Quote by Brandon Sanderson
In Tress of the Emerald Sea, Brandon Sanderson writes the above quote which is literary description of masking.
Although the term masking is typically used in discussing Autism, it is a term that applies to many of the clients I work with regardless of their neurodivergence.
Masking is a strategy used by some autistic people, consciously or unconsciously, to appear neurotypical or what others view as “normal” so as to blend in and be more accepted in peer groups and society.
Masking is a strategy used by developmental and complex trauma survivors to attempt to appear “normal” because they don’t want to be seen as weird or different as they feel different from the rest of folks for not having had that normal childhood and/or parenting. =
Masking is a strategy used by some trans and non-binary people to appear and conform to the expectations society has for them based on their sex assigned at birth. They may do this because they want to fit in, or because they don’t want to be disciplined or targeted due to dressing or behaving in the ways that come more naturally to them.
Masking is not a mental health symptom or problem, it is an adaptation and coping skill to help people survive, but it comes with a cost. It takes a lot of mental, emotional and physical energy to mask, so if you feel wiped out from a day of trying to pass as “normal” this may be why.