159 [S11 E14] From the inside out: autistic embodiment, burnouts and breakthroughs

Victoria Gray is an artist and a coach to neurodivergent artists. She lives in York in the UK and was formally diagnosed as autistic in 2017, aged 34.

Victoria has spent two decades making and performing solo performance works. She initially trained in Ballet and Contemporary Dance, but due to a back injury and subsequent lifelong chronic pain she had to pivot her career, moving into Fine Art and higher education teaching. After several years in university roles, she had to resign after experiencing multiple repeated burnouts.

Since 2014 Victoria has worked as a freelance lecturer, artist, and coach, and also completed a PhD in somatic movement, philosophy, and Fine Art. But burnout struck again in 2017 and then again in 2020, both times requiring crisis team intervention.

Since then she has been able to get a better support system in place, including health and social care, and diagnoses of some co-occurring physical conditions. She has also received a diagnosis of complex PTSD and an eating disorder (now in remission).

Victoria says that since her autism diagnosis, her artistic practice has been informed by her acute sensory experiences. She's especially interested in the sensory differences that autistic and otherwise neurodivergent people experience.

Squarepeg is a podcast in which I talk to other late identified autistic women and nonbinary people about their lives, their autism journeys, and what they've learned along the way.

I'm Amy Richards, and I was diagnosed autistic in 2016, when I was 37. I've been sharing my conversations with other autistic adults since 2020.

I hope you'll find these conversations inspiring and thought provoking, and that they'll help you feel more connected to a worldwide community of people with similar experiences.

➡️LISTEN AD-FREE WHEN YOU BECOME A PATREON SUPPORTER

https://www.patreon.com/squarepegpodcast

EPISODE LINKS:

Victoria's website: www.victoriagray.co.uk