Grad School Femtoring: Inclusive Grad School Stories, Personal Development, and Productivity Tips for First-Gen BIPOCs · A podcast on thriving in graduate school for first-generation BIPOC students, offering insights on academic success, career development, mental health, and navigating diversity and inclusion in higher education.

341: Masking, Overcompensating, and Burnout: What Neurodivergent First-Gen Students Should Know

·29 min·2 clips

My father taught me that survival meant always showing up as your best self.

Dr. Yvette Martinez-Boo explores the psychological mechanisms of masking and overcompensating, particularly as they affect first-generation and neurodivergent professionals. Drawing from personal childhood experiences with her father's professional presentation strategies and inspired by conversations with colleague Diana, Yvette unpacks how survival mechanisms become exhausting defaults. The episode examines how these behaviors—hiding authentic identity and doing excessive work to prove worth—are interrelated, cognitively draining, and ultimately harmful to relationships and wellbeing. Yvette provides accessible definitions and practical frameworks while validating the necessity of these strategies in unsafe environments.

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