The masking is interesting. I know I do it and sometimes I sort of leave it on autopilot when I'm dealing with clients and the public.
However, recently I was talking to my daughter and she brought up "the mask" and for the record she's the first person to ever call me for being a potential psychopath. Anyway, she asks "Do you mask?" and I just looked at her and let it drop. Very odd feeling. She said "Oh". then looked away and said "I haven't seen that since I was a teenager"
Word "masking" is used also when talking about other neurodivergencies trying to fit it. So it might be that she is not suspecting psychopathy specifically, just "something" being there. But I don't know full context. She just as likely might have pin-pointed this as the most likely option, or altogether ruling out other options.
Wait a moment... Or did you by calling out potential psychopathy mean another instance of her probing, separate from the one, where she asked about your masking? In which she brought up something pertaining to psychopathy alone?
Several years ago she had seen the list of traits of a psychopath and commented during a conversation with me and a cousin about how I fit the criteria
It's interesting that you said you never have to doubt Athena's authenticity - on face value that seems counter-intuitive and contradictory, because psychopaths are well known for their masks, and based on Athena's own descriptions it sounds like she's almost never completely mask off with anyone, so technically almost all of her interactions with other people are inauthentic.
But at the same time I feel like I know exactly what you mean by it... I find the same with Athena's posts and replies to comments - you always know that you're getting a thoughtful, considered, rational and logical response, rather than one driven by (and clouded by) emotion, and there is something kind of hyper-authentic about that - about the lack of emotional drivers for her views and thoughts.
Then again I don't know how much Athena is mask-off online - I definitely detect hints of a mask, because I'm sure thanking people for their comments etc isn't something a psychopath would do naturally. But I tend to assume that there would be less need for the mask online, and that therefore the Athena we know is pretty authentic. So it's interesting that you have the same view, as someone who is close to her IRL.
I think it's only healthy to have a certain amount of doubt about anyone's authenticity who you've only ever come into contact with online. Not to say that I think that doesn't go for offline interactions too, but it's going to be easier for someone to pretend to be somebody they aren't online than in person offline imho. AI tools are now making this easier than before I think (though I know before people used other methods - computer packages like Photoshop being amongst them I'm sure).
Isn’t ’hearing about you’ the point of this post? BTW, Consumer Reports rates the Vitamix Professional Series 750 highest ratings. And it’s only $700 on Amazon.
That is interesting I agree. I don’t run my life from a personality profile but I do find Myers Briggs eerily accurate. I’ve taken it three times over the course of my life and been given the same classification each time. My daughter has taken it in yrs 9 and 10 at school and has come out as ENTP both times. The debater. As her mother I can confirm that outcome is also accurate!
I do see where mood at time of taking the test could potentially influence the outcome though. Same with any test, I think they should be used as an indicator for likely behaviours not as a hard and fast rule.
I was also not happy with the school for administering the test without my consent. My question would be why is a school using Myers Briggs to ‘profile’ kids to begin with ?!
If no mask means emotionless, why is this so scary? I don't get it. Many times, people that show no emotion on their face are attractive, cause fascination. No emotions in the eyes is not scary either. True killing intent seen in the eyes, is, I have seen it from a person that would never harm me and it was horrifying, but this requires the antisocial part that Athena lacks, according to her.
For Jess: I can understand the mask being unsettling for someone who has no idea whether Athena is OK with them or not, but you’ve known her for a long time & you see her daily, or almost. Describe this mask down in your own terms, if you could. I had commented to her that the Anton Chigurh character from No Country For Old Men seemed pretty flat, but she said ‘He’s just weird’ - and the referenced the actor in Mr. Inbetween as being close to real. I also had to learn not to wear my heart on my sleeve . One of the sadder life lessons, for me at least.
I watched some clips of Mr Inbetween and I definitely see what Athena means - he's totally emotionally flat, but also he doesn't seem to have any particular desire or drive to cause trouble for anyone, and yet if someone crosses him he will go to literally any length to right the wrong or redress the balance for himself or his daughter, seemingly without fear of consequences.
For me there are not many TV or film characters that remind me of how Athena describes psychopathy, most of them are much closer to the flawed Hollywood stereotype, but one character who does is Tom Ripley from the Netflix show Ripley, played by Andrew Scott (not the 1999 film, the character is played very differently there). Scott's Ripley has an eerie stillness about him throughout, and seems to have no emotional reaction to anything, even in highly stressful situations where most NTs would be a mess. He's the only big or small screen character I can think of that reminds me of Athena's description of the lack of emotional cues and responses from a psychopath as being like a fan that's suddenly switched off - and you didn't realize how important it was till it's not there anymore. I had a slightly uncomfortable skin crawling feeling all the way through Ripley, and I think it's because that stillness and total lack of emotional reaction are so disconcerting to witness, because so rare. And also because as NT's when we witness that, we instinctively know that we have no handle on this person, and no ability to predict their behaviour, which is pretty damn scary!
Interesting that Scott is the same actor who played Moriarty in the BBC series. He seemed to be more of a sociopath in that. He’s on some kind of a roll - although I guess he plays the ‘Hot priest’ in that Fleabag show. I’m assuming his priest character is far more caring (I hope).
This might be an odd question, or it might be a topic for an article.
How do you experience tiredness and fatigue? Do you recognise that you are tired or is it a bit like illness and you brush it off? Sleep, do you sleep less than the average 7-8 hours? Do you find it harder to mask when tired? You get the general gist!
Thank you for your responses. Very interesting that you consider yourself to be an emotional person rather than logic driven. I can understand how you both see benefit from differing perspectives.
Talking and explaining your views with each willing to honestly listen is huge and the type of interaction that most relationships could use more of.
Do people buy this? I mean I'm all for a good writer, but when I read a Andy Mcnab novel I don't want to hear all about him, albeit I'd rather buy a blender
Isn’t ‘hearing about you’ the point of the post. BTW, The Vitamix Professional blender is rated highest by Consumer Reports. And it’s only $700 on Amazon.
The masking is interesting. I know I do it and sometimes I sort of leave it on autopilot when I'm dealing with clients and the public.
However, recently I was talking to my daughter and she brought up "the mask" and for the record she's the first person to ever call me for being a potential psychopath. Anyway, she asks "Do you mask?" and I just looked at her and let it drop. Very odd feeling. She said "Oh". then looked away and said "I haven't seen that since I was a teenager"
That's amusing.
Word "masking" is used also when talking about other neurodivergencies trying to fit it. So it might be that she is not suspecting psychopathy specifically, just "something" being there. But I don't know full context. She just as likely might have pin-pointed this as the most likely option, or altogether ruling out other options.
Wait a moment... Or did you by calling out potential psychopathy mean another instance of her probing, separate from the one, where she asked about your masking? In which she brought up something pertaining to psychopathy alone?
Several years ago she had seen the list of traits of a psychopath and commented during a conversation with me and a cousin about how I fit the criteria
That's really funny!
It's interesting that you said you never have to doubt Athena's authenticity - on face value that seems counter-intuitive and contradictory, because psychopaths are well known for their masks, and based on Athena's own descriptions it sounds like she's almost never completely mask off with anyone, so technically almost all of her interactions with other people are inauthentic.
But at the same time I feel like I know exactly what you mean by it... I find the same with Athena's posts and replies to comments - you always know that you're getting a thoughtful, considered, rational and logical response, rather than one driven by (and clouded by) emotion, and there is something kind of hyper-authentic about that - about the lack of emotional drivers for her views and thoughts.
Then again I don't know how much Athena is mask-off online - I definitely detect hints of a mask, because I'm sure thanking people for their comments etc isn't something a psychopath would do naturally. But I tend to assume that there would be less need for the mask online, and that therefore the Athena we know is pretty authentic. So it's interesting that you have the same view, as someone who is close to her IRL.
I think it's only healthy to have a certain amount of doubt about anyone's authenticity who you've only ever come into contact with online. Not to say that I think that doesn't go for offline interactions too, but it's going to be easier for someone to pretend to be somebody they aren't online than in person offline imho. AI tools are now making this easier than before I think (though I know before people used other methods - computer packages like Photoshop being amongst them I'm sure).
Isn’t ’hearing about you’ the point of this post? BTW, Consumer Reports rates the Vitamix Professional Series 750 highest ratings. And it’s only $700 on Amazon.
Disappointing to hear on the Myer Briggs front. I'll bear that in mind however, thanks.
That is interesting I agree. I don’t run my life from a personality profile but I do find Myers Briggs eerily accurate. I’ve taken it three times over the course of my life and been given the same classification each time. My daughter has taken it in yrs 9 and 10 at school and has come out as ENTP both times. The debater. As her mother I can confirm that outcome is also accurate!
I do see where mood at time of taking the test could potentially influence the outcome though. Same with any test, I think they should be used as an indicator for likely behaviours not as a hard and fast rule.
I was also not happy with the school for administering the test without my consent. My question would be why is a school using Myers Briggs to ‘profile’ kids to begin with ?!
Good question
If no mask means emotionless, why is this so scary? I don't get it. Many times, people that show no emotion on their face are attractive, cause fascination. No emotions in the eyes is not scary either. True killing intent seen in the eyes, is, I have seen it from a person that would never harm me and it was horrifying, but this requires the antisocial part that Athena lacks, according to her.
I described the difference between flat affect and dropped mask, here:
https://athenawalker.substack.com/p/the-mask?utm_source=publication-search
Neurotypicals never have no emotion. It's always there, regardless of their awareness of it.
I don't want to be rude Athena,but when she mentioned the mask I rememberd a scene with the ghost from Scary Movie 2.....hahaha.Good post to me.
I don't think I've seen it
For Jess: I can understand the mask being unsettling for someone who has no idea whether Athena is OK with them or not, but you’ve known her for a long time & you see her daily, or almost. Describe this mask down in your own terms, if you could. I had commented to her that the Anton Chigurh character from No Country For Old Men seemed pretty flat, but she said ‘He’s just weird’ - and the referenced the actor in Mr. Inbetween as being close to real. I also had to learn not to wear my heart on my sleeve . One of the sadder life lessons, for me at least.
I watched some clips of Mr Inbetween and I definitely see what Athena means - he's totally emotionally flat, but also he doesn't seem to have any particular desire or drive to cause trouble for anyone, and yet if someone crosses him he will go to literally any length to right the wrong or redress the balance for himself or his daughter, seemingly without fear of consequences.
For me there are not many TV or film characters that remind me of how Athena describes psychopathy, most of them are much closer to the flawed Hollywood stereotype, but one character who does is Tom Ripley from the Netflix show Ripley, played by Andrew Scott (not the 1999 film, the character is played very differently there). Scott's Ripley has an eerie stillness about him throughout, and seems to have no emotional reaction to anything, even in highly stressful situations where most NTs would be a mess. He's the only big or small screen character I can think of that reminds me of Athena's description of the lack of emotional cues and responses from a psychopath as being like a fan that's suddenly switched off - and you didn't realize how important it was till it's not there anymore. I had a slightly uncomfortable skin crawling feeling all the way through Ripley, and I think it's because that stillness and total lack of emotional reaction are so disconcerting to witness, because so rare. And also because as NT's when we witness that, we instinctively know that we have no handle on this person, and no ability to predict their behaviour, which is pretty damn scary!
Interesting that Scott is the same actor who played Moriarty in the BBC series. He seemed to be more of a sociopath in that. He’s on some kind of a roll - although I guess he plays the ‘Hot priest’ in that Fleabag show. I’m assuming his priest character is far more caring (I hope).
That's interesting, I didn't know that
This might be an odd question, or it might be a topic for an article.
How do you experience tiredness and fatigue? Do you recognise that you are tired or is it a bit like illness and you brush it off? Sleep, do you sleep less than the average 7-8 hours? Do you find it harder to mask when tired? You get the general gist!
Hi Jen
Thank you for your responses. Very interesting that you consider yourself to be an emotional person rather than logic driven. I can understand how you both see benefit from differing perspectives.
Talking and explaining your views with each willing to honestly listen is huge and the type of interaction that most relationships could use more of.
Do people buy this? I mean I'm all for a good writer, but when I read a Andy Mcnab novel I don't want to hear all about him, albeit I'd rather buy a blender
Pardon?
Isn’t ‘hearing about you’ the point of the post. BTW, The Vitamix Professional blender is rated highest by Consumer Reports. And it’s only $700 on Amazon.
I'm a Blendtec girl, myself
I see one of those costs $1275. Does this thing collect ingredients from the frig by itself?
If you're buying a commercial blender, sure. They're about $400.00 for a home unit.
Maybe you should go back to your gardening?!