{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,27]],"date-time":"2026-08-27T06:18:22Z","timestamp":1787811502952,"version":"build-2784847793"},"reference-count":58,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,27]],"date-time":"2026-08-27T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1787788800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100004359","name":"Vetenskapsr\u00e5det","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100004359","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Psychiatry"],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Many autistic people adapt to a neurotypical world through masking, which can lead to exhaustion and harm to mental and physical health. As a result, there is increasingly interest in \u2018unmasking\u2019 in ways that improve quality of life and reduce stress. This study analyses qualitative data to explore unmasking among autistic adults.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This was a neurodivergent-led study. Twenty-nine autistic adults (17 with co-occurring ADHD) were interviewed one to four times as part of a larger project on autistic flourishing. Data related to unmasking were analysed using qualitative content analysis.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Unmasking occurred through a circular process consisting of four categories (1): Identify the need to unmask (2), Gain a deeper understanding of one\u2019s masking (3), Using unmasking strategies, and (4) Managing the consequences of unmasking.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Unmasking can be both challenging and freeing for autistic adults and may be best approached gradually. Supportive environments and professionals who understand masking and its long-term impact and do not encourage masking are important.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyt.2026.1929738","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,27]],"date-time":"2026-08-27T05:35:02Z","timestamp":1787808902000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Reclaiming selfhood: towards a conceptualisation of the autistic unmasking process"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"\u00c5sa","family":"Hedlund","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Health and Occupational Studies, Department of Caring Sciences, University of G\u00e4vle","place":["G\u00e4vle, Sweden"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Danielle","family":"Un\u00e9us","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Independent researcher","place":["Visby, 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