Knowing Your Authentic Self
with Maverick Joyce
Behavior Bites Podcast - Ep74January 21, 2026What is failure, but just another way to learn something new?
Have you ever heard the phrase, “What’s hard for you is not what’s wrong with you”?
During today’s meal— I speak with an audhd social worker about rejection sensitive dysphoria, building self-advocacy and boundaries, the nuances in the neurodiversity realm, and favorite wintertime activities.
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Amuse-Bouche
Explain what you mean by “what’s hard for you is not what’s wrong with you”?
Appetizer
How did you get into social work?
What led you into the neurodivergence realm and Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria?
Palate Cleanser
Living in New England, describe your favorite winter-time activities and meals.
Entree
A time you failed, and what did you learn from that experience?
What are people generally surprised to find out about you?
Dessert
Describe one of your biggest wins.
Your favorite thing about what you do?
Excerpts from the Episode
(*Paraphrased highlights)-
If I learned from it, I didn't fail. Failure only exists when we don't learn from our mistakes.
In my marriage I did fail myself many times by not listening to my inner knowing, not acknowledging it, and dismissing my internal experience. It wasn't until I had a child that I stopped doing that and started learning from those mistakes of self-abandonment. Ultimately they weren't failures, because I did learn from them, but for a long time they were failures because I did not learn.
I learned that my relationship to Self is the most important relationship, because I will have to live with myself my entire life, and the better my relationship with Self, the better my relationship with others.
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I love connecting people to their inner knowing and seeing the spark of self connection and recognition. Seeing a person embody their authentic self is my favorite part.
Knowing your authentic self, who you are, where you begin and end is so essential for collaborating, navigating conflict, co-creating, and doing that in a way where you're not abandoning yourself. When you abandon yourself, that creates a whole spiral of problems.
So, I just love that.
ABOUT Maverick
Maverick Joyce, MSW
Maverick Joyce is a social worker, coach, and therapist who supports people struggling with rejection wounds to find their boundaries in relationships, confidence in their values and opinions, and self-advocacy without shame.
Upon birthing a child into this world as a 30-something, Maverick was identified as AuDHD and they realised they experienced this phenomenon called Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria (RSD). This entire experience was a wake-up call that propelled them into the work they do, and the mission to show people that they don’t have to accept RSD as a lifelong condition.
The world needs the authentic shine and embodiment of neurodivergent brains. Maverick combines structural, systemic, ancestral, and interpersonal standpoints through wholistic mind-body-emotion-spirit frameworks to guide people into authentic embodiment of Self.
CONNECT with Maverick
Instagram: @the.neuroqueer.therapistProgram sales page: Unlock your Inner Genius Informational video on Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria and the program: Unlock Your Inner Genius Mini-TrainingPlease support our podcast by leaving a rating or review!
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Visit my Podcast page to learn more about Behavior Bites!
