I discovered I had ADHD about 18 months ago and since then I’ve noticed my personality has changed quite a bit. Just knowing the reason why the world always seemed such a confusing place and realising how much masking I did all my life, I’ve noticed the pendulum seems to be swinging in the other way now. I’m never masking again and if that means I seem strange to neurotypicals then so be it.

Have any of you who also discovered your neurospicyness in the last few years experienced anything like this as well? I’m just done pretending and I know it’s probably making me more of a challenge to be around.

I wonder if this is normal and if the pendulum will swing back eventually to a more harmonious place.

Also when did it become ok for dentists to tell you off for not brushing up to their standards. I just noticed how they routinely use shaming as a form of control.

  • ALoafOfBread@lemmy.ml
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    21 hours ago

    It’s a pretty common occurrence for ADHD and Autistic folks. I’m a little bit autistic (Aspergers) and come from a family where literally everyone but me has ADHD, but I was always generally NT passing due to a lot of anxiety and really high levels of masking. I still am NT passing, but when I was informally diagnosed (by psychologists not psychiatrists) and agreed/identified with the label, I stopped masking as much. I don’t know how much other people noticed (they probably didn’t), but it was a big difference for me and allowed me to be more aware of the reasons behind some things that I feel and do - and to be able to forgive myself more for not being “normal”.

    I don’t mask as much now, but I’m able to tell people things like “I’m sorry if what I said came off as me being angry or rude, I have a hard time monitoring the tone of my voice and I didn’t mean to come off that way”. So I have a better level of self-awareness and can still help other people understand my intentions & can communicate better without flat-out outing myself as autistic to other people.

    Also though do please try to brush and floss regularly. Tooth pain/cavities/decay are no joke - you only get one set of those bad boys, gums don’t grow back, and you can’t really imagine how much it sucks to get nerve pain whenever you eat or drink things until it happens to you - then it’s too late. (No shame, only F E A R )