What is masking?
If you are anything like most people you will have absolutely no idea what masking is. I have to be honest I didn’t know what it was for a long time but now I finally understand what it is and I’d love to share it with you.
So masking is a process in which someone covers or suppresses their own traits and adopts other peoples characteristics in order to conform to society. A lot of autistic people do this to avoid confrontation and questions from other about their traits.
It is most commonly a thing that autistic girls and women do, this is not to say that males do not mask, however it is mainly something that females do. This is one of the reasons it takes women so long to get diagnosed with autism because they are so good at hiding it.
An easy way I like to explain masking is you are an actor or an actress and you have to play the part of a character and you cannot let your own personality through.
Examples of masking
A good example of masking is eye contact, many autistic people find eye contact very uncomfortable but will mask this by maintaining eye contact, sometimes giving too much eye contact.
Another example of masking is copying other peoples behaviour. So this would be someone who is on the spectrum copying someone who is neurotypical, for example copying the way they move, talk or complete tasks.
Also being still is another example of masking. I find it very difficult if not impossible most of the time to stay still. I fidget all the time, however if I am in a social situation I can stay still for as long as I need to, but then when I am out of that situation I won’t be able to stay still. I will have to keep fidgeting.
Finally, another example is researching topics that others are interested in. For example. if you were with a certain group of people who like a certain music genre or certain artists then you would spend a lot of time researching those genres and artists even if you have no interest in that. This way you are prepared for that social situation with those people. I do this all the time to be prepared for social situations.
My thoughts on masking
I find masking to be a really tricky topic to talk about as for a long time I didn’t know I was doing it. Now I know what masking is I’m constantly aware of when I’m masking and when I’m not. Masking is a ridiculously difficult and draining thing to do. Trying to suppress yourself and your traits to fit in with others is much harder than it sounds.
Masking is physically and mentally draining and can lead to a lot of burnouts. I think that masking for long amounts of time can really affect your health and your well being. However, in short bursts I also think masking can be really helpful because it can allow an autistic person to cope in a situation that they wouldn’t normally be able to cope with.
What are your thoughts on masking? If you have any ideas, what ifs or questions for me please fill in the contact form below.
