_ [https://www.instagram.com/katherinemay_/]Katherine’s podcast, The Wintering Sessions [https://katherine-may.co.uk/winteringsessions]The True Stories Writing School [https://www.truestorieswritingschool.com], home of Katherine’s online coursesBooks we mention in this episode:Wintering: the power of rest and retreat in difficult times [https://bookshop.org/books/wintering-the-power-of-rest-and-retreat-in-difficult-times/9780593189481]Electricity of Every Living Thing: a woman’s walk in the wild to find her way home [https://uk.bookshop.org/books/the-electricity-of-every-living-thing-a-woman-s-walk-in-the-wild-to-find-her-way-home/9781409172512]The 52 Seductions [https://uk.bookshop.org/books/the-52-seductions/9780755362530]Where to find Sarameandorla.co.ukInstagram - @me_and_orlaMy website designer - stories studio This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit meandorla.substack.com