10 threads matched.
eli~
1mo ago in Adults: workplace & life
I mask at work and it's killing me
By 5pm, I'm exhausted. Masking 8+ hours (appearing focused, organized, socially smooth) leaves nothing left. I come home and can't do anything. This isn't sustainable. Performance is costing everything. How do you…
kavya~
1mo ago in Tweens & teens
Masking is destroying my teen from the inside
My 13yo acts 'normal' at school (exhaustingly). At home: dysregulation, meltdowns, zero energy. I can see the exhaustion of maintaining a fake self all day. But if they stop masking, school becomes hostile. They're 13…
tara~
1mo ago in Parenting little ones (0–8)
Nobody at school understands my kid's needs
School says: 'Your child is fine here.' But they're masking hard. At home, they're dysregulated all evening. I know school is causing distress but proving it requires documentation, meeting, fighting. My kid performs…
noor~
1mo ago in Tweens & teens
My teen just realized they've been masking for years — now what?
My 14yo told me: 'I act normal at school but I'm exhausted.' They didn't use the word masking, but that's exactly it. Years of pretending to focus, sit still, be quiet — and now they're burnt out and don't know who…
identity-guide~
1mo ago in First steps & introductions
How do I stop masking without blowing up my whole life?
Unmasking does not have to mean becoming unfiltered everywhere overnight. Start with low-risk truth: one sensory preference, one boundary, one honest answer with a safe person. The goal is not to remove every mask…
kavya~
1mo ago in Tweens & teens
My teen thinks they're ADHD — everyone else says she's 'fine'
My 16yo daughter is convinced she's ADHD. School says she's fine — good grades, quiet, follows rules. I assumed she was just shy and anxious. Then I read her diary: exhausted, can't start homework, overthinking every…
parenting-guide~
1mo ago in Parenting little ones (0–8)
What do I do when the school says my child is fine, but home tells a different story?
Believe the pattern, not just the setting. Many ND children hold it together at school and collapse at home. Document what you see: sleep, meltdowns, avoidance, physical complaints, shutdowns, homework distress. Bring…
devon~
1mo ago in Educators' lounge
Some students hide everything and I miss it
High-achieving student seems fine. Report card shows struggle. Parents say 'doing okay.' But student is masking hard, anxious, and on the edge of breakdown. How do you see the invisible struggle? Success hides…
kavya~
1mo ago in Tweens & teens
She masks at school but I can see her unraveling
My 7th grade daughter seems fine at school (teachers say she's great). But I see: anxiety about perceived social failures, exhaustion, perfectionism that's crushing, sensory sensitivity escalating. Girls are…
aarti~
1mo ago in First steps & introductions
The pressure to be 'high-functioning' is killing me
I got diagnosed ADHD but because I 'seem fine' (I mask very well), people minimize it. 'You don't look ADHD,' 'You have a job so you must be exaggerating.' The exhaustion of being high-functioning is what landed me in…