What happens when you spend 40+ years thinking something is “wrong” with you… and then finally get language for it? In this episode of Just Your Normal Missfit, our host Ann Thomas speaks with strategist and storyteller Vishnu Rao about being a late-diagnosed neurodivergent adult and what that diagnosis changed.

Vishnu is an award-winning clarity strategist, narrative architect, and storyteller working at the intersection of strategy, creativity, and human behaviour.

For years, Vishnu helped brands untangle complexity and find direction, all while quietly navigating anxiety, depression, and the pressure of living up to the “high performer” label.

From masking and high-performance pressure to anxiety, depression, burnout, and executive dysfunction, Vishnu shares what it actually felt like to grow up without the vocabulary to explain how his brain worked.

This conversation explores:

• Late diagnosis in adulthood
• The “high performer” trap and burnout
• Anxiety as a symptom, not just a condition
• Survival mode vs self-understanding
• Medication fears in creative fields
• Blind panic as creative fuel
• Executive dysfunction and masking

We talk about grief. We talk about rest. We talk about what changes and what doesn’t after diagnosis.

If you’ve ever felt “too intense,” “too much,” or “not enough,” this episode may feel uncomfortably familiar and deeply validating.