#383: In this episode of GT Radio, Josué is joined by Link Keller, Marc Cuiriz, and Lara Taylor to explore what it means to recognize yourself in media—especially when that media is other people sharing lived experiences online. The conversation focuses on how social media platforms like TikTok have become unexpected mirrors, helping people identify traits associated with ADHD, autism, and broader neurodivergence long before (or even without) formal diagnosis.

Marc shares reflections from reading Unmasking Autism by Devon Price, describing how concepts like masking, people-pleasing, and social chameleon behavior reframed his understanding of his own history. Link talks about encountering late-diagnosed autism content online and slowly realizing that many lifelong experiences—social exhaustion, stimming, echolalia, hyperfixation, and pattern recognition—fit together in ways that trauma or anxiety alone never fully explained. Lara adds a clinical and personal lens, discussing sensory processing differences, social anxiety, and how traits can shift, intensify, or soften across the lifespan.

The group digs into the limitations of the DSM, the value (and risks) of self-diagnosis, and why language matters more than labels for many people. They discuss how diagnostic criteria lag behind lived experience, how systemic barriers make formal assessment inaccessible, and why peer-shared narratives can be both validating and destabilizing. Throughout the episode, they emphasize that these traits aren’t just “quirks”—they exist on an intensity and frequency that meaningfully impacts daily life.

The conversation also touches on specific neurodivergent experiences like masking fatigue, autistic burnout, sensory sensitivities, aphantasia, dyscalculia, face blindness, stimming, echolalia, and the exhaustion of navigating a world not built for neurodivergent minds. While acknowledging that there can be strengths associated with neurodivergence, the hosts push back on overly simplistic narratives like “ADHD is a superpower,” emphasizing that difficulty, disability, and systemic mismatch are central to the lived experience.

Ultimately, this episode is about finding yourself through shared stories, the relief of discovering that you’re not alone, and the complicated emotions that come with reinterpreting your past through a new lens. It’s also an invitation to approach these discoveries with compassion—for yourself and for others—while continuing to advocate for understanding, access, and support.

Characters / Media Mentioned:

• Unmasking Autism (Devon Price)
• TikTok (mental health and neurodivergence content)
• DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders)
• The Divergent Mind
• Life on the Spectrum (comic anthology)
• Pokémon
• The Crane Wives (music reference)
• Geek Therapy Network

Themes / Topics Discussed:

• Neurodivergence
• Autism
• ADHD
• Masking and Unmasking
• Late Diagnosis and Self-Diagnosis
• Sensory Processing Differences
• Identity and Language
• Representation vs. Lived Experience
• Diagnostic Systems and Their Limits
• Burnout and Dysregulation
• Social Media as Mental Health Education

Relatable Experiences:

• Feeling “Different” Without Knowing Why
• Discovering Yourself Through Other People’s Stories
• Exhaustion from Social Masking
• Sensory Overload
• Reframing Childhood Memories
• Being Labeled “Shy,” “Gifted,” or “Difficult”
• Struggling to Fit Into Systems Not Built for You
• Finding Relief in Having Words for Your Experience

Join the discussion on the GT Forum at https://forum.geektherapy.org and connect with the Geek Therapy Network through the links at https://geektherapy.org.

Have you ever learned a word that suddenly explained years of experience?
How do you balance self-understanding with the limits of diagnosis and labels?