Rachel,
Thank you so much for this contribution to our Publication.
You are the first Writer on the Publication to share their experience with Masking/Camouflaging, and your experience is all to common – especially among woman. Masking seems like a good strategy at first in hiding our Autistic/Neurodiverse traitsm but as you alluded to, and I will add, that Masking comes with great cost to the body and psyche, both psychologically and physically.
I know this all too well, as I too attempted to Mask for many years to try to “fit in” – Sometimes successfully, and sometimes not so successfully, but always awkwardly.
No one can keep this Masking charade going forever, and although some people may be able to “pull it off” for many years, inevitably everyone who Masks will crash at some point in time and fall into severe Autistic Burnout, Autistic Shutdown, and the worst: Autistic Regression, which happened to me.
Thank you for sharing your talents in Writing and Raising Awareness of Masking within our Publication. I definitely think your writing style will resonate with the reader.
Sincerely,
Artfully Autistic Advocate for Autism
artfullyautisticpublication@gmail.com| 757–416–4314
Creator, Editor and Writer for the Medium Publication:
- ArtfullyAutistic – The Beauty of Autism Within the Written Word, Music, Crafts, and the Visual Arts
