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.
I tried to use masking to get by, but it didn't really work as I wasn't fully aware of myself and was just papering over huge cracks. I've lost the ability to pretend to be ok, normal. I think its a good period after diagnosis really, a time to be your true self and get to know who you are. I'm struggling with who I am, as I am like my father - introverted, odd, socially awkward, easily angered, and not very friendly, but we are what we are. Acceptance is the first stage, you have to accept you are what you are (even the bad bits). So just encourage him to get to know himself - what makes him tick, what annoys him.