Ep 1: Anti-Etiquette: Masks, Reality, Neurodiversity

In this raw and unfiltered episode of Unmasked, host Kedra Flowers explores the exhausting reality of masking as a neurodivergent person in a neurotypical world. She shares her journey of realizing that what she thought was everyone "playing the game"—the polite small talk, the social niceties, the "I'm fine" when nothing is fine—isn't actually a game for most people. It's just how they naturally operate.Kedra dives into the physical and emotional toll of decades spent trying to fit into a world with unwritten rules she never received. From corporate America to casual conversations, she reflects on how her neurodivergent brain sees through the "matrix" of social norms while simultaneously forcing herself to participate in them—a survival mechanism that eventually manifested in physical breakdowns.The conversation takes an unexpected turn when a 42-year friendship and a discussion about etiquette reveals a missing piece of the puzzle: those social rules she's always questioned aren't just arbitrary exclusion tactics—they're a language she was never taught. Kedra examines how this gap may have affected her career opportunities and relationships, and why she's now interested in learning the rules she once rejected.This episode is for anyone who's ever felt like they're performing their way through life, who questions why we follow the rules we do, and who's tired of editing themselves to be understood. It's messy, it's honest, and it's unapologetically real.