I just want to be left alone

These voice notes are for the parents who hide in bathrooms. Who flinch when the dog looks in their direction. Who snap at the sound of their name.

You feel like there’s something wrong with you.

This is something many neurodivergent parents experience: a deep, wired-in need for quiet processing time, for sensory rest, for solitude that helps you regulate. It’s not selfish. It’s survival.

Press play when you need to feel like you’re not broken or alone in that feeling.

There is, of course, a version of you that loves your family more than anything - and still finds yourself anger-whispering, “I just want to be left alone.”

The panic rises up through you. If you don’t get just a few minutes alone with your own mind, you might actually explode.

Voice Notes

AuDHD

Katy

Needing all beings to give her a break, including the pets.

“I curl up, foetal, defensive and scroll violently on my phone.“

  • Most nights after my daughter goes to bed, I throw myself down on the sofa. I curl up, foetal defensive and scroll violently on my phone and I don't want anyone to come near me. Not the cat, not the dog, not my partner.

    And if I hear a single noise , a peep, a kind “Would you like anything?” my anger boils.

    I love my daughter and I feel like I shouldn't even have to say that because of course I do. But when we're home together for long stretches, my brain just loops this track over and over. I just want to be left alone. It just want to be left alone.

    Especially in the mornings, because that used to be my recovery time. That was how I stopped myself burning out. That was how I recharged. That was like sacred time.

    But now it sometimes feels like panic, like something is rising inside me and pressing against my chest and there's shame in that because parenting is supposed to be this beautiful, all absorbing joy, right?

    So even in the morning when I wake to her sweet voice, asking for someone to come and get her, I think here we go again.

    And then I feel immense shame about it, especially when I confide in neurotypical parents and they say things like, Oh no, I don't feel like that. I'm so excited to see them. I've missed them.

    And I feel like, well, OK, well, there must be something wrong with me then.

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Journaling prompts

What do I actually crave when I say I want to be alone?

Is it silence? Autonomy? No touching? No decisions?

Naming it helps.

Where and when do I enjoy parenting — even just a little?

What moments feel light or funny or less like a chore?

Could I create even 5 minutes for myself a few times a day?

Not pressure - just an idea to hold gently.

Bonus Prompt (Optional Bedtime Practice)

At the end of each day, jot down one moment where parenting held joy - even if just for a second.

Please share your Journaling insights!

Click below if you had a ‘moment’. We’d love to hear what resonated. This helps shape future voice notes and journals.