Some Masks Are Worn Every Day

Today, everyone gets to wear a mask.

Some of us have worn one every day for years.

Rehearsing what to say. Watching faces after we speak. Correcting ourselves before anyone else has to.

On the last day of ADHD Awareness Month, I want to validate everyone who has masked for so long they forgot it was a mask: you were adapting, not pretending. And it doesn't have to cost this much forever.

I never thought I was broken. But I always knew I was wired differently. Understanding that wiring is what let me start setting some of the mask down.

Tonight, when the costumes come off, try this:

1. Name one thing you do to look "fine" that costs you energy.

2. Pick one safe person or place where you can stop doing it.

3. Replace it with something that actually helps your brain.

As I put it at the close of Grounded in How I'm Wired: "You were never meant to overcome how you're wired. You were meant to understand it well enough to build with it."

What's one mask you're ready to set down?

If this sounds like you, Book 5 was written for you. Links are in the first comment.