Hi, I'm Tanya

The Squeeze

I spent my whole life being told I was "too much." At the dinner table, my dad would say "the yammer light is on." In the Air Force, I earned the call sign "Loose"—as in "loose cannon," the person who couldn't quite stay in formation. Through grad school, corporate jobs, consulting—every space felt like I was trying to squeeze into a bubble that wasn't built for me.

And when the bubble inevitably popped? That just confirmed I was right to keep squeezing.

The Shift

I wish I could say there was a big aha moment. But it was more like: I don't like this anymore. What if I just... own my life?

So I stopped apologizing for it. I started claiming things. The quirks I kept hiding? Not weird—useful. The needs I kept minimizing? Not demanding—just real. The way I work? Not broken—just different.

And slowly, the manual started writing itself.

The Work

My research focuses on neurodivergent lived experience, but the squeezing? That's universal. Anyone can be "too much." I'm developing the Intraspect Framework—a rigorous approach to understanding how we work.

I run Own Your Manual because once you start figuring out your actual size, you can't unsee it in others. I see people squeezing. I see the bubble about to pop. And I want to help them stop fighting and start working with who they actually are—the same thing I'm still working on.

The research gives it structure. The lived experience makes it real. And helping others figure it out helps me figure it out too.