Do you ever exaggerate your interest/optimism about work to appease other people?

[Hoopoe]

Do you ever exaggerate your interest/optimism about work to appease other people who don't understand/accept your limitations and are pushy about you starting some kind of work?

I find that I do this almost by habit. It's a form of masking for self-protection. Faking not being (as) sick.

To some degree it's also a test of how much my mental state is holding me back. Every now and then you just have to give optimism a chance to see how well it works. The typical result is that it makes no long term difference, unless there was a previous actual increase in function.

 

[Kitty]

I find that I do this almost by habit. It's a form of masking for self-protection. Faking not being (as) sick.

I don't get asked about work (too old), but that's a really interesting question about faking or masking.

I certainly avoid talking to people about ME whenever humanly possible. Not because I'm trying to hide anything, but because unless the conversation's about research or disability politics, it's just dull.

But I'm not completely sure about masking. Maybe I mask it to myself when I'm out on a survey or playing music, because there's a definite effort to subdue it—I want to enjoy myself and feel as normal as possible for a while. But I never try and hide my walking difficulties, or go out without my powerchair because it's big and ugly and draws unwanted attention. I can honestly say I've never felt the shame or embarrassment that some people have about being seen using disability aids.