Published on 12, July, 2020
Recently diagnosed after seeing so many therapists for poor mental health and all of a sudden it all makes sense. I’m so tired from just not being myself for so long. I just want to be myself now and I know I would start to feel slowly better but I just don’t know how to tell people or how to deal with the questions like oh your 36 and only just found out or things like oh you don’t seem like you have autism? I feel like I have masked for so long I don’t know how to unmask!
Ashkc said:I feel like I have masked for so long I don’t know how to unmask!
Oh indeed ! And what will you find beneath ?.......You !
Personally, I slowed my responses down during conversations - rather than rapid fire, from the hip (AKA from the mask), I gave myself a few micro-seconds to think "do I mean this, or am I just spouting cr*p again." It had some very unexpected results - some good, some bad - but ultimately, it got people used to the fact that I was VERY different in a gradual way, and more importantly, it helped me to understand how I was VERY different too.
Good luck - and take it steady.
Thats good advice, I might try that