This whole paragraph absolutely kicked my butt but in the heart so I'm very grateful. I have ADHD and am not autistic but I relate so intensely to the masking and taking great pains to tamp down my impulses to try and make everyone else comfortable, constantly guessing and calculating how I need to behave in order to satisfy them. It has made me a shell of myself. Nearing 30 I'm only now experimenting with being honest about my impulses and instincts and true way of thinking, especially my non-tolerance of sensory overload and it is downright panic inducing to feel like I might be making things harder for the people around me, but I feel like I can't go backwards, and I actually don't want to. This beautifully written article helps so much in validating that. I thank you.