Today we’d like to introduce you to Carla Padilla.
Hi Carla, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
After being fully gas lit by the traditional medical community in 2020, I took my boatload of chronic symptoms (and yes, anxiety) to natural and functional practitioners. I took major deep dives into rabbit holes and didn’t come up for months, until I started to put the pieces together that would gradually, slowly but surely bring me back to health.
I had mast cell activation syndrome, inflammation out the wazoo, a lot of food sensitivities, a major parasite infection, a very high toxic burden, and my fight or flight was out of control. I was so anxious and so depressed and felt completely isolated, even among my closest friends and church family.
I was in bed for weeks, then months. Before I got a diagnosis from my naturopath, my husband and I were preparing for the worst. Based on the symptoms I had, I was either imagining something, or I was knocking on death’s door.
Spoiler alert. I’m here for an interview, so I did not die, but I also have not been to an MD since. I’m not necessarily advocating for that choice being best for everyone, but I’ve become a little anti-institutional since my healing journey.
What I learned along the way is that our bodies have a lot of wisdom designed into them, and that if we take the external pressure off and give them the right conditions, they can come back in ways that are not classically predicted by Western medicine. So I’m real crunchy now.
I’m also a homeschool Mom. Which means I have a lot of time to observe what’s going on with my 3 kids, and what affects them.
Almost 2 years ago, My people started going off the rails. Meltdowns, bedwetting, picky eating, mess everywhere, huge and disruptive emotions, and a general feeling oscillating between frustration and discouragement. There had been little pieces of it here and there before that but they all seemed to kind of sync up, and it was time to get an assessment.
Suspicions confirmed. All diagnosed with Autism and ADHD. Low to moderate support needs. And then the neuropsychologist looked at my husband and I, and asked us if we wanted to be assessed… And their suspicions were confirmed.
We all had neurodivergent brains, and we had been living in conflict with them for a very long time. My husband and I also were working with the AuDHD (autism + ADHD) profile. And now that we knew why, we did what we do best, hyper fixated on a solution.
Aside from implementing what I had learned from my training in functional nutrition, recognizing in real time the impact that sleep, diet and the general pace of our life as a family had on the state of all five of our brains was astounding. We were also pleasantly surprised at the results of using gentle detox and supplements to help attention and reduce overstimulation.
Our life looks a lot different now. We pay attention to what our bodies are telling us. We take a lot of breaks. We make a lot of sounds, and sing a lot of songs. We make a lot of food at home. We have a sensory swing in the middle of the house. We don’t berate ourselves for sometimes having to use paper plates because (all of) the dishes aren’t done. And we are so much more at ease around each other. We know what we like. We do what we care about. We say no a lot.
We as parents aren’t as often caught off guard by irritability, fatigue and meltdowns, because now, we already know when they’re coming. Now we know what causes them, what the early clues are, and we have enough margin and tools to head off more severe bouts dysregulation and burnout.
And we’re generally happy. We’re still productive. We’re working on big new goals. We’re imagining and trying new things. We do less to do more. We’re healthy and getting healthier, inside and out, and we’re improving the starting point for our grandkids and great-grandkids to live lives with (probably) neurodivergent brains that work for them from the start. Our life and our ideas are a little countercultural, but I’m so glad we managed to arrive here.
My faith has been going on decades now, but the last few years of the slow shift from debilitating lows to a stable feeling life have been hands down the most fruitful and life-giving of all. Years of frustration and self-hatred and shame and exhaustion are fading away, and I have reason to believe that they won’t return.
The more I’ve realized that the most stubborn struggles of my physical, mental, and spiritual almost always connect somewhere, the more determined I have been to take care of myself, and the more I’ve healed. I look forward to yielding this kind of fruit for the rest of my life, and helping others do the same.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Most of the challenge has been in gaining the life experience that goes into my coaching haha. I’ve found some really supportive networks to keep me encouraged in my business, and compared to the deep work of the actual healing process, I’ve found that creatively solving the problems of entrepreneurship to be pretty enjoyable.
As long as I’m not overworking and/or ignoring my body’s limits, I make pretty good progress that I’m happy with. I’m looking for sustainable, slow growth so that I don’t burn out.
In my business there have been some big front end projects that have needed to be done, and I can have a problem with hyperfixating and “time traveling” (becoming time blind) and checking out of my body while I blast through them, which can cause me a skid of burnout after the adrenaline wears off. It feels a lot like depression for a few days to a couple of weeks, so I try to stay away from that whenever possible, but be nice to myself when it does happen. These are the challenges of a neurodivergent in business. Gotta go slow to go fast.
And social media is the worst, but that goes without saying.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Neurospicy Soulcare?
My work is whole-person neurodivergent coaching. This means that I offer a functional approach to health and wellness, help people with mindset and lifestyle choices that may be hindering their neurodivergent brains, and also offer an optional Christian perspective that can help with things like guilt, shame and self-hatred.
I do thorough lifestyle assessments to bring awareness to where people’s “fire hazards” are for their neurocomplex brains, and inform strategy for my 2-6 month holistic coaching programs. I meet bi-weekly for 50-minute sessions to prioritize bringing relief to whatever is top of mind for my clients, and also offer weekly body-doubling to help clients get their chores or admin tasks done.
I also host a podcast with my husband, also called Neurospicy Soulcare, where we talk about ways you can “Turn down the fire, and embrace the spice” of a neurodivergent brain, whether you’re diagnosed or not. We have a great time yapping and our friends say it’s really helpful, which we love to hear.
A functional approach means I am not diagnosing or treating anything, but instead, using my training to identify where systems of the body aren’t working together, the best that they can. I use a holistic lifestyle approach supported by supplements and safe, guided detox.
Neurodivergents often have unique challenges. Some of the challenges that I see are that people are late diagnosed and now feeling overwhelmed by that idea, they may have chaos and disorder in their house because of recently diagnosed children and a lack of lifestyle guidance from their medical team, or they are starting to connect some dots to neurodivergent behavior in themselves and don’t know where to start with helping themselves.
I use my experience with myself and my own family being diagnosed with high masking autism and inattentive ADHD to inform my coaching. We went from feeling like life was completely unmanageable to creating something beautiful where we can actually manage to thrive most of the time.
The internal experience of being undiagnosed for so long leaves a lot of time for toxic shame and strong self-criticism to take hold. It’s my goal to allow people to see that the way their brains are made is not an accident or a mistake, and that instead of always trying to adapt to the world, they can begin to let that go and come to self-acceptance and build a life that works for them.
I believe mind, body and spirit are tied together intrinsically, and a lot of times what we are told are spiritual problems, end up being largely problems that are affecting our brain and our body.
When we work on our physical and our mental, our spirits can hear from God and accept the grace that he offers us through Christ more clearly and fully. That freedom and peace is what motivates what I do!
Since healing from my chronic symptoms and accepting my neurodivergent brain, I feel I’m really walking in my faith and my purpose in a way that just wasn’t possible before. There are so many talented, sensitive, creative, but overwhelmed entrepreneurs and artists in San Diego, and if I can be a part of revitalizing the City by revitalizing its neurodivergent leaders, I consider that a great privilege.
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
I’ve been getting involved in a couple of great groups with creative entrepreneurs. The San Diego Christian Chamber of Commerce is a great place to get connected, as well as a smaller group called Bridges and Towers, which meets at Communion Church in the Clairemont area. People in these spaces are really being innovative and keeping each other encouraged with the challenges and long processes that entrepreneurs everywhere will always face. To be encouraged by others’ successes keeps you moving forward, and hearing others’ challenges lets you know it’s just a part of it.
Groups where people are innovating are the most helpful for me because I operate in such a small niche–Christian neurodivergent individuals and families who want non-medical supports for their health and wellness. Where there are shared values, fresh ideas and eternal perspective, I am always inspired. It’s an honor what we get to be a part of in sharing hope and restoration with San Diego in a myriad of ways.
Pricing:
- Free 30 minute intro session available
Contact Info:
- Website: https://neurospicysoulpod.my.canva.site/
- Instagram: @neurospicysoulpod
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Neurospicy-Soul-Care-Podcast
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Neurospicysoulcare
Image Credits
Carla Padilla
