Behind Our Emotional Masks
Many people are successful, happy and have seemingly perfect lives. Is that really so? No. Many of them seem to be something they are not. This is what is called wearing masks.
Depressed people are seemingly optimistic and people with anxiety seem relaxed. These people wear masks so that others will not see them as they really are.
The controlling mask
Controlling persons may have been let down earlier. Because of the pain they have suffered, they have developed a behavior in which they try to make sure that others keep their promises. They also have a dark side that is based on uncertainty, which is why they feel the need to control everything. The mask protects them from the pain of betrayal.
The rigid mask
Stiff people have previously suffered from very unfair situations. As a result, they are inflexible, always seeking justice and accuracy.
Stiff people become perfectionists to the point that it becomes an obsessed attitude. By studying and examining everything, they try to prevent injustice from looking in the door.
Addiction masks
Addicted people can suffer from severe pain due to a feeling of abandonment. These wounds prevent people with this mask from getting close to others. They do not take any relationship seriously and dismiss the idea of living with someone.
The pain of neglect is awful. People with the addiction mask suffer deeply from not being able to trust that those closest to them will not abandon them.
The escape mask
People with escape masks dismiss the company of others. They prefer solitude or moments of serenity. They completely dismiss the attention of others, which is actually something that sometimes makes them incredibly scared. People with this worm flee because they have been rejected and because this has created such a serious wound that they can not prevent themselves from doing so.
Those who flee do not manage not to know how to act in certain situations, to deal with humiliation or to feel lost. This is for the simple reason that this will cause others to dismiss them. In their loneliness, they are not vulnerable or insecure. The mask protects them from what hurts. Is it cowardice? No, it’s just to avoid what they know they can not control or prevent it from hurting them.
Masochist masks
Masochistic people can be mental or emotional masochists. This attitude comes from a sense of humiliation and shame from the past. This causes them to always have to solve other people’s problems by doing everything for them while at the same time lowering and humiliating themselves. That’s something they need.
Unlike people with the other masks, masochists do not try to prevent or escape from their pain. Masochists confront what hurts them by finding more pain. They were hurt in the past and had no control over it. Now they have control and decide for themselves if anyone else will be able to hurt them. In their hearts , this helps them deal with the situation.
As we have seen, there are many different masks we can put on to deal with the emotional wounds we suffer from. People who wear masks are easy to identify because their hidden selves sometimes show up.
It is best to overcome what has caused fear within us. Wearing these masks only adds a layer between ourselves and others, and can prevent us from living from our whole being. Do you wear any of the masks mentioned above? Do you know anyone who wears one?