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?”
I just want to highlight that social masking and autistic masking are very different kinds of efforts.
Sure, autistic masking happens because of social pressures but its not the same thing as simply changing your presenting persona to match the circumstances.
Anyways, masking for love and acceptance would be a very difficult thing for a lot of autistic people. Sure, you might actually convince someone to accept the fake you, but eventually losing touch with yourself would destroy self esteem and make you miserable from the inside… which will then destroy your relationship anyway.
Don’t mask, let as many people dislike you as necessary to find the few who will love you for who you are.