Someone can get through the school day, answer the questions, smile at the right times, hand in the work, and still arrive home completely depleted. Looking calm doesn’t always mean feeling calm. Looking capable doesn’t always mean feeling safe. For many neurodivergent young women and gender-diverse people, “coping well” can involve a huge amount of hidden work. That hidden work is often called neurodivergent masking. It can help someone get through the day, avoid judgement,

Some weeks look fine on paper. School or uni. Work shifts. Messages to reply to. A room that needs cleaning. A shower. A meal. A family thing. An appointment. Maybe a social plan you said yes to when you had more energy than you do now. From the outside, it can seem reasonable. Normal, even. So when you’re exhausted, stuck, teary, snappy, numb, late, avoiding everything, or lying in bed wondering why other people seem to manage life more easily, it’s easy to turn the blame in