Another thread I am on got me thinking about this again. I have recently been diagnosed with ADHD (Inattentive Type) and I think that a lot of the "stress" or tension in my life comes from putting on my lovely mask before social interactions. Upon reflection, my need for huge amounts of downtime where I close the door and don't talk to anyone for days on end if I could probably comes from needing to decompress after spending so much energy on picking up on tiny cues and adjusting my behaviour to suit whatever the situation is. I know that I am incredibly good at this, and have been told so many times that I am a social chameleon as I can fit in brilliantly with whatever group I am with- I see it as a strength as well. It's just that I am in a period of my life now where I really don't care as much about fitting in and want to find the people who I don't need to spend all this energy fitting in with.
However- I am 47, I will have been doing this all my life. How do I know what the mask is and how do I not do it? Am I asking a question with a really obvious answer?!