Last week, a post on a niche subreddit for Indian Product Managers revealed what many experience but few openly admit, as one user wrote, “I lost my job because of my ADHD,” describing themselves as highly creative and capable of connecting ideas others couldn’t, yet ultimately unable to consistently finish tasks, and what stood out was not shock but exhaustion from years of “masking,” the act of pretending to function like a neurotypical professional in an unforgiving work culture.
According to Dr. Gourav Gupta, Senior Consultant Psychiatrist and CEO of Tulasi Healthcare, the issue is not a lack of effort but a breakdown in regulation, as adults with ADHD often feel perpetually busy due to constantly switching between tasks instead of focusing on a single priority, creating an illusion of productivity without meaningful progress, a pattern that corporate environments frequently misinterpret as inefficiency or lack of discipline.
