We've got a proportion of people who've been living with

ADHD, ADHD, autism for decades and have been questioning, why can't I do things that neurotypicals can do? So there's a lot of self-criticism, lack of understanding, there's something wrong with me.

And although we can talk about things like noradrenaline and dopamine as the neurochemicals that are systems in play.

Actually, I quite, although I appreciate people with autism, don't always like analogies.

I think sometimes the analogies work.

There's a famous American psychiatrist called Edward Ned Halliwell who describes ADHD as being like a Ferrari with bicycle brakes.

So thinking about analogies like that, be it for ADHD, be it for autism, I think really helps patients understand.

How do you think mental health services need to evolve to better meet their needs?

But before we get to that, what's the true cost of never unmasking? What happens if someone spends decades, 30, 40 years masked?

I mean, there can be lots of different consequences on various different levels.

So I guess if we talk about long-term relationships or even a partner, I think you can get to the point of thinking to yourself, "Who does the per-- who does my partner like? Who does my friends like? Is it my true self or is it the masked version that I have learned over the years to kind of present?" So you get incredibly worried that people might not like the real you, um, a- and that's where that fear about rejection or abandonment can come into play.

And then you're worried about people judging you, um, and again, the sort of things that we've talked about, which is, um, do I talk too much? Do I n- not talk enough? Am I overreacting? Am I under-reacting? Um, you can also feel, uh, worried about impulsivity coming out.

The other thing is, it can make you feel lonely within a relationship because, again, you've only presented a part of you rather than maybe the whole you.

So then you're really worried about, again, does the person like what they can see rather than- The whole iceberg rather than just the top of the iceberg, and then that can make you feel lonely

If you could kindly read it out loud.

Oh, thank you.