Difference or Personality?

Hi, Racoon (great name and profile pic, by the way). I'm currently waiting for my autism assessment. I decided to go for an official diagnosis because I want to get to know myself better. I'm sure my brain is wired differently, because I just naturally perceive the world differently to most people. For example, my brain can be very literal - I wouldn't say that's a personality trait, because it's not something I can change. Some of my traits are just personality traits, although it can be hard to tell which traits are down to your natural brain wiring and which are related to personality/upbringing.

I think I rambled there, but I guess I'm trying to say that we all have a mixture of traits, some linked to our brain wiring, others not. It might be worth looking into the concept of 'masking' (Purple Ella and YoSamdySam have both made YouTube videos about this). Masking is something that many of us do (often without realising it) to try and fit in better, but it can often exhaust us and have an impact on our mental health. I'm trying to mask less and be myself more. It's tricky, but I'm working on it

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