Natasha Smit - Clinical Neuropsychologist

14/08/2025

Brain Chat: What Your Brain Wishes You Knew 🧠

Every time you repeat a behaviour or a thought, your brain strengthens those neural pathways through long-term potentiation. That means negative thinking and bad habits get wired in just as deeply as positive ones. Over time, control shifts from conscious decision-making to automatic pathways, making these patterns harder to break.

The good news? By intentionally practicing healthier thoughts and behaviours, you can rewire your brain and create new, positive habits.

It’s never too late to change your brain’s wiring!

11/08/2025

"Research indicates that autistic burnout is often under-recognised in clinical contexts, despite its significant impact on quality of life, participation, and mental health."

Autistic burnout for me is like running on a treadmill that never stops – constantly trying to keep up, to fit in, until every bit of my energy is drained.

It's more than just tiredness; it's losing pieces of myself, struggling to do things I once could. It's the cost of masking my true self, of living in a world that doesn't quite understand or accept me as I am

- Autistic Adult
The description provided reflects the emerging conceptualisation of autistic burnout as a chronic, debilitating state of exhaustion, loss of functional capacity, and reduced tolerance to stimulus demands that arises from the cumulative effects of navigating a non-accommodating environment. Autistic burnout is distinct from general fatigue or occupational burnout, as it is closely tied to prolonged social camouflaging, sustained sensory and cognitive overload, and the chronic stress of unmet support needs.

The metaphor of “running on a treadmill that never stops” illustrates the unrelenting and inescapable nature of these demands, while the reference to “losing pieces of myself” underscores the erosion of identity and self-efficacy that can occur. This experience is compounded by the effort required to mask autistic traits to gain social acceptance, which, over time, can lead to a profound decline in emotional, cognitive, and physical functioning.

Research indicates that autistic burnout is often under-recognised in clinical contexts, despite its significant impact on quality of life, participation, and mental health.

📚Want to learn more about autistic burnout?
On August 22, 2025, we will be hosting our Autistic Burnout course. We combine clinical experience and lived experience, with the latest research.
✨Learning Objectives
1. Identify the potential causes of Autistic Burnout
2. Recognise the signs of Autistic burnout and appropriate assessment instruments
3. Compare the similarities and differences between burnout and depression
4. Be up-to-date with the latest relevant research and conceptual models
5. Know the strategies for ending Autistic burnout, encouraging recovery and preventing relapse
https://www.attwoodandgarnettevents.com/products/webcast-autistic-burnout-22nd-august-2025

11/08/2025

🧠 NeuroTruths
Peace isn’t found in saying yes to everyone.

When you people-please, your brain learns that your safety depends on keeping others happy — even at your own expense.
This triggers chronic stress, fuels anxiety, and keeps your nervous system on high alert.

Boundaries aren’t selfish. They’re your brain’s way of protecting your energy, your values, and your peace.

09/08/2025

👏👏

Your life is happening RIGHT NOW.

Not this weekend.
Not this summer.
Not when you’re finally in a relationship.
Not when you get your dream job.

It’s happening now.

So stop waiting and wishing away your life.

Find joy and happiness in the everyday moments of your life. Start enjoying the present.

✍️ .cast

08/08/2025

Social media and Dopamine 🤳🧠

Just as with substance addictions, users develop a tolerance to the dopamine surges that social media triggers. They’ll eventually require more frequent or prolonged. https://bit.ly/3AzGPsf

07/08/2025

🧠 NeuroTruth
Ignoring emotions doesn’t make them go away.
It teaches the brain to bury them — until they explode.

💥 The Hard Truth:
Whether you’re 5 or 55, emotions that are dismissed don’t disappear — they just go underground. When we avoid, suppress, or “push through” uncomfortable feelings, we’re not building resilience — we’re building internal pressure.

And the brain keeps score.

Over time, this leads to:
°Emotional numbness or disconnection
°Sudden outbursts or panic attacks seemingly "out of nowhere"
°Chronic stress, burnout, anxiety, or even physical illness
°Difficulty forming secure, trusting relationships

This isn't weakness, it's neurobiology. Unfelt feelings don’t vanish. They wait. And they surface (often louder) when we least expect it.

💡 The Brain-Wise Alternative:
Feeling your feelings isn’t indulgent. It’s regulation.
It’s how the nervous system completes emotional cycles and returns to balance.

Regulation starts with recognition. And safety — not shame — is what rewires the brain.

06/08/2025

Brain Chat: What Your Brain Wishes You Knew 🧠

Your gut talks to your brain more than your brain talks to your gut.
In fact, 90% of the signals in the gut-brain axis travel UP — not down.
That means a distressed gut can fuel anxiety, brain fog, irritability, and low mood.

💡 Want a clearer, calmer brain?
Start by supporting your gut:

✅ Eat more fibre-rich whole foods (your gut bugs love it).
✅ Minimise ultra-processed foods and added sugars.
✅ Add fermented foods (like yoghurt, sauerkraut, kimchi).
✅ Stay hydrated.
✅ Move your body daily — even gentle walks help.
✅ Sleep! Your microbiome resets overnight.
✅ Consider a quality probiotic if needed.

Your gut is your second brain.
Take care of it — your mind will thank you.

05/08/2025

🧠NeuroTruths.
A dysregulated adult cannot teach regulation.

Your nervous system is their first classroom.
If you can’t stay calm, don’t expect them to.
It starts with you. Always.

03/08/2025

🌟Save the Date🌟
30 Aug - ADHD - Online!

ADHD Unlocked Workshop – one of the most common yet misunderstood diagnoses today.

Whether you're a parent, teacher, healthcare professional, or navigating ADHD yourself, this practical, insight-filled morning is for you!

📍 Where: Online – join from the comfort of your home
🗓 When: Saturday, 30 August | 09:00–11:30
💰 Cost: R450 (cpd accredited)
📩 To register: Email info@neurohub.org.za

31/07/2025

Brain Chat: What Your Brain Wishes You Knew 🧠

Just one bad night of sleep can increase sticky brain waste like amyloid-beta, linked to Alzheimer’s disease. Deep sleep is when your brain flushes out toxins, resets memory, and protects long-term health.

💤 It’s not just about how long you sleep — but how well.
🛏️ Your brain needs quality rest to stay sharp, clear, and healthy.

The good news? Sleep is one of the most powerful and protective tools we have — and it’s free, natural, and fully within reach.
✨ A better night’s sleep today = a healthier brain tomorrow.

29/07/2025

🧠 SimplyNeuro: Vascular Dementia

Vascular dementia is the second most common form of dementia, caused by reduced blood flow to the brain — often after strokes or due to conditions like high blood pressure and diabetes (especially if poorly managed for a prolonged period of time). It affects memory, thinking, and daily functioning.

🧓 While symptoms typically appear between ages 60 and 75, brain changes can start decades earlier.
💡 That means the choices we make in our 30s, 40s, and 50s - like managing stress, moving our bodies, eating well, and treating conditions like cholesterol and high blood pressure - can lower our risk and protect our future selves.

28/07/2025

Social Groups starting mid-Aug 🌟👥

🚀 Our Social Groups are launching mid-August!

Designed for children, teens, and young adults, these in-person groups focus on building social skills, boosting confidence, and fostering a sense of belonging—all through fun, interactive activities.

🧠 Led by NeuroHub psychologists
👥 Small, age-specific groups
📍NeuroHub, Loevenstein (Bellville)

📩 Spaces are limited – email info@neurohub.org.za to learn more or secure your spot!