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
Re-entry & Framing - Why Ambiguity Hits So Deep
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
For a lot of neurodivergent people, especially those living with ADHD, autism and trauma, ambiguity doesn’t land as “nothing is happening yet.” It lands in the body. As activation. As tension. As a quiet fear that something might change… and you may not be ready for it.
In this episode of Dating on High Alert, I explore why unclear signals, emotional distance, inconsistency, or “not knowing where you stand” can feel so intense when your nervous system has been shaped by survival.
This isn’t about being needy, dramatic, or over-sensitive.
It’s wiring. It’s pattern-recognition. It’s protection.
We talk about:
- how a trauma-shaped nervous system reads uncertainty
- why “waiting” doesn’t always feel neutral
- the link between attachment, safety, and emotional ambiguity
- how to notice what’s happening in your body, without shaming yourself for it
- ways to ground yourself when your system goes into alert mode
If you’ve ever felt like you react “too deeply” to mixed signals or emotional gaps, this episode is here to help you feel understood, not broken.
🧠 You’re not overreacting. Your system just learned to protect you.
🎧 Listen in, and let’s make sense of it together.
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