What mask do you hide behind?

[Nina]

Bjd--
Wearing a mask of denial to cover other masks...hmmmm...multi-layering masks....lol

Jesse--
(((Jesse))) Maybe if you could take just one person and let them know how you feel, it would help. It's hard to hold it all inside. Sometimes folks feel for you, but just don't feel comfortable enough to mention it. I hope you come to feel better.

 

[Asterli]

I stopped wearing a mask a long time ago

Either that or your mask is that you think you don't have a mask.

Yeah.

Think about that. hehe

Badjedidude, I have not much to hide. Ok, I give you that I have some secrets but I try, in the best way, to be open with people. I'm too honest.

 

[Badjedidude]

^^^Honesty is good.

Lol I wasn't insulting you or anything, Asterli, I was just cracking a joke.

But in my observations, sometimes those who profess honesty too much have a lot to hide. I would know. I'm one of them.

P.S. Now we have a conundrum. Am I being honest here, or trying to hide my dishonesty by being too honest? hehe

 

[Caroline]

what happens when you've been using a mask for so long, that you've gotten used to it, and you can't take it off?
it's become a part of you....like The Mask, lol. that creepy green guy XD!!

 

[Lost Soul]

My mask is a lot like Dexter's from the show.

 

[echo]

I guess I hide behind "boringness". Everyone that meets me immediately thinks of me as boring, I'm so boring, I'm not interesting at all, I'm so bland, I'm nothing but they're wrong, if I wanted to I could break their minds, if I opened myself up I could make them see that I'm not boring, I'm not! But I don't open up, I continue to play the "boring bland person" when they don't have a clue how passionate I am or how interested I am in varied subjects!

Another mask I hide in is, everyone thinks of me as unlovable? Like I'm a person that they can't imagine ever caring about anyone else? People seem to imagine me as a person that could not possibly show affection whatsoever but they're wrong, I'm actually an extremely hopeless romantic and insanely affectionate and emotional but nobody knows that because I don't know, I always act so......boring..and bland and....blank and numb. Ugh.

I think the reason why I hide in my "boringness" is that I have a hard time finding a balance, I'm an extremely weird person and when I show that weirdness, people don't want anything to do with me so I have to hide as a very boring person. I don't know. I also don't act affectionate because my parents are cold hearted emotionless sadistic people and they taught me that I don't deserve to show or receive affection so I act very....numb...even though deep down I'm still a very emotional and affectionate person it's just that I don't show it.

 

[Nina]

echo--
I don't think you sound the least bit boring, bland or unlovable. What some folks consider, "weird" others see as fascinatingly unique and creative. I just think you need to find THOSE folks to hang out with. Don't hide your passion, just find a place where you can put it on display and have it appreciated. Do you do any arts as a hobby?

 

[eris]

I wish I had a mask...

I mean can shoot a fake smile at a waitress but when I'm upset I can't hide it very well.

 

[Nina]

eris--
I actually envy folks who can live without a mask. The masks are so consuming and become so habitual that you can get stuck into thinking they are a part of your reality. Then the time comes, when you have to face, REAL reality and it's rough getting to know the person who lives behind the mask. You, without the masks, are forcing yourself to confront your issues on a regualr basis...

 

[CrazieCute]

My mask is my default face. The blank stare I wear when I withdraw so deep into myself that no one can reach me. I wear it when I go outside, I wear it when I'm with someone one on one, I wear it a lot. It doesn't give me the benefits that a smile would, but it protects me none the less.

 

[sadface]

i hide behind the mask of a lot of things. trying to impress people, or hiding from them are usually my weapons of choice.

 

[echo]

I just think you need to find THOSE folks to hang out with.

Yeah, that's what I want. Like a quote that says that "the people that mind don't matter and the people that matter don't mind". I know I need those people, I know but it's so hard to find them. I don't have any friends, the people I've met in the past always end up being the people that don't accept me or love me or they don't want me in their life. It's so exhausting but you're completely right, I know that I need friends that accept me and ALL of me,the type of people that I can be my true self 100% no matter how flawed and weird I am, they would still care about me and not abandon me like everyone else does!

It feels impossible to find anyone like that though, I'm pretty much a hermit, I rarely even meet strangers to begin with, the few people I meet are just people that could only ever be an acquaintance, even farther away from finding the people that I need who would actually be a meaningful part of my life, people who would actually love the person that I truly AM. It seems so impossible though. It hurts me to think like that but it's true in a way, I'm always going to end up getting rejected or hurt but I guess I can't give up either. Sigh.

 

[Nina]

lost soul, crazie cutie sadface,--
I don't think it matters what mask we use. We all hide behind them and sometimes I really think that what we hide is very valuable. We've just somehow convinced outselves it isn't. Proctecting ourselves is what we try to do but is it protection or just emotional isolation? I think we all need to schedule a "NO MASK" day and just put the darned things aside and see what happens if we let our real selves be seen. It sounds scarey but could it be much worse than how we feel behind the masks?

exho--NO, you can't give up. We never know what the next moment holds...

 

[Asterli]

^^^Honesty is good.

Lol I wasn't insulting you or anything, Asterli, I was just cracking a joke.

But in my observations, sometimes those who profess honesty too much have a lot to hide. I would know. I'm one of them.

P.S. Now we have a conundrum. Am I being honest here, or trying to hide my dishonesty by being too honest? hehe

I know and I don't mind Badjedidude. I've read some of your posts so I know a little bit about your style.

 

[echo]

echo--NO, you can't give up. We never know what the next moment holds...

A bit off topic but I just wanted to say that you're really nice, thank you for taking the time to listen to me and reply, I truly appreciate it, it made me feel a bit better.

 

[blue87]

My 'mask' is that of a normal, outgoing, laid back guy. This is what acquaintances and strangers see, and friends who never really talk about 'deep' things.

Then there is a layer of silence, hostility and general dickery that comes whenever people start trying to get to know me, or I feel they are getting too close. I push them away. I can be a real monster. I don't know why I do this.

Then there is me. I don't really know how to explain this. Few people see this. If they do, it is not for long, because eventually I will push them away as explained above.

There you go.

 

[IVIZ]

I hide behind an innocent, good-boy, mysterious, friendly yet weird mask.

HAHA thus relating to my sig lol

 

[Nina]

echo-- Thanks. I'm glad you felt a bit better.

blue87--
Deep inside most of the, "monsters" lives a person who just wants to trust and care. That's probably the "you" part of your personal equation. I hope a times comes, when the, "you" can come out...

IVIZ--innocent, good, mysterious, friendly and weird is a pretty diverse and interesting combo. You can keep everyone guessing, that's for sure. I like your signature...

 

[Mr. Blue]

I think most folks have a mask they use when around others.

I hide behind a smiley mask. 90 % of the smiles I give, to others, I mean. I honestly like more people than I dislike. It's the 10% of the smiles I find myself putting on my face when I look in the mirror that are beginning to trouble me.

For those of you who don't need the masks, know ahead of time, I am extremely jealous of you.

I like this. I think wearing a smiley mask would make the world a better place for me, at least personally. If I wear a smile, usually when someone looks at me they smile back. So, logically, if I smile more, I should encounter happier people.

It's smiling at myself that needs work.

*sigh*

 

[Nina]

Blue--
Smiling at others does bring out better "vibes" from folks. It's always nice to get one in return. When I find myself smiling at myself in the mirror, it forces me ask what I'm hiding from myself with it. Sometimes those smiles become so addictive we use them on ourselves in far more deceptive ways than we would on others....