ADHD Masking Is Real

So, it turns out that Autistics are not the only ones who MASK their differences.

But what does ADHD Masking look like?

1) Hiding your messy house.

If you have ADHD, then you struggle with working memory.

You compensate by leaving things out where you can find them.

That means clutter, doom boxes, stacks, piles, and open cabinets.

But you don't admit how much you struggle.

You clean like crazy whenever someone else needs to come over.

And you have cleared a strategic section of the house for photo opps.

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2) Overcompensating for time blindness by arriving EARLY,

or by having a READY TO GO, fake excuse, for when you run late.

Even when something totally normal happens (like misplacing keys or forgetting your phone)

you blame something else, like traffic or a kid needing help.

You don't want to be thought of as disorganized or ditzy.

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3) You have picked up a "hobby" that masks your need to fidget

Crochet or knitting,

cracking your joints,

cleaning things,

playing with a pet,

making jewlery,

braiding your hair,

assembling things

doing deep stretches,

taking meeting "minutes,"

coloring,

getting "your steps in,"

painting nails,

or running errands.

Instead of stimming you always "make yourself useful."

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4) Being a perfectionist...

in order to compensate for the fact that you feel like you're drowning in executive dysfunction.

You don't want others to know how DIFFICULT things are, for you.

So you often overcommit,

make yourself sick with worry,

and end up dropping out.

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5) Taking secret crib notes in your phone or journal...

So you can remind yourself of details without other people knowing you are struggling to remember things--

like names, locations, step by step instructions, likes and dislikes.

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6) You tell people at work or school that your routine is very important to you...but it's not really true.

At home on days/evenings off, your schedule is all over the place.

But at work (or school) you have figured out how to stick firmly to a routine, so that you don't have to rely too much on working memory.

Everything is habit.

If people interrupt your routine and you have to ADJUST how you perform tasks or you must MOVE to a different space...

it really throws you off and makes you anxious.

The anxiety from just 2 minutes of interrupting your routine, can leave you dysregulated, for hours.

It feels impossible to get back on track.

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7) You nod or make forced eye contact when really your brain is distracted and unable to process information.

You don't want others to feel un-valued/lash out at you

Or for others to recognize your distractibility

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8) You procrastinate but don't admit it.

One of the reasons that hosting a gathering is so difficult for you,

is that you save all the prep to the last minute,

then burn yourself out, getting stuff done.

You then mask the struggle--

Pushing yourself to "just survive" a family gathering or dinner party...

leaving no energy for you to actually enjoy it.

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Does any of this sound familiar

?

What situations drive YOU to mask ADHD symptoms?