Acting and Masking
I have been acting since I was 5 years old (I'm 52 now). Nearly all on stage, but also the occasional movie, and often at our zoo's Halloween event in roles like Shrek, Gru, the Cowardly Lion, etc. Also a few writing and directing credits to my name.
Partially due to my work schedule changing a couple of years back, I stopped acting a couple of years ago. As I considered the possibility of being on the spectrum, I started exploring how I might be masking and vowed to stop in an effort to find my true self.
Now I have zero desire to act. My brain can't feel the difference between masking and performing it seems. Also, I don't miss the stage, but I do miss the friendships that actors build with each other from a common goal. Furthermore, I don't feel like I'm missing anything from my life like I should.
Anyone else experience something like this after a late-life diagnosis?
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Fairy tales do not tell children the dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children the dragons can be killed. -- G. K. Chesterton
Officially diagnosed autistic. September 2023, suspected since 2010.