Brain dumping, a specific form of (mental) health-related journaling, helps to process complex thoughts or emotions. Brain dump sessions can be especially valuable to Neurodivergent adults or those who struggle with anxiety and emotional dysregulation.

Do you struggle with emotional dysregulation? Learn how to identify your emotions so you can express them in a healthy way.

I pondered the mask I wore for a long time. I couldn’t remember ever “putting the mask on”. It was just always there. It was never a conscious choice to hide who I really was. It was just a reaction to being smart enough to know what’s expected of me and knowing that I couldn’t produce it the way everyone around me wanted it. I can’t explain to you what it feels like to take off a mask you never knew you were wearing in your thirties. I can’t fully explain what it feels like to realize that you never let yourself just be you out of fear.

You may wonder why I went through with the adult ASD evaluation. Deep down in my soul, I knew that I was autistic and I was already coming to terms with that (and would be doing that with man evaluation scheduled or not).

The path I now found myself on had spun my world into disarray, but NOT for the reasons you may think. Everything I was learning about autism was new and I was surprised about how much I didn't know about different presentations of autism. I was sad there was such a large and diverse community of people I knew nothing about and I was sad because my son was one of them. A severely misunderstood community of people, just like my son.