You signed it before you knew what you’d need to say.
That’s the design. You sign the NDA on day one, when you’re optimistic and have no grievances. You encounter the grievance on month fourteen. And now the document you signed when everything was fine prevents you from talking about the thing that isn’t.
NDAs aren’t about trade secrets. Not most of them. Most NDAs are about silence. They protect reputation, not intellectual property. They ensure that when things go wrong, the only version of the story that exists is the company’s.
The NDA is a pre-emptive gag order. You agreed to be silenced before you knew there was something worth saying.