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.
This is interesting.
I've found this the hardest concept to deal with too.
Some people do just mask less. Sometimes we are so used to doing it, especially if we are late diagnosed and have been doing it for a life time,it's hard for us to tell.
I'm slowly seeing a few things and ditching them. In other ways, maybe I've never masked. Over 50 odd years, I kinda got used to friends saying; "oh Dawn, that's wierd" and me saying; "yeah I know. But it's just an 'is'. What can I say?", with respect to a lot of stuff.
All I can say is I was never exactly super motivated to fit in. Since my diagnosis, I've become completely and totally disinterested in fitting in. Lol. Does that mean I'm making even less? Dunno! Ask my mates what they see.