What’s normal? What is typical, when so many of us hide who we are and therefore hide so much of the human condition itself? Normal has always been challenged but the perception of normal is now rapidly changing whether people like it or agree with it—or not. There is a difference between someone who identifies as autistic and someone who is diagnosed with Austism Spectrum Disorder (previously known as Asperger’s). Autism, ADHD, and several other ‘invisible’ struggles present differently in women. Recent and more inclusive studies support the reality. It isn’t just my reality, it’s the reality of many people.
Tag: social masking
One of my favourite photos in April of this year (2026) is an impromptu selfie as we waited on time between activities. It’s a favourite because there is significance in that moment that goes beyond ‘mother and child together’; for me, it captures something that society tells us we ought to hide beneath a brave face. My cheeky, feral child, arms swung around my neck in affection and love and pure need for connection. It’s beautiful. But no one mentions the weight of it. It’s there—in the strained smile only a best friend might detect, the unplucked eyebrows, the internal
An essay on perception, pressure, and personality Updated March 2026 “We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are.” Anaïs Nin Part I ‘It’s like I don’t even know you,’ someone said. ‘You’re behaving like someone else,’ said someone else. These are also things I’ve said. It’s odd how, over time, it seemed like something threatening to become a universal truth: that we should remain unchanged, and change poses trouble. It conflicted with my held beliefs. What I’ve found to be truer is that it’s only one small facet within a spectrum