The article discusses how masking, a common experience for neurodivergent individuals, is a trauma response that often leads to feelings of burnout and identity confusion. It emphasizes the importance of unmasking in safe environments where trust exists. Unmasking helps individuals discern between their true selves and survival tactics developed from societal pressures. Many late-diagnosed neurodivergent adults have spent years feeling misaligned, often suppressing their authentic behaviors to avoid negative experiences, especially in the context of both neurodiversity and LGBTQIA+ identities.
Masking often starts young. Many late-diagnosed adults describe decades of feeling 'off' without the language or validation to understand why.
Unmasking is the process of undoing that. It's not about rejecting everything you've built-it's about finding out which parts are you, and which parts were survival mechanisms.
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