@KatyElphinstone Extremely difficult for me to do anything while being watched. Just reading this poll made me realize the extend to which my Dad interfered with my activities as a child by constantly watching me, looking for “flaws” or “abnormalities “, telling me what to change. It was so intrusive and disruptive. It did help me to become more independent mins you but at what cost. It changed me from a child into a masked actor. #AutisticMasking

Bracing myself for a big birthday party of SO's Dad. They are expecting ~ 30 people & I'm prepared for when I run out of peopeling energy - I will go somewhere quiet & I will warn them beforehand. I never really understood it before but with these things there almost always comes a point when suddenly I feel like an alien, outside observer, pretend human. I get sad & exhausted & wanna leave but noone understands...

#ActuallyAutistc #AutisticStruggles #SensoryOverload #AutisticMasking

I feel like the #pandemic continues to make socializing difficult because I've spent so much time alone at this point that I'm very aware of #AutisticMasking in a way I wasn't before and also because even in virtual settings, I'm the only #CovidCautious person there. So everyone is talking about going out, seeing other people, and living life like it's 2019 and I'm the only one still acting like #CovidIsNotOver.

On top of all this, the event was for #LGBTQ people and the more time I spend in #queer spaces since #ComingOut, the more alienated I feel. Like, people ended up talking about coming out and there was this knee-jerk assumption that everyone did that in their early 20s at the latest and that all queer people of a certain age have all had the same experiences, and I just...I can't deal with it. I just fucking can't. Maybe a normal, well-adjusted person would have been able to calmly say, "Hey, I came out in my 30s and that's not my experience, fyi," but for me, I just got an overload of #shame, #QueerImposterSyndrome, #grief, and #rage and completely shut down.

RT @hmm_cook@twitter.com

I just had a conversation with a 14-year-old #autistic kid in which they said "Masking is protecting yourself from others but it can't protect you from yourself. Bc all the negativity just gets turned inwards and you can't escape from that."

#AutisticMasking

🐦🔗: https://twitter.com/hmm_cook/status/1618421918255951872

RT @Glintings
#MyAutisticTruth is that the person I believed I was cultivating myself to be, based on a rationally determined set of 'good' values, was just #AutisticMasking; a coping mechanism that allowed me to pass as normal in a world that bullied me, harassed me and mocked me for my needs

RT @hmm_cook
You might be #AutisticMasking if you're constantly worried you'll get fired, or people will hate you, or that people will react badly, for every tiny thing you do, even when you know that's not likely.

#ActuallyAutistic #AutisticTwitter #ADHDTwitter #AuDHD #Neurodiversity

It's done! Finally!
I was so so nervous it sent me to the bathroom just before. But it went well, my panel knew me already & I could feel that my boss was also herself mentioning things to present & show my qualities in the right light. I can already feel the exhaustion coming on, it was definitely high masking & intense performance situation! You bet there will be potato-based rewards tonight!
#AutisticAtWork #JobInterview #AutisticMasking

On #autisticmasking as a diagnosed autistic who refused to mask. No regrets, but I paid a big price.

https://luckynumbersandcoolcats.wordpress.com/2021/09/10/i-never-learned-the-art-of-masking-because-i-resisted-it-so-much-as-a-kid/