Dating on High Alert
Dating on High Alert dives into the messy reality of relationships and life, neurodivergence, trauma, masking, and survival mode - because when your nervous system has spent years trying to keep you safe, connection gets complicated.
Hosted by Ilja Abbattista - trauma-informed coach, survivor advocate, and AuDHD truth-teller - this podcast explores ADHD, autism, CPTSD, attachment, emotional overwhelm, nervous system responses, and what it actually means to build safety in love and life after survival.
For neurodivergent people, trauma survivors, partners, and couples trying to understand each other more deeply.
Because this isn’t just about dating.
It’s about learning to hear yourself again, in life and in love.
New episodes weekly.
Until next spiral.
Dating on High Alert
Overthinking, Over giving, and Over feeling - Why We Do It (and How to Stop Spiralling)
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Ever catch yourself replaying a text, analysing a look, or scanning for shifts in someone’s tone, and suddenly, you’re spiralling?
This one’s for you.
In this episode, we dive deep into why so many of us with ADHD, autism, and trauma overthink, over give, and over feel in relationships, and how those patterns are rooted in survival, not weakness.
I talk about the pull to notice every tiny change, how pattern recognition can turn from a gift into a trigger, and what it really means to stay with yourself when your brain is screaming “danger” over something small.
You’ll hear how I’ve navigated these moments in real life, including what happens when your nervous system wants reassurance, but your power comes from self-regulation instead.
This episode isn’t about “fixing” your sensitivity, it’s about turning it into awareness.
Because when you stop over explaining, over-adapting, and over-anxious loving… you finally start choosing peace instead of chaos.
💬 Topics include:
- Why overthinking feels safer than peace
- How ADHD, autism & trauma create emotional hyper-awareness
- The link between pattern recognition and spiralling
- Learning to pause between noticing and reacting
- How to trust your gut, not every thought
- Turning overgiving into grounded empathy
If you’ve ever felt “too much,” “too intense,” or “too aware,” this episode will help you realise, you were never too much. You were just tuned in.
🎧 Listen now, and join me for the next episode, “Peace After Chaos.”
Free Guide
You’re Not Too Much. You Were Just Never Met Fully.
A short guide for anyone who has ever felt too sensitive, too intense, or too much in relationships.
Download it here:
https://iljaabbattista.co.uk/youre-not-too-much-free-guide/
🎧 Subscribe, share, and spiral with me.
Dating on High Alert explores relationships, life, neurodivergence, trauma, masking, nervous systems, and what it actually means to build safety in love after survival.
For neurodivergent people, trauma survivors, partners, and couples trying to understand each other more deeply.
🖤 Explore support, coaching, and resources:
https://iljaabbattista.co.uk/resources
📩 Join the podcast mailing list:
https://iljaabbattista.co.uk/truth-led-podcast-sign-up/
🎙️ Submit a guest pitch or podcast topic:
https://iljaabbattista.co.uk/podcast-dating-on-high-alert/#submitastory
🎧 Support the podcast:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/2463815/supporters/new
📱 Instagram:
@iljaabbattista
📬 Contact:
letsconnect@iljaabbattista.co.uk
Until next spiral,
Ilja x