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
Why Rejection Hits So Hard
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Why does something small feel so devastating?
A delayed reply.
That shift in tone.
A cancelled plan.
And suddenly your whole body reacts.
In this episode of Dating on High Alert, I’m talking about rejection sensitivity, not as a buzzword, but as a lived nervous system experience.
Because for many AuDHD women, especially those with trauma histories, rejection doesn’t land lightly.
It can feel:
• Crippling
• Physical
• Disproportionate (even when you know it “shouldn’t” be)
• Deeply shame-inducing
• Incredibly lonely
We explore:
- What rejection sensitivity actually feels like in the body
- Why ADHD intensity makes emotional shifts hit fast
- How autistic pattern recognition amplifies subtle changes
- Why trauma layers abandonment fear onto small moments
- The shame of being labelled “too sensitive”
- The loneliness of feeling more than others
- The double standard of waiting for replies while sometimes not replying yourself
- Why 1am spirals feel so convincing
- How to survive the spike without acting from it
This isn’t about becoming less sensitive.
It’s about understanding your wiring so you stop attacking yourself for it.
You may not be able to change how deeply you feel.
But you can change how you respond when the wave hits.
If you’ve ever lain awake replaying a message…
If you’ve ever felt flattened by something that looked small…
If you’ve ever wondered why rejection feels existential…
You are not the only one.
And you are not broken.
And as always until next spiral.
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