Trying on personalities

Post Reply New Topic

This only started making sense after I started identifying as Aspie. I never knew why I did this before, but I imagine myself as morphing into different people according to the situation. If I think I need to act compassionate, I'll actually feel like I'm borrowing the body and brain of a person I know who embodies compassion. If I need to act tough I'll put on the body and brain of a tough person I know. Anyone else do this or am I truly daft?

I did that when I had a job as a dustman, cleaning parking lots. My supervisor was a real b***h. I was my real self when I wasn't at work. I was fast and logical at work to the point that I could have been the leader.

I used to do this all the time when I was young. Obviously some personalities fit better than others. A side effect is that I'm actually a pretty good actor. My body language is still very awkward, however, and tends to give away the fact that I'm only pretending to be that personality-- unless the personality I'm trying on is a physically awkward one.

I felt like this all the time when I was a kid. I felt like I was putting on different behaviors because back then I believed everyone chose to be the way they are and everything was behavior so I was putting on different acts whatever you want to call it. Then in middle school I was putting on different personalities the teachers couldn't keep track because one day I was this and the next day I would be that. This does sound like normal kid behavior to a degree because even NT kids put on different personalities to fit in which they call peer pressure but I was doing it to be normal.

I don't know if I should say I am still pretending because to me its an insult to say I am pretending when I am trying to be a good person and a better one. But if others want to call it acting, that is on them and they are labeling themselves that, not anyone else.

Not sure if this counts here, but I often view what seems to be other people's personalities in my head. Usually they are random strangers who have simply walked past me. The longer the contact however, the less likely it is to occur. I take in a lot of small details from people when I'm out and about, how they dress, walk and carry themselves, etc... and often get all sorts of ideas about who they are and how they act around others. It's like being a spectator at an endless play of people I don't know who've unknowingly told me their life story. Ah, it makes even less sense when I type it.

While i like to pretend to be fictional a characters i still prefer my true personality.

Borrowing personalities sounds more Borderline than autistic to me.

It's more referencing a personality than borrowing it, to be clear. I wouldn't say I "become" that person and don't even have that ability, but use certain aspects to attempt to adjust myself in the appropriate direction.

(I read up a little on BPD just now and it's not even close to how I am, thank God. )

Been doing this my whole life!

People with BPD do that because they fear abandonment. They're willing to be whoever you want them to be so you don't leave them. "Referencing" a personality is an aspie thing. It's how we learn to relate to other people - by modeling the appropriate behavior. Aspies try hard not to hurt others. Now, "becoming someone else" could be a dissociative disorder or the BPD defense against abandonment.

I used to do this too, they aren't really personalities I guess, more so personas since a personality tends to be permanent, underneath the persona.

I've often thought I'd probably be really good at acting, I had a minor obsession with larp a while back, maybe I should try it again since it was actually fun.

It's always easier to be someone else than it is to be yourself, but being yourself is challenging and more fun cause things you do as yourself actually matter.

I think it can be adaptive in the sense that you can "fake it til you make it." For example, it can be the same thing as covering other bands until your own style emerges or copying someone's writing style until you develop your own. I think everyone NT or ND does it to some degree, but I've found myself leaning more heavily on it because verbal communication doesn't necessarily come "naturally."

AS-PD, Psychopathy, and/or Sociopathy, Have that as a symptom. You could also be naturally good at it. I'm pretty good at making character's personalities. Not as good at acting them out though. I've never tried doing it myself.

I've known at least one sociopath and their chameleon like abilities are utilized to manipulate and control others not necessarily to cope with a deficiency. I mean, perhaps, in a way they are. They're coping with a lack of empathy, but I doubt that's the case with people on the spectrum. It seems like aspies lack empathy, but I don't think this is true at all.

Well, some aspies have co-morbid conditions that cause a lack of empathy. Sociopathy is unlikely if it is at all possible. I'm one of two covert narcissists on this forum. Various personality disorders can cause a lack of empathy. Alexithymia despite wikipedia's description is more not being able to identify emotions. Other personality disorder do show this but most of them I doubt since it isn't characteristic of the traits and there is a lack of evidence. Schizoid Personality disorder, has it but I rather doubt that.

Technically speaking, everybodies personality is made up of a combination of other peoples personalities. So it's no surprise that you feel like you're mimicking somebody else depending on the situation. I think everybody does this. The person you know at work, isn't the same person hitting the clubs at the weekend. We all put on different persona's that we feel are suitable for a particular situation. Although, i'd say we're probably considerably worse at choosing the correct persona to put on in any given situation.