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Last updated on May 3, 2026

ADHD & Masking

In neurodivergent circles, masking is when you behave in a way that hides your neurodivergence from others.

This is not about medical masking. Keep doing that to yourself safe!

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What masking looks like

For someone with ADHD, that might mean trying really hard to sit still and not fidget, or deliberately talking more slowly.

It might mean not talking much around others because you’ve been told you’re “a lot,” or you’re worried your lack of impulse control might make you say or do something people think is stupid.

It can often manifest in the form of people pleasing behaviors, which can be harmful.

Or you might take on the language and affect of the people around you to better blend in and hide who you really are.

Masking hurts

Designer Anna E. Cook described it very well on BlueSky (emphasis mine)…

I’ve been holding myself back because I am a very energetic, bubbly, and animated person.

People don’t always love that, understandable.

But it’s physically uncomfortable to make myself smaller.

So I’m currently trying to be myself more but also not make others uncomfortable if that makes sense.

Masking sucks up all of your energy. It robs you of the joy of being your whole, authentic self.

Like Anna said, it’s physically uncomfortable.

Stop masking!

We live in a world with others, and you shouldn’t be deliberately annoying, or violate other people’s needs for space, quiet, and so on.

But that doesn’t mean you need to reduce yourself for other people’s comfort, either.

Not masking can be hard at first. You need to get used to being an acquired taste. A lot of folks won’t like you. They’ll find you to be too much: too loud, too energetic, too honest, too whimsical.

But that’s their problem, not yours.

And the beauty of it? You know that the people who like you actually like you. The real you. Not the smaller shell of yourself.

Shine bright! Be a unicorn in a world full of boring horses!

More guides on... ADHD+Health

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