Amanda Nicholson Wrote About Her Experience Masking As An Autistic Woman

For Stylist, Amanda Nicholson wrote about why she regretted masking as an autistic woman. 

Nicholson told Study Hall, “This is an extra special success for me as I’ve just started to ‘come out’ as autistic and Stylist is one of the publications on my bucket list. I wrote about my experience of being autistic and masking for most of my life, and how I regret not having the courage to be myself until now.” 

In the essay, Nicholson writes, “Today, I recognise that all of my attempts to fit in were a form of masking. Masking is what autistic people do to try to fit in with society’s opinion of ‘normal’; how we attempt to hide or minimise our autistic traits and behaviours. As you might imagine, it’s not ideal to have to outwardly portray a persona that doesn’t match the real you – and looking back, I can see the damage that masking over many years did to my mental health. I never got to explore who I am.”