When a child cannot get through the school gate, the problem is rarely “won’t”. More often, it is “can’t, yet”. For many neurodivergent children, school avoidance is a sign that the demands around them have become bigger than their current capacity to cope. This can leave parents stuck between two pressures. On one side is a child in distress, sometimes panicking, shutting down, melting down, or becoming physically unwell. On the other is the legal duty around education and attendance, plus...

A person with body dysmorphia may spend hours worrying about a “flaw” that others barely notice, or do not see at all. To everyone else, the concern may seem small. To the person living with it, it can feel urgent, shameful, and impossible to ignore. Body dysmorphic disorder, often called BDD, is a mental health condition marked by persistent distress about perceived defects in appearance. These worries usually centre on one or more body parts, such as skin, hair, nose, weight, muscles, or...

A small change in someone’s tone can feel like a verdict. A delayed reply can feel like abandonment. A mild comment can stay in the body for hours, even when the mind knows it was not meant as rejection. For many people with ADHD, this is not “being too sensitive” in a simple sense. It can be part of a wider pattern often called rejection sensitivity dysphoria, or RSD. The term describes intense emotional pain linked to real or perceived rejection, criticism, failure, or disapproval. RSD is...