@hmm_cook You might be #AutisticMasking if your GP won’t believe you because you “don’t seem autistic.”

#ActuallyAutistic

Inexplicably I never read anything about the effects of extended #autisticMasking on the personal perception of and relation with #impostorSyndrome.

😶

#actuallyAutistic

I just realized why I hate #remoteworking when everyone around me seems to love it: it fucks with my #AuDHD #masking.

I didn't realize until I was forced to WFH in 2020 just how much I rely on #bodydoubling to function: everything from assessing how hard I'm supposed to be working based on the people around me, to remembering to each lunch. I'm much better at conversation IRL - being on the phone constantly with people whose lips I can't see messes with my #auditoryprocessing, which makes me more socially anxious, which makes it harder to focus and retain information. It threw off the daily routine I was precariously managing. I can't just copy the emotional reactions of everyone around me = I don't know what the "appropriate" emotional reactions are for situations = I just default to constant anxiety.

I feel bad because so many #neurodivergent folks really prefer #WFH but I selfishly want y'all to come back to the office so I can unfuck my life 😩 Am I alone here, @actuallyautistic ?

#autistic #actuallyautistic #ADHD #actuallyadhd #autisticmasking #ADHDAutism #AuditoryProcessingDisorder #80hd #burnout #autisticburnout

@Zumbador @actuallyautistic I don't hide who I am in terms of opinions , beliefs and morals. In fact, I am often told I am black and white about things and hold strong opinions.

My #AutisticMasking is about behaviour( holding in stims, forcing myself to look ok when I am overwhelmed) , trying to follow social norms and rules, hiding sensory issues, wearing what is expected rather than what I am comfortable in etc.

Inside my brain are two #muppets

One is an Order Muppet; the other is a Chaos Muppet.

We have anxiety.

@actuallyautistic #jimhenson #actuallyautistic #autisticadult #masking #autisticmasking #autisticburnout #AuDHD #adhd #autismawareness #anxiety #neurodivergent #executivedysfunction #burnout #muppet

One of the cruelest jokes society plays on the #autistic community is drilling into the brains of very young children with a predisposition for creative, out of the box problem solving, and telling them that they themselves are, in fact, The Problem.

#AutismBewarenessMonth #asd #autism @actuallyautistic #actuallyautistic #masking #autisticmasking #autismawareness #autismacceptance #audhd #adhd #neurodivergent #weird #autisticadult #AutisticAdults #anxiety

I'm seeing a new counsellor/coach (instead of therapist) who is focused on helping me adjust to my autism self-diagnosis and recover from burnout. This is the first time I've been working on myself and feelings while having a sense of agency! Maybe my previous therapists were... bad.

One of our discussions today was her asking me about my autistic characteristics. I swear we had three or four conversations that went exactly like:
Her: How well do you think you read social cues?
Me: Not too badly, but it always takes effort. I don't do it naturally.
Her: How did you learn to do it?
Me: Well, through getting it wrong and being rejected again and again throughout my teens and young adulthood, until I finally got it right enough.
Her: Being rejected that much must still affect you today then. <tone: implied this is a big deal>
Me: ...yes. <tone: implied this is obvious>

But next we are working on understanding my burnout, and she wants me to catalog my symptoms. I've got a surge of imposter syndrome going on, actually, since I am somehow still getting through a nearly full time job and keeping myself afloat... it's more a deep feeling that everything is too much and it's just a matter of time before I implode.

But I'm wondering about other autistic people: are you burned out, and how do you know? What are your symptoms?

#ActuallyAutistic #AutisticMasking #AutisticBurnOut @actuallyautistic

We often discuss how #AutisticMasking differs between men & women and cis & trans, often from a white only vantage point. We all come from different places and surely masking also presents differently.

How does masking differ between cultures? Countries?

#AskingAutistics @actuallyautistic

I was just remembering Karneval from about 7 years ago. At my old work, my boss and other co-workers had a costume party. Before, my boss asked if I don't like to get a costume. "It's fun to be someone else for a day" (he was a bug on this day). I was mumbling "erm no" and thinking "I wish I could be myself, that would be a nice change". Yeah, didn't know the concept of autistic masking back then 😅

I always liked wearing costumes in school, but because I felt more like myself in this. I remember going as Zorro, Punk, Hippie or Tolkien Elf. I love capes, masks, colorful clothing, colorful hair or "elvish" clothes.
But I hate standing out in a crowd so wouldn't wear anything unusual on normal days. I adore autistic people like Chloe Hayden who don't give a f* and wear what they like 😊
#actuallyautistic #autisticMasking

Fascinating perspective on #AutisticMasking that really resonates with me. It’s not enough to say simply “unmask”

RT @SERGICOGN@twitter.com

Aquí también está el debate del abolicionismo. Bien se podrían crear dos posiciones: «eliminar nuestro masking nos expone aún más a la violencia del sistema» vs. «ceder al masking tiene consecuenciss terribles para nuestra autopercepción y nos sometemos al sistema». https://twitter.com/AutisticCoach_/status/1618354383607197697

🐦🔗: https://twitter.com/SERGICOGN/status/1618931861602066432

Just came across two videos on autism diagnosis and autistic masking respectively which, even if you already know a lot of the content, may provide some interesting and useful insights.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=t9COmZ2HwXY&si=EnSIkaIECMiOmarE

https://youtube.com/watch?v=1yva4RZW_s0&si=EnSIkaIECMiOmarE

#ActuallyAutistic
#AutismDiagnosis
#AutisticMasking

#Autism #Autistic #Elsa #Disney
@Disney
#AutisticMasking #LetItGo #AutisticPrincess

My next online #ActuallyAutistic life coaching group begins on January 3. Do you want to explore the depths of your #AutisticSelf? Learn about #AutisticMasking & unmasking? Gain self regulation tools? Meet other autistic adults like you? Let’s go! Signup in my bio.

My next online #ActuallyAutistic life coaching group begins on January 3. Do you want to explore the depths of your #AutisticSelf? Learn about #AutisticMasking & unmasking? Gain self regulation tools? Meet other autistic adults like you? Join us!

https://www.theautisticcoach.com/autistic-group-coaching

@autism101 @actuallyautistic Many of these seem more fit for a headline like "Harmful results of long-time discrimination (#nentism) and masking for conversation situations" rather than examples of how autism influences anything. #neurodiversity #autistic #autism #discrimination #autisticMasking

#Masking #AutisticMasking #Autism #ActuallyAutistic #Autistic #Neurodivergent
It’s worth being uncomfortable, while you adapt to being unmasked. I’m not saying you should unmask for everyone. But I’ve found I can unmask, regularly, around other people. It feels so good to be my own damn self!

@nicedragon Interesting, I've not heard of this before!

I remember hearing Damian talk about how #AutisticMasking is a #Trauma response that all marginalised groups tend to do. I agree with him, I wish I had read more of his work, thanks for sharing!

@OT_Expert yes i have written a few blogs and articles about this shared on NotFineInSchool groups too.#autisticmasking, #MentalHealthMatters

I’ve got 15 years of latter-day capitalistic employment in mostly senior positions in my pocket, and every single morning I expected it to be that working day when I’d finally be exposed as a fraud and be thrown under the company bus.

Neurotypical psychiatrists, psychologists and homeopathic therapists can kindly go fuck themselves in very high-functioning positions when they discuss and grade the quality of our lives.

#autisticMasking @actuallyautistic

#Neurodivergent #health tip: when you show up for mandatory social #work gatherings just *after* your colleagues are drunk, you can just be – instead of intoxicating – yourself, and nobody will remember.

#autisticMasking @actuallyautistic