He put more care into choosing a corsage than most of us put into ourselves — and that same attention shaped a whole life.

In this episode of The Neurocomplex Creative, Vicki Peterson reconnects with her high school prom date and longtime friend Jesse Keene to explore sensitivity, intuition and the survival skills we carry with us from childhood into adult life.

Together, they reflect on growing up highly sensitive in difficult environments, learning to read the people around them, and how those early adaptations can develop into people-pleasing, masking and losing ourselves in order to feel safe. Jesse traces his own journey through corporate success, meditation and spiritual communities towards a more intentional life rooted in Ayurveda, healing and wellness.

Vicki and Jesse also explore childhood trauma, neurodivergence, recovery and the exhaustion that can come from constantly adapting ourselves to different people and environments. At its heart, this is a conversation about friendship, intuition and what happens when we finally find relationships and communities where it feels safe to be seen.

📝 Go deeper on Substack:

https://ahatonahatonahat.substack.com/

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https://buymeacoffee.com/vickipeterson

Produced for the Autistic Culture Podcast Network.

🎧 The Neurocomplex Creative is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all major platforms.

🌈 Celebrate autistic voices with early access, ad-free listening, and our full archive at AutisticCulturePlus.com

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🎙️ Executive Producers: Amy Burns, Anamaria B Call, Andrew Banner, Anna Goodson, Ashley Apelzin, Audrea Volker, Ben Coulson, Brian Churcek, Cappy Hamper, Carley Biblin, Charlene Deva, Chloe Cross, Clay Duhigg, Clayton Oliver, Danny Dunn, Daria Brown, David Garrido, Emily Burgess, Eric Crane, Erik Stenerud, Fiona Baker, Grace Norman, Helen Shaddock, Jaimie Collins, Jason Killian, Jen Unruh, Jennifer Carpenter, Julia Tretter, Kathie Watson-Gray, Kenneth Knowles, Kira Cotter, Kristine Lang, Kyle Raney, Llew P Williams, Laura Alvarado, Laura De Vito, Laura Provonsha, Lily George, Nelly Darmi, Nigel Rogers, Rachel Miller, Tim Scott, Tyler Kunz, Victoria Steed, Yanina Wood.

🎧 Producers: AJ Knight, Bobby Simon, Da Kovac, Eleanor Collins, Emily Griffiths, Hannah Hughes, Jennifer Kemp, Jonas Fløde, Kate F, Katie N Benitez, Kendra Murphy, Lisa Dennys, Logan Wall, Louise Lomas, Melissa Nance, Nicola Owen, Rebecka Johansson, Sam Morris, Sarah Hannah Morris.

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