5 personality masks we wear to hide our true selves
What's the story
Imagine a world where no one judges anyone and nobody cared what dress you wore to that party. Sounds utopian and unrealistic, right?
The reality is we do care what other people think about us and because of that, we don several personality masks to impress or at least try not to offend others.
Here are the five most common masks people put on.
Information
Masking your real self with words, actions, and expressions
While personality masks can serve as protection for your self-esteem and keep you from getting hurt, they can also lead to depression, anxiety, and exhaustion. So, find out which mask you put on the most from this list and work on your issues.
Smart
The intellectual mask
We all crave to feel smart. Maybe you were told by your parents and teachers that you are a "smart kid." So, you already have a sense of how this praise felt great at that moment.
Now, you want to feel the same again and again.
This continued need for validation in your adulthood makes you feel the need to keep this mask on.
Bully
The bully mask
Maybe you have been bullied by a schoolmate when you were a child. And along the way you've witnessed that being obnoxiously dominant helped you in keeping annoying people away.
So, now you have learned that bullying helps you protect yourself.
Bullying may take the form of acting out physically, making fun of others, or coercing others to accept your opinion.
Calm
The stoic mask
If you don't have a generally calm demeanor but act calmly in the face of adversity, you put on your stoic mask. This mask is worn by some people in almost every situation.
When you act calmly even when you are not calm on the inside, you are repressing your emotional responses.
If you don't process your emotions, you might have an emotional outburst.
People-pleasing
The nice person mask
Many people have this innate fear of ending up lonely in life. So, they often put others' needs before theirs and fall trap to people-pleasing behavior.
The nice person mask plays on your deep-seated insecurity of being judged by others in a bad light.
Being a people pleaser always doesn't lead you anywhere; it only makes your life more miserable. Learn to say "no."
Humor
The humor mask
Humor is one of the best ways to hide your trauma. Remember Chandler from F.R.I.E.N.D.S?
You may frequently use humor as a coping mechanism to mask your deep-seated feelings of sadness, anger, or frustration.
You may also use humor to avoid being laughed at, which is what the case is mostly. Well, nobody can laugh at you if you're already laughing at yourself!