Masking: What is it?

The general understanding I have is "faking it to fit in". Ronnie Pinder talks about it here https://livingautism.com/autistic-fatigue

Wow. My whole life explained. Continuous watching of others, mimicking them, rehearsing 'normal' behaviour and making excuses for being exhausted due to sensory overstimulation. And utterly failing at every one of the above. Two phrases I've heard throughout my life, "You're not normal." "You're weird." And turning myself inside out in an attempt to be 'normal' and 'not weird'.

What's worse is people don't realise the incredible amount of energy it takes to keep it up until too late - with burn-out just on the horizon.

Another edge is that life becomes infinitely more complicated as we get older - relationships, kids, mortgages, pensions etc. so our simplistic 'get me through the day' mask can't cover all bases.    We start to look more odd as we get older - we can't adapt fast enough to keep hiding in plain sight.     Camouflage failure.  

What's worse is people don't realise the incredible amount of energy it takes to keep it up until too late - with burn-out just on the horizon.

Another edge is that life becomes infinitely more complicated as we get older - relationships, kids, mortgages, pensions etc. so our simplistic 'get me through the day' mask can't cover all bases.    We start to look more odd as we get older - we can't adapt fast enough to keep hiding in plain sight.     Camouflage failure.