Author and podcaster Caroline Foran shares her journey of redefining her relationship with anxiety, shedding light on her son’s autism spectrum condition and PDA, and advocating for greater awareness and understanding in family life.
Caroline Foran has described how her understanding of anxiety has changed over the past decade, saying the condition no longer dominates her life in the way it once did. The Dublin-based author and podcaster, whose mental health breakdown came 10 years ago, said motherhood brought a fresh wave of worry in the early weeks after her child was born before that eased. She has since gone on to write award-winning books, build a podcast audience and speak openly about the realities of living with anxiety.
Foran has also spoken about parenting a son who is autistic and has pathological demand avoidance, or PDA, a profile within the autism spectrum that is widely described by specialists as involving an intense anxiety-driven need to resist ordinary demands. Expert guides from Simply Psychology, Medical News Today and other neurodiversity resources say the condition is often misunderstood and can be mistaken for difficult behaviour or poor parenting, when the response is better understood as rooted in a child’s nervous system.
In her account, Foran said the experience has involved repeated assessments and a long stretch of uncertainty before she began to understand what was happening. She said she wants to keep talking about PDA because awareness can change how children are treated at home and elsewhere. Her message is that parents need to prioritise safety and connection rather than treating every struggle as a lesson in discipline.
Foran has said she intends to keep sharing the unpolished parts of family life on social media rather than presenting an idealised version. Her new book, Everything I Wish I’d Known About Anxiety – A Roadmap Back To Yourself, reflects the subject that first brought her to public attention and is now being read through the lens of parenting, neurodiversity and the long, uneven process of managing anxiety.
Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical judgment, advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
