Masking - Open

This is interesting.  Thank you for starting off this thread.  I'm going to read the replies slowly and digest.

Masking is the most puzzling aspect of all this to me. (And, of course I am still awaiting my assessment.) If that's all you've ever done and it's become your norm, how can you tell you're doing it?  Am I doing it, even?  How does it fit with those who experience social anxiety?  I have so many questions...

It's odd, I don't fit in many social contexts for sure.  I didn't play with other kids in primary.  I wasn't afraid of them and I didn't dislike them, I just didn't get what they were doing - nothing interesting to me, for sure.  I can't play ball games.  I didn't like the sensations of slides and such.  Role play had no interest for me.  I'd rather be in doors drawing.  I am socially a bit gauche sometimes, slow on the uptake of social cues and inclined to stick my foot in it when I don't mean to and there are quite a lot of jokes and small 'p' politics that float over my head and have to be explained to me by friends.  But, from the age where friendship is based on one-to-one conversation (not small talk, but the stuff that matters) I have always had good friends.  I find myself naturally hanging out with deep, tolerant, often unconventional personality types.  I've often been socially indifferent, but never anxious.  I just accept that I am a marmite personality - you get me or you don't.  

That said, there are situations in which certain responses are required in this life - work etc, which I do find really rather tiring to guess at and produce.

So, I can't make my mind up whether I've just never bothered 'masking', because I can't be bothered much to try to fit where I obviously don't.  Or whether, I have subconsciously to some extent in some situations.

How do you identify it?  How do you know it's happening?

I can hold a regular conversation, okay, but usually, the other person is dominant in the conversation.

This morning, I got my haircut and shave.

I can hold a regular conversation, okay, but usually, the other person is dominant in the conversation.

This morning, I got my haircut and shave.