Sight Side Episode 1

Origin Story

In this first episode of The Sight Side, host James Hickey shares his origin story—from truck driver to systems integration specialist in nine months.

James talks about why trucking was his "unicorn profession," how a hip injury forced a major life pivot, and what happened when he encountered one sentence in a peer recovery training that shut him down completely: "Instead of asking what's wrong with you, ask what happened to you."

That question led to a formal autism and ADHD diagnosis at 45, medication that silenced decades of negative self-talk, and a complete reframe of what he'd spent his whole life calling "broken."

If you've ever felt like you don't fit, like you're surviving instead of thriving, or like you've been asking yourself the wrong question—this episode is for you.

Topics Covered:

• Why trucking is the "unicorn profession" for AuDHD brains

• The pivot: injury, depression, and rebuilding from zero

• "What's wrong with you?" vs. "What happened to you?"

• Late diagnosis at 45: autism, ADHD, and finally having language

• Medication and the voice that finally shut up

• Masking, survival, and the suicide risk nobody talks about

• Bottom-up processing and cognitive latency

• Neurodivergent productivity: the JPMorgan and HP studies

• From surviving to thriving: why this podcast exists

Resources Mentioned:

• From Liquor to Dhikr by James Hickey

• Path of the Sober Seeker Podcast

• PathWays Collective: pathwayscollective.net

• JPMorgan Chase Autism at Work Program