Anyone else with ADHD realize later that people misunderstood your tone your whole life?

One thing I’m still unpacking is how often people thought I was upset, cold, or annoyed when I wasn’t.

A lot of the time, I was just overloaded. Or choosing my words carefully. Or trying not to react too fast.

But from the outside, it came across as distance. Or irritation. Or lack of emotion.

I used to get feedback like “you seem mad” or “you sounded harsh” and I honestly wouldn’t know what they were talking about. Internally, I was doing the opposite. Slowing down. Holding things in. Trying to be thoughtful.

Over time, that made me second-guess myself constantly. I started softening everything. Over-explaining. Adding disclaimers so people wouldn’t misread me.

Looking back, I don’t think I was bad at communication. I think my internal regulation just didn’t match how people expected it to look.

Curious if anyone else has experienced this. Especially later in life, when you finally have words for it.