I was just watching a youtube on Jungian personas and masks. The problem, Jung said, is that people put on masks to gain love and acceptance but hide their true authentic selves. Over time, they forget who they really are and become their mask.
The video was about how to remove the mask and discover your true self, but all I kept thinking was “love and acceptance? just for putting on a mask? how can I learn this skill?”
If you ever did something that you disliked or thought was dumb but was “what others expect of you”, congratulations, you’ve applied masking. If you ever hid or resisted a behavior that other people would complain about, despite said behavior not being troublesome, you’ve also applied masking.
We get “love and acceptance” (mostly acceptance) when we mask because we fit in with a group, but that’s where we can get socially and mentally exhausted, because it’s not “the real” us that’s fitting in.