Masking & me

I have mixed feelings about the concept of autistic masking, as I mentioned before. Besides finding the concept very fuzzy and open, I’m also unsure how well it resonates with me personally.

Thoughts on Autistic Masking

Masking is a fuzzy concept which can mean a bunch different things, but in the strictest sense, I think this is what it means:

Autistic masking refers to the compensatory strategy of social mimicry, whereby someone on the autism spectrum imitates the social persona of someone else (or a blend of others) so thoroughly that it becomes their own social identity, in order to appear normal, and blend in.

Everyday decay

Everyday decay is a slow process. It grows unconspicuously like a self-sown tree, and takes years before it starts to really become noticeable (like an overgrown garden). It feeds on lack of funds, lack of time, lack of initiative, lack of organisation, lack of an eye for what needs to be done when and how to do it, lack of skills, lack of energy, or a combination of many factors. And then it spreads.