Published on 12, July, 2020
My friend was recently diagnosed as being on the Spectrum. He says he constantly put up a mask and tried to act or do things the way people around him expected him to act or expected him to do. After the diagnosis he is struggling to figure out who he is because he feels like his whole life. He has put up a mask. Has anyone else experienced this? In dire need of advice on how to help him figure out who he is and how I can help him.
A few of us on the forum are going through the same thing & it takes time to sort out "What is my autism, what is my personality, what can be changed, what *should* I change".
It's a very common (in fact inescapable) process for people to go through.
I've just made a post about how I'm dealing with aspects of this here, and can thoroughly recommend the book "The Nine Stages of Autism".
"The Nine Degrees of Autism" really helped me come to terms with my diagnosis. I think its an important book for anyone going through the autism process