Social Masking

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I was watching a video about autism, and they said that females generally learn how to "mask" their symptoms in social situations. This assumes that they are in social situations. What about females who avoid any kind of social situations. I have really not "gone out" with anyone in something like 7 years. I also have no friends or acquaintances. I really do not like people at all. In the past, I have had to leave a restaurant to walk around rather than talk with people. I guess I have a question. How do you "mask" if you don't socialize? How do you even get near enough to people to "go anywhere" with them?

1. Masking abilities seem correlated with gender but not completely bound to it - individuals can always be very different from the median characteristics;

2. It applies rather to young females - children and adolescents. In adult life, the masking females often burn out and show either more obvious autism traits or mental health problems (or both).

So this would explain me? I used to really care and want to make friends, but after years of rejection and abuse, I am just disgusted and fed up with people, and so I avoid them. I am pleasant when checking out of a store, but if someone ever said "Let's go to lunch together" my stomach would flutter and I would get actual physical symptoms, and then say "no thanks."

I can relate very much to this. Now I'm in my thirties, after years of mental health problems and getting to the point of needing counselling, I finally discovered I'd been masking all along. Along with low self esteem and chronic anxiety. I'm much happier with myself and working with my abilities, rather than forcing myself to be like everyone else and suffering the consequences. I've still got a way to go, now at the point of getting the referral for an assessment. It's been a long journey but I feel I'm fianlly on the right path.