8.3 Masking, Meltdowns & Misunderstanding

The emotional toll of pretending to be “normal,” and what happens when we reach our threshold.

For many neurodivergent people, masking becomes a survival strategy.

We hide our stims.

We rehearse our lines.

We smile through overwhelm.

We force eye contact.

We copy others to blend in—just enough to be safe.

And it works.

Until it doesn’t.

Because masking is exhausting.

It keeps us from being rejected, but also from being seen.

It buys us belonging, but at the cost of our nervous system.

Eventually, the mask cracks.

And what spills out is often misunderstood.

Meltdowns. Shutdowns.

Sudden rage. Silent collapse.

People call it overreacting, manipulative, dramatic.

But what they don’t see is what came before:

the weeks, months, or years of holding it all in.

The silent stress. The sensory overload. The emotional suppression.

A meltdown isn’t the beginning of the problem.

It’s the breaking point of long-term self-abandonment.

And yet, we are rarely met with care.

We are punished for breaking down in a world that taught us to hide everything leading up to it.

This isn’t a behavior issue.

It’s a regulation issue.

It’s what happens when people are asked to mask their needs, their pain, and their rhythms—until their body can’t hold it anymore.

We don’t need to “learn to cope better.”

We need space to be real.

To feel. To stim. To cry. To unmask.

And we need people who meet us there—not with judgment, but with understanding.

💊 Explores masking, inner chaos, and emotional collapse through addiction and disconnection.

🛣️ A raw look at emotional numbness, trauma, and relational survival strategies.

🕷️ A masked genius navigating extreme emotional mistrust and violation.