Women with austism help me please

Masking is not just a female thing, although it is done more and cab be different. There is a questionnaire for it, CAT-Q, which I found very hard to do. 

Masking, also called camouflaging is in 3 areas:

1. masking, suppressing characteristics like stimming or forcing eye contact,
2. compensation or camouflage, which is scripting, copying, researching social behaviours to fit in
3. assimilation, performing or acting to fit in while hiding the effort.

It is quite complicated, with multiple layers depending on cognitive profile.

You can judge better if you are likely to be autistic by doing the AQ-10, which has 10 questions, it the longer and more accurate AQ-50.

These and others can be found online, but the embrace-autism.com site is the easiest place to see them all.

Note thar a test does not prove it. You also have to be formally assessed. Not all psychologists can do this. It is not done by psychiatrists.

The criteria used are either DSM-5 or ICD-10. These are clinical documents describing particular behaviours and problems. You can also find the NICE guidelines online. I read them all, because of course I did.

In terms of coping, it depends on the problems you have. Sensory differences vary, but some accommodations may be needed.

What you are trying to do is live a good life, do what you want to do, while not getting overloaded and facing burnout. Burnout lasts months and reduces functioning, making you appear more autistic, since you can't mask, and your thinking becomes dysfunctional, plus you are more fragile.

It tends to involve allowing recovery time, recognising what stresses you by observing your reactions closely, then mitigating it or doing it in controlled bursts.

Just being quirky is a personality. You only want to really worry about things which are stopping you doing things or are costing too much energy.

Note that there is nothing that makes it go away, some things will always be hard or uncomfortable, but practice can make them less scary.

The biggest change is to try to take things less seriously, to not compare yourself to others, to focus on what you like, and to not demand too much of yourself. Make sure you get enough sleep and drink enough.

Masking is not just a female thing, although it is done more and cab be different. There is a questionnaire for it, CAT-Q, which I found very hard to do. 

Masking, also called camouflaging is in 3 areas:

1. masking, suppressing characteristics like stimming or forcing eye contact,
2. compensation or camouflage, which is scripting, copying, researching social behaviours to fit in
3. assimilation, performing or acting to fit in while hiding the effort.

It is quite complicated, with multiple layers depending on cognitive profile.

You can judge better if you are likely to be autistic by doing the AQ-10, which has 10 questions, it the longer and more accurate AQ-50.

These and others can be found online, but the embrace-autism.com site is the easiest place to see them all.

Note thar a test does not prove it. You also have to be formally assessed. Not all psychologists can do this. It is not done by psychiatrists.

The criteria used are either DSM-5 or ICD-10. These are clinical documents describing particular behaviours and problems. You can also find the NICE guidelines online. I read them all, because of course I did.

In terms of coping, it depends on the problems you have. Sensory differences vary, but some accommodations may be needed.

What you are trying to do is live a good life, do what you want to do, while not getting overloaded and facing burnout. Burnout lasts months and reduces functioning, making you appear more autistic, since you can't mask, and your thinking becomes dysfunctional, plus you are more fragile.

It tends to involve allowing recovery time, recognising what stresses you by observing your reactions closely, then mitigating it or doing it in controlled bursts.

Just being quirky is a personality. You only want to really worry about things which are stopping you doing things or are costing too much energy.

Note that there is nothing that makes it go away, some things will always be hard or uncomfortable, but practice can make them less scary.

The biggest change is to try to take things less seriously, to not compare yourself to others, to focus on what you like, and to not demand too much of yourself. Make sure you get enough sleep and drink enough.