The Mirror and the Mask: Why it Took Thirty Years to See My ADHD

For most of my life, I didn’t have a reflection; I had a script.

When you are raised by narcissistic parents, your primary function isn’t to grow; it is to perform. In the neurotypical-centric world, ADHD is often framed as a “disorder of self-regulation.” But for those of us raised in the shadow of narcissism, the “self” wasn’t something we were allowed to regulate. It was something we had to hide, suppress, and eve…