ADHD, Autism, Boundaries, Bullying, Business, Mental Health, Money, Neurodiversity, Self Care, Self Esteem, Shame, Success, Workplace
Have you ever wondered why some people seem to struggle more than others with workplace stress or conflict, even when nothing “big” has happened? Trauma is not about what happens to us, it’s about how we process it and the impact it has on us later on.
70% of people will experience something as being traumatic in their lifetime and that means consequences down the line for our mental wellbeing. Autistic people and those with other neurodivergent conditions (ADHD, Dyspraxia, Dyslexia, Dyscalculia and related) have neurodevelopmental differences that compound this and 80% of neurodivergent people will in any case have a co-occurring everyday mental health condition such as anxiety, depression and OCD.
But when we haven’t lived through a ‘big T’ trauma (or something obvious that we can pinpoint in our past like a car accident or physically violent abuse), it’s often extremely hard to see that we are living with the after-effects of trauma. These include hypervigilance, brain fog, unexplained mental health issues, a feeling of not being ‘here now’, feeling worthless and many more. So if we cannot tell we have trauma as individuals, what does this mean for the modern workplace and why should the workplace even be concerned by trauma at all?
As a Neurodiversity Specialist Therapist and Coach in London, I help individuals and teams understand the intersection of trauma and neurodivergence.
Why Neurodivergent People Experience Trauma Differently
1.The link between neurodivergence and trauma
The relationship between neurodivergence and trauma isn’t coincidental. Neurodivergent people are statistically more likely to experience traumatic events throughout their lives, and their neurological differences mean they often process these experiences in ways that increase vulnerability to lasting impact.
From early childhood, many neurodivergent people encounter repeated experiences of being misunderstood, criticized for behaviours they cannot easily control, or punished for natural expressions of their neurology.
- An autistic child who is constantly told to make eye contact, stop stimming, or “act normal” receives thousands of micro-messages that who they are is fundamentally wrong.
- A child with ADHD who is repeatedly shamed for forgetting things, interrupting, or being “too much” internalizes a narrative of being defective.
These aren’t one-off traumatic events but rather chronic relational trauma that accumulates over years.
2. The neurodivergent nervous system
The neurodivergent nervous system itself can amplify traumatic impact. Sensory processing differences mean that what might be uncomfortable for a neurotypical person can be genuinely painful or overwhelming for someone who is neurodivergent.
A loud office environment, fluorescent lighting, or scratchy uniform fabric aren’t just irritating, they can create a constant state of nervous system activation that mirrors the hypervigilance of post-traumatic stress.
When your brain is already working harder to filter sensory input, regulate emotions, and navigate social expectations, there’s less capacity left to process and integrate difficult experiences.
3. Interpersonal and systemic trauma
Neurodivergent people also face higher rates of interpersonal trauma. Research consistently shows elevated rates of bullying, social exclusion, and abuse among ND populations. The very traits that make someone neurodivergent, difficulty reading social cues, trusting too readily, being perceived as “different”, can unfortunately make us targets. Add to this the increased likelihood of experiencing medical trauma from misdiagnosis or dismissive healthcare providers, educational trauma from school systems that pathologize difference, and employment trauma from workplaces that punish neurodivergent ways of working.
4. Masking: a hidden form of trauma
Perhaps most insidiously, many neurodivergent people develop trauma responses from masking—the exhausting practice of suppressing natural behaviours and mimicking neurotypical presentation to survive in spaces not designed for them. Masking requires constant self-monitoring, self-suppression, and performance of a false self. Over time, this disconnection from authenticity and the chronic stress of maintaining a facade creates what some clinicians recognize as a form of identity trauma. You lose touch with who you actually are beneath the mask.
The Workplace Through A Trauma Lens
1. The loaded environment of work
Workplaces are loaded environments. Most people are there, in good part, because they have bills to pay and so it’s not optional. Whether we like it or not, we have to go to work. Workplaces are also complex interpersonally. There is often a range of people at different hierarchical levels, from diverse backgrounds (hopefully), and some of whom we naturally get on with, some require a bit more effort and some we are repelled by and who we repel.
When we are neurodivergent, this doesn’t just represent extra social labour as we work alongside (and under pressure with) people we wouldn’t choose as friends, this can be really problematic: we can lose Executive Function ability, we can get overwhelmed and emotionally dysregulated; have reactions that don’t go down well at work because they are seen as unprofessional and get burn out. When work isn’t an easy topic for many of us, neurodiversity and trauma (which more often than not go hand in hand for many reasons), make this even harder.
2. The invisible problem
Our colleagues have survived things we may never know about. It makes sense that we try not to retraumatise people or we avoid traumatising them ourselves by tolerating psychologically unsafe environments where bullying, unhealthy comparisons, favouritism, faulty equipment and tools, bitching and gossip are not dealt with. Many workplaces are well meaning and would spot these obvious areas but what about the sort of workplace that has tunnel vision when it comes to what ‘professional’ means, or ‘team player’ or ‘good communicator’. We all have some pretty baked in beliefs that are making our colleagues really unwell at work.
3. Reframing reactions at work
A trauma-informed workplace doesn’t mean turning your office into a therapy practice. But where someone has an unexpected reaction to a normal workplace situation, there might be a reason that has nothing to do with their professionalism or commitment. Too often we will jump to the latter conclusions and if we can avoid doing this, we are already going to have a big positive impact on those around us and not to mention ourselves.
When a neurodivergent employee has what appears to be an overreaction to criticism, it may be because they’ve accumulated years of being told they’re not good enough. When someone shuts down in meetings, they might be experiencing a freeze response triggered by past experiences of being talked over or dismissed. When a colleague seems to avoid social events, they might be protecting themselves from the vulnerability of unmasking in front of people who hold power over their livelihood. These aren’t character flaws or signs of weakness—they’re nervous system responses shaped by lived experience.
4. Creating trauma-informed workplaces
What can you do to make your workplace more trauma informed? Encourage collaboration and modern allyship (one that doesn’t reinforce systems of oppression but enables people to be and speak for themselves). Have a strengths-based and empowering view of your team. Be mindful that social structures impact people to their core and however ‘nice’ the working environment is, that does not negate this fact. Negotiate what professionalism looks like and have an inclusive definition.
Conclusion
The truth is, most of us are carrying some form of trauma, whether from our past or from simply trying to survive in systems that weren’t built for us.
By understanding trauma through a neurodiversity-informed lens, workplaces can stop unintentionally harming employees and start fostering true psychological safety, inclusion, and wellbeing.
It all starts with awareness and that awareness begins with you.
When most of us have experienced trauma that impacts us daily, we can seek therapy and knowledge that first nourish and strengthen us — before we share that understanding with others.
If you’re noticing hypervigilance, brain fog, numbness, or difficulty connecting with others, it might be time to reach out for support.
I’m a specialist Neurodiversity Therapist and Coach working with neurodivergent individuals, professionals and students, and I’m here for you, book your free consult with me here, I’d love to help you.