People learn to smile when they are really stressed out. They will nod their head when they are uncomfortable. They will also make their exhaustion seem like it is no deal.
The person will go to meetings even when they are feeling sad about something. They will answer emails when they are feeling totally overwhelmed.
Identifying autistic masking can be difficult. Often, it goes unnoticed, even by friends and family. Each autistic person uniquely shows their autism. This means there isn’t a simple list to spot masking behaviors.
Still, paying attention to small signs can help. Look for signs of being socially drained, trouble showing real emotions, or differences between how someone acts in public and at home. These observations can provide helpful insights
This is what people think it means to be mature. Not showing their feelings.
From the outside, it looks like the person is really strong and can handle anything. On the inside emotional suppression can feel like people are ignoring what the person, with emotional suppression is really going through like they do not exist.
This article explores how emotional suppression has become a professional expectation, why it is praised as strength, and how the cost of this silence is quietly carried by workers long after the workday ends.
Workplaces do not usually say that people need to control their emotions. They still expect them to do so. This is true for offices, schools and even places where people are creative. People are supposed to stay calm no what is happening in their personal life. When people are stressed, they call it pressure. If someone is feeling emotional, they say that person is being unprofessional. It is only okay to show emotions when you can deal with them quickly and easily. Workplaces, like issues to be fixed fast and not be a big problem. Emotional control is something that workplaces expect from people, even if they do not say it out loud.
Additionally, wanting to meet social expectations and avoid bad judgment can lead to masking behaviours. Those on the autism spectrum might think their natural ways are wrong or unwanted because of this pressure.
Unrealistic social expectations and a lack of understanding can lead to mental health issues. To truly address the causes of masking, we need to break down harmful social norms and create a real culture of inclusivity. Identifying autistic masking can be difficult. Often, it goes unnoticed, even by friends and family. Each autistic person uniquely shows their autism. This means there isn’t a simple list to spot masking behaviours.
Still, paying attention to small signs can help. Look for signs of being socially drained, trouble showing real emotions, or differences between how someone acts in public and at home. These observations can provide helpful insights.
The story of Hannah Gadsby, a comedian, is a good example of what happens when you hide your real self. Hannah Gadsby was diagnosed with autism. This shows what can happen when you try to hide who you truly are as a person, like in the real case of Hannah Gadsby. Hannah Gadsby's experience is well known, and it gives people a better understanding of the cost of hiding your true self.
For someone like Hannah Gadsby, she did a great job by making sure that people laugh by paying attention to what people normally do and saying things that sound just like them. She was really good at making people laugh at the time, using the right tone of voice, not showing when she was uncomfortable, and making people feel like they could relate to her when she was on stage. When people watched her, they thought she was really confident and fun to watch. When she was alone, Hannah Gadsby said that doing comedy was really tiring and hurt her feelings a lot.
Gadsby talked about this in interviews and in the things she does. She said that masking helped her do her job and stuff. It was really bad for her. She got really tired. Had a lot of problems with her mind. Gadsby had to try to seem like a person, someone that people like and someone who is good, with people.
Her story depicts a very important point: putting on a mask can make it seem like everything is okay on the outside, but it can really be hurting when how we feel on the inside isn’t reflected by People clapping for us. Does not make the tiredness go away.
Unmasking is not about saying no to the people around us. It is about taking back the right to be ourselves without having to put on a show all the time. A world that wants everyone to be the same, even if it hurts our health, is not fair to everyone. It leaves some people out.
If we want healthier individuals and communities, the question cannot be how well people perform normalcy, but how safe they feel being real. Because no one should have to disappear to belong.
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