"In episode 10 of the Breaking Through Therapy Podcast, we spoke with autism coach "Alfi" and clinical psychologist Katie Adolphus-who assessed Alfi for autism some years ago. Alfi shared her journey with autism and the process of unmasking and self-discovery. For many people with autism, life is a balancing act between being true to their authentic selves and being accepted. This delicate dance often takes the form of "masking"."
"Adolphus describes masking as "the conscious and unconscious things that people do to squash down the differences and make them less apparent to the world". At a surface level, we all mask from time to time, altering our behaviours to fit a social dynamic, such as at a wedding or a business meeting. However, as autism coach Alfi explained on the podcast, there is a critical difference:"
"In recent years, awareness and diagnoses of autism have grown-by one estimate, diagnoses rose 787% between 1998 and 2018 (Russel et al., 2021). Research has shown that autistic people are more likely to experience co-occurring mental and physical health conditions such as anxiety and depression (Lai et al., 2019) and even gastrointestinal disorders and seizures (Sala et al., 2020). These challenges come not only from autism but from the pressure to mask it."
Autistic people have a higher prevalence of co-occurring mental and physical health conditions, including anxiety, depression, gastrointestinal disorders, and seizures. Diagnoses have risen substantially in recent decades, reflecting increased awareness and identification. Masking involves conscious and unconscious suppression of autistic differences, altering communication style, behaviour, and identity to gain social acceptance. Everyday social adjustments differ from masking in autism, where suppression becomes pervasive and identity-altering. Prolonged masking can be exhausting, debilitating, and contributes to anxiety and depression. Recognizing and reducing masking can improve quality of life and support better management of daily functioning and mental health.
Read at Psychology Today
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