{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Focus and Chill - productivity tactics for AuDHDers and other neurodivergent folks ","title":"Letting Go of Shame: Kyriakos Gold on Self-Acceptance & Identity – Ep 115","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":2586,"description":"What if healing didn’t come from discipline, masking or “doing better,” but from kindness? In this episode, Kyriakos Gold shares his story of unmasking after an autistic diagnosis and the life-changing shift from self-criticism to self-kindness. Instead of trying to live according to what research, experts or society prescribe, Kyriakos talks honestly about rebuilding life around what actually works for your brain.About the GuestKyriakos Gold is the founder of Just Gold Agency and a passionate advocate for neurodivergent inclusion. Through storytelling, community impact initiatives and social entrepreneurship, he helps create workplaces and environments where autistic and otherwise neurodivergent people don’t need to mask to belong. Kyriakos is also a leader in Autistic Pride Day and has driven multiple projects empowering neurodivergent voices globally.🔍 Episode Highlights (with accurate timestamps)00:01:40 – Late diagnosis & a new autistic lens Kyriakos talks about getting an autism diagnosis in midlife and feeling like he’s “five years old in autistic years.” He explains how autism became the main lens he sees the world through, more stable than culture, nationality or environment.00:08:31 – The unmasking process: freeing and traumatic When he began unmasking, it wasn’t a gentle shift but a feeling of falling off a cliff emotionally. He describes mentally revisiting old memories, reinterpreting past interactions, and how liberating honesty came with fights, broken relationships and a complete rebuild of his ecosystem.00:12:30 – From guilt and shame to being unapologetically autistic Kyriakos shares how years of not knowing he was autistic led to constant self-criticism: every barrier felt like a personal failure. Moving toward being “unapologetically autistic” meant dropping shame and guilt without using autism as an excuse, and learning where he’d genuinely been unkind so he could repair it.00:15:00 – Dyspraxia, “laziness” and redefining effort He describes...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/QZFZQrtBSDhon7MItX8a5mQvkXQ5KKmI2fe6dyhM72o/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9zaG93/LzMzNDE3LzE2NjEw/NjYyOTYtYXJ0d29y/ay5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}