Christina Macnamara

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United Kingdom
Bristol
Christina Macnamara

Balance, brilliance & boundaries for neurodivergent and highly sensitive people. Neurodiversity coaching and training, coaching for HSP's & introverts.

Compassionate coaching to rewrite your story and create a life that fits with who you really are. I'm a coach, facilitator, and business mentor, supporting people to navigate transitions, build confidence and create positive change in sustainable ways. My coaching combines strategic insight with empathetic guidance, creating practical and transformative outcomes. A key focus of my work is supporti

ng neurodivergent and highly sensitive individuals. With specialised training in neurodiversity coaching and mental health, I bring both professional expertise and a deep understanding of the unique challenges and opportunities faced by those who process the world differently. My background in strategic marketing, software project management, and digital marketing also informs my work with business owners and entrepreneurs. I guide clients to craft clear visions, overcome challenges, and implement effective strategies for growth. This blend of logical problem-solving and reflective coaching is particularly valuable for those navigating complexity in their professional lives. With over a decade of experience in personal and professional development, I bring a holistic perspective to my practice, addressing both external strategies and internal patterns like beliefs, thought processes, and emotions. I offer:

One-on-one coaching for navigating transitions, building confidence, and achieving personal or professional growth. Team training and facilitation on communication, fostering inclusivity, and strengthening company culture. Workshops and consultancy tailored to businesses and teams seeking practical strategies for growth and well-being. My approach is rooted in authenticity and compassion. I am passionate about helping clients and organisations embrace their strengths, navigate complexity, and create meaningful, lasting change.

11/06/2026

I didn’t want to tell everyone about my neurodivergence, let alone publicly bring it into the core of my coaching work. It felt excruciatingly exposing, and it took me time to work up to it.

The more I understood, and began to unmask in my life, the more clarity I got. With neurodivergence already on the table (mine and my clients’), I’d be able to do my best work.

Unmasking as a coach has allowed me to be more present with my clients.

I fidget, I move, I take a moment during sessions to process what’s been said. I’m upfront about my ways of thinking and communicating, about all the things that I (unconsciously) tried to hide in the past. Trying to seem ‘normal’ without even realising I was doing it, or sensing how much it was costing me.

It might not seem all that different from the outside, but it’s so much more than the external markers of unmasking. The internal permission to be naturally myself, without trying to ‘get away with it’ is bigger than I could have imagined. Because it’s the constant vigilance of masking that takes the biggest toll.

Beyond that essential self-preservation, working with neurodivergent clients makes it even more important for me to be upfront. If I’m unmasking and being honest about my experiences, my clients have a space where they can do that too.

_______________________________________
Hello! I'm a coach who works with neurodivergent people. My approach blends deep coaching with practical strategies, helping you work with your natural strengths rather than against them.

Get in touch if you'd like support in understanding your neurodivergence, and building a more effective, positive self-concept around it.

08/06/2026

‘Why would you want to be labelled with a diagnosis like ADHD or autism? I don’t like labels and I don’t want to be limited by an identity like that’

I’m paraphrasing something I hear a lot. I first heard it in my own thoughts.

It’s understandable - a lot of the words we hear about neurodivergence are related to what’s ‘wrong’ with us. From ‘Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder’ to ‘pathological demand avoidance’, the whole lexicon could do with an overhaul.

The act of naming something changes your relationship to it. That's true from a neuroscientific standpoint, and it makes sense through other lenses too. Like the Buddhist practice of noting sensations or thoughts, for example. You label them as they pass through, and this creates a spaciousness between you and your experience.

What I’ve noticed in the case of neurodiversity, is that when we don’t have accurate language for our experience, it’s really hard to make sense of ourselves. And because our brains will always give things meaning, in the void of accurate language, we fill in the gap with ‘there’s something wrong with me’.

We have to make sense of things, so deciding that you’re fundamentally flawed at least gives you an answer. And that means that when you finally stumble upon the ‘labels’ that accurately explain the things you’ve been wordlessly grappling with your whole life, there’s an opportunity for a new conclusion.

It takes work, but you can use that new language to create a space between the struggles you’ve experienced versus who you are. If my experiences can be named, then perhaps I’m not flawed after all. I’m a person having an experience that many other people have too.

Naming something doesn’t mean you have to be defined by it. Some relate to their neurodivergence as a core identity, others don’t.

_______________________________________
Hello! I'm a coach who works with neurodivergent people. My approach blends deep coaching with practical strategies, helping you work with your natural strengths rather than against them.

Get in touch if you'd like support in understanding your neurodivergence, and building a more effective, positive self-concept around it.

27/05/2026

It's not always a win to 'get out of your comfort zone' and go to something when you don't feel like it. One of the skills I've honed in my burnout recovery has been getting less used to getting out of my comfort zone.

If you're autistic, the idea of even having a comfort zone can be novel. The transformation comes from discovering and cultivating the possibility of comfort, and learning to experience that kind of safety.

Because it's not always true that when you 'push through' and give something a go, it's worth it. Just get ready, go to the party, you can always leave if you don't like it - nothing to lose!

But if you're autistic you actually could have quite a lot to lose. You might feel totally exhausted from having tried. You might need to lie in a dark room for the next two days. You might lose your social capacity for the next two weeks and struggle to do your job.

So it's important actually to learn to say no. To let yourself stay home. To dwell more regularly in your comfort zone when you can.

And yet... there is immense value in social connection, and in not letting your life get too small. That's where the autistic conflict often lies. How do I trust myself, how do I know when to challenge myself and when to just... not?

I wish I had a straightforward answer to that one, but I don't. In my own life and in client sessions, it's an exploration of many subtle threads rather than a formula or solution.

Some of the common threads:

- Letting yourself need less social time than other people (and removing the self-judgement about it).

- Unpicking the sense of obligation and social demand if it's driving your decisions.

- Learning how your body tells you what it needs (and actually letting that drive your decisions).

- Observing the impact over time when you push beyond your comfort zone (where you - get refuelled and where you get drained).

- Naming the internal rules you don't want to break (e.g. it's not ok to let people down, you should enjoy parties, you can't leave early).

Working with these kinds of themes, you can start orienting towards your own comfort zone. Building your capacity for social time, whilst strengthening the boundaries that protect your energy.

Read more on my blog: https://christinamacnamara.com/when-get-out-of-your-comfort-zone-is-bad-advice-for-autistic-people/

_______________________________________
Hello! I'm a coach who works with neurodivergent people. My approach blends deep coaching with practical strategies, helping you work with your natural strengths rather than against them.

Get in touch if you'd like support in understanding your neurodivergence, and building a more effective, positive self-concept around it.

21/04/2026

If you've ever forgotten what you were doing mid-task, lost track of a conversation, or let someone down despite genuinely meaning to follow through, working memory is probably part of the picture.

A lot of people with ADHD worry that leaning on reminders and notes is admitting defeat, or that it will make their memory worse over time. It won't.

I've written a new post looking at working memory, how it can affect relationships, the neuroscience behind it, and some things to try to help improve it over time.

https://christinamacnamara.com/working-memory-and-adhd

_______________________________________
Hello! I'm a coach who works with neurodivergent people. My approach blends deep coaching with practical strategies, helping you work with your natural strengths rather than against them.

Get in touch if you'd like support in understanding your neurodivergence, and building a more effective, positive self-concept around it.

17/04/2026

For autistic people, deciding not to go to that party can be a big win.

Pushing through is not always worth it. People might say 'just go, you can always leave' as if you've got nothing to lose. But you might 'just go' and end up needing two days in a dark room to recover. You only spent an hour at the party, but you got totally overstimulated, struggled to know when to leave, and got home exhausted.

Knowing and trusting your own capacity is much more useful than pushing past your limits every time. Staying within your limits without guilt-tripping yourself? The best.

_______________________________________
Hello! I'm a coach who works with neurodivergent people. My approach blends deep coaching with practical strategies, helping you work with your natural strengths rather than against them.

Get in touch if you'd like support in understanding your neurodivergence, and building a more effective, positive self-concept around it.

13/04/2026

These are 3 things I've regularly heard from people who were realising they had ADHD but felt scared about exploring it more fully:

'I don't want to just make excuses for my weaknesses'
'I'll become too focused on the things I'm bad at'
'I'll lose my sense of ambition'

Mirroring this, these are things I've heard people say in objection to other people realising they have ADHD:

'It's people getting stuck in a 'victim identity''
'It limits you to have a label'
'It's an avoidance of self-responsibility'

What's going on here? Because it's actually the same message, whether it's coming from an inner voice or another person's opinion.

In my view there's a confusion here between awareness and collapse, along with an underestimation of what we're capable of.

An ADHD diagnosis (including self-diagnosis) can bring a level of self-awareness, congruence and psychological literacy that was not available to the person before the realisation.

What you then do with that information is up to you. The fears I listed above come from an assumption that what you'll do with your newfound awareness is collapse into a smaller or more limited version of yourself. But why would that be true?

It's fundamentally a lack of self-trust rather than an issue with having or not having an ADHD diagnosis. Honestly, I think that the people who are going to make excuses or avoid self-responsibility will do it whether they have an ADHD diagnosis or not.

And, I honestly haven't had one ADHD client before who would fit into that category! Again and again, I see tenacity and unquenchable curiosity that absolutely continues through and beyond a diagnosis.

The thing that reduces with more awareness is the struggle, inner conflict and overwhelm - not the drive or ambition.

_______________________________________
Hello! I'm a coach who works with neurodivergent people. My approach blends deep coaching with practical strategies, helping you work with your natural strengths rather than against them.

Get in touch if you'd like support in understanding your neurodivergence, and building a more effective, positive self-concept around it.

09/04/2026

Was that too much talking?
Sorry, that was so chaotic.
I'm all over the place.
Was that too much detail?
Sorry, I'm getting emotional.

Working with autistic and ADHD clients, I get to see how much we question our own communication.

You can be yourself here and you won't get judged for the way you show up. Yes, I might steer our awareness to how much time we have, draw your attention back to the thing you wanted to focus on, observe a certain communication pattern if it could be supportive for you to see it.

But all of that happens without judgement. Without you being wrong for being yourself.

And we actually get so much in coaching from noticing both your communication style and your narratives or fears about it. Because if you're worried you're too chaotic or unclear in your coaching session, there's fertile ground for seeing how that shows up in the rest of your life too.

Your relationship with your own communication is like a direct line to your sense of identity... so it's actually a wonderful thing to bring into the session early on. And so much better to have somewhere to explore out loud the worries that so often just run in the background of our conversations (or loop on repeat once the conversation is over).

_______________________________________
Hello! I'm a coach who works with neurodivergent people. My approach blends deep coaching with practical strategies, helping you work with your natural strengths rather than against them.

Get in touch if you'd like support in understanding your neurodivergence, and building a more effective, positive self-concept around it.

19/03/2026

Most of us fumble through life more guided by circumstance than deep conviction, and the bigger questions of meaning and satisfaction can get pushed aside for months, even years at a time.

But this question of 'what am I here for?' loops back around again and again.

The idea of life purpose comes up a lot in coaching, and it's something I've grappled with over the years personally too.

At times the conversation seems to revolve around finding a career that fits with your values and skills. That's valid, but I think an exploration of purpose can be so much more than that.

To me, it's something that unfurls over time rather than being decided, or definitively clarified. It evolves, it morphs, it slips through your fingers if you think you've finally captured it. And it's definitely not limited to career choices.

I've written about some creative (and genuinely enjoyable) approaches to exploring your sense of purpose, to support you if you want an alternative perspective on those big life questions.

Link in comments.

_______________________________________
Hello! I'm a coach who works with neurodivergent people. My approach blends deep coaching with practical strategies, helping you work with your natural strengths rather than against them.

Get in touch if you'd like support in understanding your neurodivergence, and building a more effective, positive self-concept around it.

16/03/2026

It's an emotional rollercoaster being neurodivergent, and frankly that can be incredibly inconvenient.

Why can't I just get on with my work, rather than feel all the things about all the things?

It's valid, but it's also a trap. Because resisting and fighting against your emotions can take you out of action for longer.

Pushing through on a task when you're actually full of anger or sadness that needs to move... doesn't make for your best work.

Of course it would be easier to be more of a steady kind of human, but accepting and embracing your sensitivity and intensity isn't really optional in the long-run.

They key shift is realising that it's avoiding and bypassing the emotion that can really take things off course, and that letting it be heard and felt (without diving into a pit for the rest of the week) can actually help.

It can help to have a quick emotional reset routine that's time limited. Put on a 10 minute timer and do something like:

- A guided meditation
- Box breathing for a few minutes
- Kitchen dance
- Write out your thoughts and name your emotions
- Have a rant to a willing friend
- Go for a walk
- Do some furious bathroom cleaning

It's not perfect, it won't all be resolved. But you might move a bit of energy, have a cry, get a smidge of new clarity. Feel better enough to refocus and get on with your day.

The habit to build is giving a wee bit of space to regulate rather than pushing through (then dealing with the subsequent crash).

(ps - this is about the 'flossing your teeth' version of emotional hygiene and self-regulation, rather than the 'fixing a cavity or getting braces' version where you'd really need a whole different kind of attention and support).

_______________________________________
Hello! I'm a coach who works with neurodivergent people. My approach blends deep coaching with practical strategies, helping you work with your natural strengths rather than against them.

Get in touch if you'd like support in understanding your neurodivergence, and building a more effective, positive self-concept around it.

09/03/2026

Are Mondays your worst day? They are for quite a few of my clients, and it's because it's a transition day for most. It's not necessarily that you dislike your job, it's just hard to change gear from personal to work time.

Without giving it some attention as a transition, the default can be wasted time and an annoyingly inefficient day. Feeling annoyed and unfocused without quite knowing what the problem is.

First step is to acknowledge the transition. What are you completing and what are you starting?

For example, you might have had a sociable time, a relaxing time, or a weekend of heaps of personal and family demands. When it's been good, you might feel like you're dragging yourself away to get back into work. When it's been challenging, you might be bracing yourself for the work week whilst feeling like you didn't really get a moment's rest.

It can be quite a practical thing too. How do you build a ramp back into thinking about work?

Some ideas:

Before the weekend begins, write yourself a note as a reminder of what to start with when you get back on Monday.

Decide what your ideal day would look like before you log into any screen-based things. How do you want the day to begin?

Don't just default to checking email and messages as your first action, because you can end up looping here for hours - feeling busy but not doing anything that matters.

Write down 1-3 key things you'd like to get done. Not 10 things, not 20. Start with a plan.

_______________________________________
Hello! I'm a coach who works with neurodivergent people. My approach blends deep coaching with practical strategies, helping you work with your natural strengths rather than against them.

Get in touch if you'd like support in understanding your neurodivergence, and building a more effective, positive self-concept around it.

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Bristol
BS1

Website

https://www.christinamacnamara.com/

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