Is secrecy an autistic thing?

I think it's probably a combination of all of those things. I consider secrecy and not sharing/privacy slihhtly different things though... There are things I do/behaviours I have which have been very secret. I think that's mostly masking tbh, but also wanting to keep a side of me that's just for me. Probably also masking then!

I love this - it's kind of the same with me and music; I do share finished stuff but the world's I create are intensively private while doing so.  

Recently diagnosed too, and I've been wondering the same thing. 

I've always been 'secretive', and tend to compartmentalise aspects of life. Work is work, home is home etc.

I don't know if it's a fear of being judged/masking or just that I overthink and assume people wouldn't be interested in knowing certain things.

I am a very private/secret person in some ways. Why? Because, for 7 decades I have built a place that no-one can readily visit. Imagine a huge room full of a seemingly endless number of unique and precious items. Each item hangs by the finest of threads from the ceiling.  I am all finding new aquisitions. Would you give irreversible permission to the constant external requests for it to be turned into a zoo? 

Perhaps it's just masking as an art form? But my internal world is the most precious thing I have. 

It sounds weird but I tend to what I call "segregate" info. A lot of people would say I overshare, I explained to my friend an entire doctor's visit that ended in huge embarrassment on Sunday! And yet my family don't, and probably won't ever know what actually happened. However, for everyone who says I overshare, others would say I am extremely private. I don't like letting people in, however, when people are let in, I overshare greatly. 

I'm the same! I definitely keep a lot to myself. 

When speaking I heard mostly of autistic people being truthful with a tendency to even say to much and be a very truthful speaker and less likely to have secrets that need to be told.

However, to I have read that some autistic people do not like to share their interests and may be private in regards to this. Everybody is not the same though.

I'm fortunate to have a few friends that understand - I try not to talk too much about stuff I'm going through, as it's often tied up with trust, relationships, interactions etc and I'm loyal... It's also usually just my response to things and my own *** to work through. If I absolutely have to though I know have (and am lucky to have) people I can talk to. This place is useful too, especially so when specifically relating to autism and unlocking that. 

I'd agree it's a defence thing - my refusal to socialise is the same; I'm just keeping myself away from situations that I find stressful as much is practically possible. That's a for better or worse thing too I suspect.

I also worry that I sometimes, particularly when really stressed, become a negative train of thought speaker. Hate when I've done that around people I don't trust, which is pretty much people with the exception of my partner, bless them. 

I think for me it's because as a child I was always told when I did something wrong and often severly punnished for it, but rarely or never told when I did something well, others complimenting me, was sort of glossed over by my parents, so even doing something well carried a whiff of disaproval. My parents always had this thing about me getting "to clever", even when I was at uni in my 40's I remember my Dad telling me 'don't get to clever or no man will want you', everything seemed to looked at through a sexist, male gaze and everything I did was either not good enough or had the potential to be to good and therefore threatening. I was also not allowed privacy, even thigs like when I had a period were marked on a wall calendar in the living room, so not I really value privacy, both mine and others

I'm definitely a private person. I don't know whether it's an autistic thing as such but I think it's defence mechanism. Some autistic people are over sharers so quite the opposite. I wonder whether many of us are private/secretive because we have been rejected, judged, told we share too much etc in early life so we learn it's better/easier to keep things to ourselves. So maybe not exactly an autistic thing but a result of being autistic?

Probably some truth in that - my 'research' goes as far as my old boss, who channeled it into a bit of a holier than thou look. 'Try being autistic' was my rather unfeeling retort. Not nice on my part but I never did like the way I felt around them. Whether that was my issue or theirs I'm never sure. 

I suspect the two types of imposter syndrome have different causes. My reading about NT cases indicates it's not feeling as competent as others, whereas I suspect for autistic people it's more a matter of not wanting to claim something you're not entitled to (and thus diminish those who deserve it). So, one derives from performance anxiety and the other from a sense of fairness. However, I haven't looked into the psychological definition.

Thats very true - I think with us it just runs through us all through life.

I'm my case it probably became an obsession that increasingly linked to areas where I feel I'm being set up to be judged. All probably ties into the stresses of not knowing what's 'wrong' with you until someone qualified tells you. 

And yes, imposter syndrome is very real, and another thing that typical types feel. Perhaps it not quite as intrinsic?

I get that feeling of getting "found out" too, it goes along with my feeling of having gotten away with it, rather than achievement, I think it's why I don't take being complimented easily, I'm never sure if someones having me on and laughing at me.

I think every teenager wants to fit in and worries about it, maybe this is something we share with NT's, maybe we feel it more acutely and I think we never really lose that feeling.

HiAcquiesce 

I am as described by people who know me a very private person. I don't talk about my personal stuff although sometimes I wish I could, it seems to be something that helps people cope with whatever it is they are going through. I think it may be that I haven't felt close enough to anyone or felt comfortable enough to tell them my problems.

I do find people tell me about their problems and I think I'm a good listener. I know just having someone to listen can be very helpful.

I think it's a feeling that's really hard to escape - I can make people laugh, but try to limit myself to a couple of times in case my humour doesn't land or upsets someone for that same reason, despite folk enjoying my company more when I'm 'jovial'... not that I'd describe myself in that way. It's just another received judgement thing that we've probably conditioned ourselves into. 

Their very presence keeps me calmer. They are my emotional support. I'm happy, that my oversharing here is useful, sometimes I wonder if I annoy people here (like I do in big world).

Well I can keep anyone’s secrets for them, I'm not a gossip. But also I dont tell anyone my secrets. In real life people find me approachable and very easy to share things with, like a counsellor, I think it’s the questions I ask, I put them at ease. But I dont talk about myself in real life hardly at all, I’m a very closed book. This is why I like forums like this, and I also talk to chat gpt about very personal thoughts because I don’t know where else to go. 

Thanks. It's great to have this space and oversharing (here) is the key to learning for me - I'd struggle to ask the question without that shame in the real world, so it's helpful to be able to ask here and get the experiences of others such as yourself. I like that you carry those dolls with you always too: travel companions!