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Beany Brain #105: Labels + All Things Bright and Beautiful
Abigail Munday
August 05, 2026
Beany Brain: loving our jumping-bean brains!
Welcome to this issue of the Beany Brain! I hope today’s newsletter will bounce us up as we contemplate the upsides and challenges of being neurodivergent, a little beauty, some creativity, and just general yeehawesomeness.
Table of Contents
Photo by Abigail Munday
Labels
“I don’t want to be labeled.”
“I don’t want my kid to be labeled.”
There are valid reasons for trying to avoid databases (hello, N*zis and other fascists). There are valid reasons for feeling nervous about some employers or people with power knowing that you are neurodivergent (or gay or Muslim or Christian or Jewish or…).
And yet…
One of the best days of my life so far was three years ago when I was able to know why my brain and body work in certain ways that are not neurotypical.
I cried happy tears, and my psychiatrist said he totally understood. He had been diagnosed in his 30s and felt that huge relief himself.
Everyone makes assumptions, and if you are different than the “norm,” you will be given a label.
Enter this article from the BBC: 'I was labelled lazy at work but I was in sensory hell'.
This was telling:
Callum Brazzo remembers being labelled as "lazy" when he started working in a food factory in his early 20s.
He says he was struggling with sensory overload.
"My internal world was anything but lazy", says Brazzo, who is autistic with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and Tourette syndrome.
"I was doing my absolute best to cope with the sensory hell that I was going through with food and the gloves popping and how it felt.
"All these things that no one could see. To then be called lazy really set me off."
Now 34 and living near Spalding in Lincolnshire, Brazzo believes his experience reflects a wider issue for neurodivergent people navigating the workplace.
Expectations, he says, are often shaped around a narrow idea of how people should think and behave, leaving little room for difference.
"It's always put on us as autistic or otherwise neurodivergent people to fit in," he says.
Callum’s experience is not a one-off, as ND people can tell you.
Dr. Tricia Shaw says:
"This is about us adapting, whether that's schools, whether it's society," says Shaw, who previously worked as a primary school teacher and special educational needs co-ordinator.
"It's not putting the onus on the person who is neurodivergent to adapt.”
Amen, Dr. Shaw! Preach it, sister!
Ha Ha Haiku
A funny haiku for you every week in every newsletter, whether it’s one of my own or one I curate for you. HA. Ha. Haiku.
Photo by Abigail Munday
All Things Bright and Beautiful
Busy ADHD beany brain? Intrusive thoughts? Anxiety a comorbidity with autism?
Check. Check. Check.
So here’s a pause for me. For you. And for all of us who need a quick breather.
Whatever is lovely, think about it!
Photo by Abigail Munday
By-the-wind sailors on beaches in Wales:
Photo by Abigail Munday
Any art by Mary Sumner (UK).
Mr. Rodgers (children’s TV show host in the US) interviewed by David Letterman (thank you to my friend Ms. S. for this link):
Any Clarice Cliff pottery! (Thank you to my friend Ms. A. for introducing me.)
Photo by Abigail Munday
Photo by Abigail Munday
Photo by Abigail Munday
Photo by Abigail Munday
Photo by Abigail Munday
Photo by Abigail Munday
Photo by Abigail Munday
What beautiful things do you focus on?
I hope this was a recharge moment for you. Deep breaths, friends.
Photo by Abigail Munday
Yeehawesome!
Yeehawesome! is a happy-brain roundup in each issue of Beany Brain. What’s happening that’s good in brain land? What’s bringing me joy?
I had heard of soursop fruit before but had never tried it. I found this soursop tea (made from the leaves of the soursop plant) at Shop Jollof, an Afro-Caribbean import store in High Wycombe, and had to try it. It’s herbal and fresh and apparently immunity boosting. Try it!
Marc Cucurella helped Spain win the World Cup, and he also has a nonverbal autistic son. Click on the link below to see the photo, then swipe left so you can watch the video.
Pomodoro means tomato in Italian, and that’s why the founder of the Pomodoro timer method named it that—the classic kitchen timer is in the shape of a tomato. It has helped Zahra Onsori beat her tendency to procrastinate. The Pomodoro method involves 25 minutes of work and then a 5-minute break. Onsori says:
Everyone has small pockets of time during the day, but a few minutes here and there never felt long enough to do anything. But it is, I’ve realised. Working in microbursts has eased my mental load and made starting things less daunting.
I’m not perfect, and I have off days. But when things feel overwhelming, I can rely on my tomato timer to push me into action.
Quote of the Week
Beany Brownie Points and Extra Bonus Funniness
(source unknown)
Wonderful Wednesday
Wonderful Wednesday was a day once a year in college when they would suddenly and surprisingly call off all classes and we’d play all day. The cafeteria provided special fun food and we’d do stuff outside like slip ‘n slides and jello wrestling in sumo suits. This segment of Beany Brain is dedicated to that memory of silliness and fun—no words, just a photo from the week that I’ve taken or found that reminds me to let the joy in. Since Beany Brain is published on Wednesday every week (at least, Wednesday in Japan), I hope you enjoy this Wonderful Wednesday.
Photo by Abigail Munday
Today’s Beany-full Summary:
Some folks don’t want a “label” for themselves or their children, but if you are ND, you will be labeled by society, possibly as “lazy,” even if the reality is sensory overload.
Focusing on beauty is sometimes hard. I’ve provided a few lovely things to look at and ponder.
Go forth in Beany joy. What will help you feel yeehawesome this week?
Thank you for reading this installment of Beany Brain! You’re very welcome to hop on by any old time.
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