Masking and Fawning – Our Survival Instincts – Sunshine Support (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between masking and fawning? ›

Masking is a form of “social camouflage” where a person adapts their behaviour in order to be accepted in an environment. Fawning is an attempt to avoid conflict by appeasing people.

Masking Is a Trauma Response

When an autistic person masks, it means they are consciously or unconsciously attempting to hide or at least minimize their autistic traits while simultaneously emulating neurotypical mannerisms such as facial expressions, tone of voice, vocal cadence, eye contact, etc.

What is fawning? Fawning is a trauma response where a person develops people-pleasing behaviors to avoid conflict and establish a sense of safety. In other words, the fawn trauma response is a type of coping mechanism that survivors of complex trauma adapt to "appease" their abusers.

Ultimately, masking or camouflage means hiding who you are in order to fit in. When you experience trauma and/or rejection for being who you truly are, it's common to think you need to hide these traits to survive.

We found that masking is not limited to autistic people, which is consistent with theory on identity and stigma management. However, some aspects of masking appear to be specific to the autistic experience (i.e., suppressing stims).

Autism masking, also known as Autism camouflaging, follows the same lines….. Masking is a word used to describe something seen in many children with ASD – when they learn, practice, and perform certain behaviours and suppress others in order to be more like the people around them.

Signs you or someone you support may be masking include: Mirroring others' facial expressions or social behaviors. Rehearsing or preparing scripted responses to comments. Imitating gestures such as handshakes or initiating eye contact.

Neurodivergent masking refers to the practice of concealing or suppressing aspects of one's neurodivergent traits or conditions, in order to fit in with the norms of the workplace or society.

Variances in the childhood abuse/neglect pattern, birth order, and genetic predispositions result in individuals "choosing" and specializing in narcissistic (fight), obsessive/compulsive (flight), dissociative (freeze) or codependent (fawn) defenses.

What is codependent fawning? ›

Fawning refers to consistently abandoning your own needs to serve others to avoid conflict, criticism, or disapproval. Fawning is also called the “please and appease” response and is associated with people-pleasing and codependency. “Fawn types seek safety by merging with the wishes, needs, and demands of others.

Examples of fawning include: Ignoring your needs to take care of somebody else. Ensuring that you are as helpful and friendly as possible. Responding to criticism with praise or admiration.

Masking may involve suppressing certain behaviours we find soothing but that others think are 'weird', such as stimming or intense interests. It can also mean mimicking the behaviour of those around us, such as copying non-verbal behaviours, and developing complex social scripts to get by in social situations.

People with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may mask at work. For example, they may hide fidgeting or stimming behavior. These behaviors are repeated movements or words that people with ADHD may use to cope with stress and anxiety.

Increased stress, depression, and anxiety are just some of the potential effects of masking. In extreme cases, some people develop personality disorders as well. Masking is especially common among people with autism spectrum conditions.

If you hide your adult ADHD symptoms from other people, that's called masking. Basically, you're trying to seem more “normal” or “regular.” ADHD causes some people to act hyperactive or impulsive. It makes other folks have trouble paying attention. And still other adults have a combination of those symptoms.

Main signs of autism

finding it hard to understand what others are thinking or feeling. getting very anxious about social situations. finding it hard to make friends or preferring to be on your own. seeming blunt, rude or not interested in others without meaning to.

Masking is a common ADHD coping mechanism. (Masking, to be clear, isn't exclusive to ADHD; it is closely related to neurodivergence, and most often thought of in connection to autism.¹)

Someone with low-functioning autism will display the following characteristics: Limited or no verbal communication (instead using picture display boards and other technology for communication) Limited social skills. Inflexible, repetitive behaviors.

Some studies have documented the reason why girls with autism mask; results suggest that it is motivated by the need to avoid being bullied, the feeling that it is an obligation to mask, and the fear of being ostracized for being autistic.

Do autistic people have empathy? ›

Though autistic people may respond to emotions and social cues differently than neurotypical people, this does not mean they lack empathy. Just like neurotypical people, levels of empathy vary between autistic individuals.

The 'autism accent'.

Professionals would describe this as abnormal speech patterns. I'm not sure what specifically is different about our voices, but some autistic people find that they are often asked about their voice or accent. I have been. In primary school other kids used to mock my voice.

Furthermore, autism masking can lead to depression, anxiety and stress, as the process of hiding one's symptoms is mentally and physically taxing. Autistic burnout is a term given to the mental fatigue experienced after a long period of masking. The individual may shut down and self-isolate.

While autism is most often diagnosed in toddlers, it's possible for autistic adults to go undiagnosed.

In psychology and sociology, masking is the process in which an individual camouflages their natural personality or behavior to conform to social pressures, abuse, or harassment.

Examples of imaginary masks are:

- Acting like everything is fine when it isn't. - Saying you don't care about something when you really do. - Pretending to be super nice when you're really angry inside. - Acting angry when what you really feel is hurt.

Can ADHD mask autism? Yes. For those who have both conditions, it's more common for the autism diagnosis to come much later compared to those that have only autism. This is likely due to ADHD symptom presentations masking the autistic behaviors.

Others are less effective at masking. Either way, the cognitive and emotional effort affects people's mental and physical health. People who mask regularly often say they feel drained and exhausted by the effort of trying to conform to neurotypical standards of behavior.

Some people with quiet BPD can hide their condition and appear successful, independent, and overall high functioning. You might be able to hold a job during the day, but crash into a depressive, anxious, or dissociative state when the day is over. Think of quiet BPD as a mask.

Some people become anxious when wearing a face mask or just thinking about wearing a face mask. This would be what some are calling face mask anxiety.

What are the 4 C's of trauma? ›

These 4 Cs are: Calm, Contain, Care, and Cope 2 Trauma and Trauma-Informed Care Page 10 34 (Table 2.3). These 4Cs emphasize key concepts in trauma-informed care and can serve as touchstones to guide immediate and sustained behavior change.

The freeze, flop, friend, fight or flight reactions are immediate, automatic and instinctive responses to fear. Understanding them a little might help you make sense of your experiences and feelings.

The keywords in SAMHSA's concept are The Three E's of Trauma: Event(s), Experience, and Effect. When a person is exposed to a traumatic or stressful event, how they experience it greatly influences the long-lasting adverse effects of carrying the weight of trauma.

A fawn response, also called submit, is common among codependents and typical in trauma-bonded relationships with narcissists and abusers. When fawning, we seek to please and appease someone to avoid conflict. Internally, we're unable to regulate our emotions. We frantically look to someone else to normalize them.

Fawning is most commonly associated with childhood trauma, relational trauma, and complex trauma—such as ongoing partner violence. Complex trauma can become even more problematic when coupled with the collective trauma that occurs from experiences like the COVID-19 pandemic.

Fawning often first develops in early childhood when a traumatic event has been perpetrated by a parent or primary caregiver, explains Walker. A child who has been abused may learn to fawn to avoid any further abuse, such as physical violence, sexual abuse, or verbal abuse.

Surrounding Prince John are the Fawning Ladies, giggling young maidens who simply idolize the prince and the sheriff. They may be ditzy, but they bring lots of laughs to the performance. The story is set in medieval England. The ruler of the country, King Richard, is off fighting in the Crusades.

Pete Walker coined the term fawn and defines it through the following: “The Fawn response is one of four defensive reactions to ongoing trauma. Those who fawn tend to put the needs and wants of others ahead of themselves at the cost of the health of their own egos, and the protection of and compassion for themselves.”

What is an example of masking effect? ›

Masking is the process by which the threshold of hearing for one sound is raised by the presence of another sound. If someone listens to a soft and a loud sound at the same time, he or she may not hear the soft sound. The soft sound is masked by the loud sound.

The presentation of a similar but irrelevant stimulus immediately following presentation of a memory item is called masking. Masking is known to reduce performance on working memory tests. This is the type of memory used to hold information in mind for brief periods of time for use in ongoing cognition.

This is the idea that all narcissists are predators and intentionally and carefully craft a “mask” to hide their evil intentions. This myth includes the idea that once you unmask the narcissist, they will leave you. Sorry to have to be so blunt, but this idea is not true.

The paper also found that face masks make the interpretation of facial expressions, social cues and emotional states difficult for people struggling with social anxiety.

Masking refers to hiding your authentic self in an effort to gain greater social acceptance. The costs of camouflaging your true personality and emotions can add up exponentially, causing you to experience a sense of loss, anxiety, and depression. Learn more about what masking is and how to deal with it.

Masking may involve suppressing certain behaviours we find soothing but that others think are 'weird', such as stimming or intense interests. It can also mean mimicking the behaviour of those around us, such as copying non-verbal behaviours, and developing complex social scripts to get by in social situations.

This refers to when someone engages in social behaviors that do not come naturally to them, such as making eye contact even when it is uncomfortable or mirroring body language to avoid standing out. 2. Behavioral Masking. This can mean hiding fidgeting or stimming behavior.

Masking can be a behavior individuals adopt subconsciously as coping mechanisms or a trauma response, or it can be a conscious behavior an individual adopts to fit in within perceived societal norms. Masking is interconnected with maintaining performative behavior within social structures and cultures.

What are the mental disorders associated with masking? ›

According to Theresa, the term masking has historically been associated with autism and ADHD, although nowadays it's used by people living with all kinds of mental health conditions.

Mental health masking means camouflaging or suppressing your mental health symptoms so you fit in with others. People mask their mental health symptoms because they want to maintain their relationships, keep their jobs, and be socially accepted.

Personality masks are often a self-defense mechanism. They help protect you from hurt due to societal rejection, abusers, or bullies.

Stimming – or self-stimulatory behaviour – is repetitive or unusual body movement or noises. Stimming might include: hand and finger mannerisms – for example, finger-flicking and hand-flapping. unusual body movements – for example, rocking back and forth while sitting or standing.

Neurodivergent masking refers to the practice of concealing or suppressing aspects of one's neurodivergent traits or conditions, in order to fit in with the norms of the workplace or society.