Published on 12, July, 2020
Hello everybody. I’m still in this no man’s land awaiting the results of my assessment. I was seen on Feb 1st and my husband has been called in since then to complete a questionnaire on me. I’m not sure which one it was. What I really want to know is what does it look like to unmask? I know that this is one think that I will hope to be able to do when I get the results but what does that entail? I’m in my late 60’s and have built up this very respectable, quietly polite, ladylike demeanour……which becomes increasingly difficult to sustain. I struggle to think of conversations to have with people. What do I have to do to make changes? Thank you.
These are the most useful resources I have found on the subject of masking and unmasking.
https://theautisticadvocate.com/autistic-masking/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFCaoFX-pjg&t=2486s
Unmasking is not as easy it it first appears, especially for those of us diagnosed later in life. The more you understand about masking the more you realise that many of the behaviours stem from an early age and have become automatic and unconscious.
What you can do is start to avoid the conscious masking that you are aware of. For example not putting yourself in those situations where you feel forced to have conversations with others. Not wasting a lot of energy and mental effort trying to think of something to say just for the sake of it. If you have nothing to say then don't feel you have to say anything at all. I can relate to that a lot.