Psychology Unplugged Autism vs Social Anxiety vs ADHD: Why These Get Confused in a World Full of Labels
Dec 28, 2025
The conversation dives into why labels like autism, social anxiety, and ADHD are attractive in today's society. It highlights the difference between a diagnosis that clarifies functioning and one that merely offers emotional affirmation. The episode unpacks autism's unique neurodevelopmental traits and critiques the issue of masking in social situations. It also explores social anxiety's fear-driven behaviors versus ADHD's challenges with executive functions. Dr. Nigra emphasizes the risks of self-diagnosis and advocates for formal testing to ensure accurate understanding.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Don't Substitute Labels For Diagnosis
- Don't let instant online labels replace clinical explanation; seek functional diagnostic clarity.
- Treat diagnoses as functional explanations, not emotional validation alone.
Autism Is A Neurodevelopmental Difference
- Autism is a neurodevelopmental difference in processing social, sensory, and contextual information.
- It is not driven by fear or trauma and involves different neural architecture for social intuition.
Masking Requires High-Level Social Processing
- Masking is often described as constant hiding but truly requires complex real-time social perception and modification.
- If someone reliably masks, clinicians should scrutinize whether the behavior reflects anxiety-driven compensation rather than core autism features.