Burning down the house and I can't seem to stop

Moods

In the past, I have always been able to bridle my impulsivity and desire to make inappropriately frank comments (late diagnosed ADHD probably a factor in promoting these!) to the extent that it hasn't had too many lasting impacts on my social relationships. But in the past few months, wow has that changed.

I have repeatedly just said the things I am thinking, even knowing that they aren't the wisest. An example would be saying very forthrightly that I seriously disliked a book at my book club which other members had really loved - and then soliloquising about all the things that were wrong with it (in my opinion). In the past, I would have made some diplomatic comment about the book not being my taste and left it at that.

I actually hate that this new disinhibition is making me less sensitive to social norms and to other people's feelings. I really don't want to be this person, I feel unkind and uncompassionate. I talked to my husband about it and he said maybe I am subconsciously closing down social relationships that I have felt iffy about for a while, which, in my new hermit-adjacent anhedonic state, I no longer have energy to keep performing. That might have some truth to it, but I still hate it.

Has anyone else struggled with this? It's not rage, it's not even really irritation, it's just an irrepressible urge to lay it all out there and not caring nearly as much as I should about how that impacts others. (Yes, I am ashamed of myself).

Posted Aug 14, 2026, 10:20 PM UTC

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