What is a "bautie"?!

Existing in an 'atypical' brain and body

The term "bautie" represents the many ways in which complex trauma, chronic stress, neurodivergence, chronic illness, and disability can impact our brains and bodies.

If you're here, our individual mechanics and physiology will differ, but one thing we likely have in common is our own special cocktail of many of the above.

As such, our daily experiences are rarely represented positively or in an affirming manner by the health, wellness, and fitness industries.

Life is hard enough - we don't need more shame and invalidation.

We need advice and guidance that affirms our experiences and empowers us to find our own formula for health & wellbeing.

We need integrative and evidence-based advice that understands and empowers us to accept and manage our unique challenges while meeting our emotions where they are - never stifling or denying with toxic positivity.

We need advice and guidance for our bauties.

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Impacts of Chronic and Acute Stress

The impacts of chronic stress and complex trauma are vast, and often interlinked with one another.

Negative Impacts of Chronic Stress

Chronic stress is prolonged; it has been and/or will be present for unforeseeable past and/or future.

• chronic inflammation

• damages blood vessels/linings

• gastrointestinal issues

• headaches

• impaired memory

• impaired metabolism

• increased blood pressure

• increased insulin resistance

• increased risk of heart attack

• increased risk of CVD*

• increased risk of kidney disease

• increased risk of osteoporosis

• increased risk of stroke

• increases aldosterone

• increases cortisol

• reduces dopamine production

• reduces hippocampus

• reduces immune function

• reduces serotonin

• reduces sleep/quality

• reproductive & menstrual issues

  
  

Negative Impacts of Acute Stress

Acute stress is present for a specific duration; can be foreseen or unforeseen.

• increased adrenaline

• increased alertness

• increased blood pressure

• increased breathing

• increased heart rate

• increased noradrenaline

• reduced kidney function

• rising blood glucose

• slowing digestion

It's important to note that complex trauma changes the brain until it's healed, which technically means the brain is divergent from a "normal" brain - or neurodivergent.

Also important to note that neurodevelopmental disorders like Autism and ADHD cannot be healed, only managed for quality of life.

In addition to the "standard" ways stress and trauma can impact us physiologically, the way we experience stress and our triggers may also vary due to differences in our brains like autism, ADHD, and accumulated complex trauma. Here are a few images from a somatic release presentation I did back in January 2024 to show some neurological factors that can impact our stress experience.

As you can see from some of these differences, this is why much of the "normal" stuff doesn't work for us when it comes to somatic release and processing through (emotional) dysregulation.

By the way, I'm doing a similar presentation again, but as a workshop - details here!

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My brain and bautie will always function differently, so it's about acknowledging and working with that instead of against it. 

Four specific examples of how this plays out for me:

1. I will never be able to do a pull-up regardless of how strong I am because my hyper-mobile body is simply not built to get there - and that's okay.

2. I will never be able to force myself to eat things "for my own good" if they're not good because of my sensory issues with food, OCD, and ARFID will quite literally not allow it - and that's okay because fed is best.

3. It will always require more energy resources to complete "regular" daily tasks because of my executive functioning issues.

4. I will always need to consciously work on getting out of my brain to get back into my bautie, which is my key to somatic release... it just literally cannot happen when I'm frozen or told to "sit quietly with my thoughts" - and that's okay.

So when I use the term bautie, I'm referring to those of us who need more than "typical" solutions/advice usually offer us. We're complex and complicated and... that's okay.

We need understanding and release that is safe and rooted in acknowledgement and acceptance rather than goals of being... well... typical.

At the end of the day, the only thing I want is for us to be safe, comfortable, and content in our bauties.

Bautie Awareness - Digital Wheels

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