Published on 12, July, 2020
Hello folks :)
I am part of a separate autism friendly group (on WhatsApp and Zoom) and recently we have been talking about masking but I am a bit too shy to say that....I don't really understand.Like - am I supposed to be able to tell if I'm masking and if I'm not? The group organiser said some people just simply don't mask, so maybe I am one of those? I am very newly diagnosed so I'm still trying to get my head around all the terms and facts and stuff.
Like, I can tell sometimes I am forcing eye contact or forcing a laugh or something, especially with new people, but with people like close family I feel just like I am kind of myself with - so I don't understand where the lines are?
Can anyone explain how they view masking - then maybe I can relate?
Thank you in advance for reading and/or replying.
Autumn_Trees said:Can anyone explain how they view masking - then maybe I can relate?
Have you read the article about it on this site?
https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/professional-practice/autistic-masking
Masking may involve suppressing certain behaviours we find soothing but that others think are ‘weird’, such as stimming or intense interests. It can also mean mimicking the behaviour of those around us, such as copying non-verbal behaviours, and developing complex social scripts to get by in social situations. With this comes a great need to be like others, and to avoid the prejudice and judgement that comes with being ‘different’.
If you can identify when you are changing behaviour in a social situation then you have the marker of when you are masking.
Okay so like, if I intentionally don't stim around people, I am masking, is that a good example?