Do you have a mask on? Hypnosis to reveal your true self

Are you wearing a mask outside the home, or when you are with others? Are you not yourself, but someone you think you should be? This can take an awful lot of energy. In this blog article, we will take a closer look at the mask that many people have on and how to take off your mask.

Social Mask

To some extent, everyone wears a social mask. While this is sometimes necessary for a healthy social life, it can become a problem if your social mask strays too far from your true self [1].

Your mask develops from childhood. When you are little, social mistakes are still forgiven, but you often get a brief comment about how you are "supposed" to behave from your parents or other older family members.

Sometimes you also just have a mask on because you are processing things that are private. If a colleague asks you "How are you?", of course you say "good," but does a good friend ask this with whom you can talk about problems? Then you can tell what's going on.

The development of your “mask” was termed your “persona” by Jung, a psychologist and philosopher. It’s important to develop it in a healthy way so that you can be happy in your adult life as well.

But what if you always have your mask on or it has developed incorrectly due to wrong upbringing or other influences?

Function of the social mask

So the social mask's function is to make you socially accepted and perhaps even admired. With that, the mask can give you opportunities in your life through which you can improve your life.

Depending on how you shape your social mask, this can help you with your self-confidence and self-esteem[2].

Autism and the social mask

People with autism often feel they have to pretend to be someone with “normal” neurological connections. The social mask then becomes a survival strategy in situations where autism is not understood or accepted.

It also allows them to have different masks, such as in school, at parties with peers and at work.

However, this social mask can take a lot of energy, both physically and mentally.

In autism, for example, putting on a mask means making eye contact when they don't really want to. Putting a smile on their face when they actually get too much stimulus and practicing how to talk to someone they just met.

People with autism can imitate peers. Talk the same way, pick up hobbies that classmates have and even adopt clothing styles.

Many people with autism mask because they want to feel normal, to fit in more with other people so that people act nicer and the world is less "hostile."

Putting on a “mask” can sometimes lead to anxiety and sometimes to depression, but for people with autism, it is not yet entirely clear how these differences in negative consequences arise[3].

Taking off your mask can be powerful

In some subcultures, a mask is something that is difficult to take off. American research on black women shows that these women find it more difficult for women of a different skin color to seek mental support when they need it.

This is due, in part, to the development of the “strong Black woman” archetype and what it means for well-being. For example, the image associated with this archetype has been adjusted so that it does not prevent women from asking for help when needed[4].

So taking off your mask can be the first step to finding help and becoming truly powerful.

Hypnosis to take off your mask

Putting on your mask is something you can do very subconsciously. You find yourself in a certain situation, such as at work, and before you know it you have put on your "work mask." This is automatic behavior.

With hypnosis, you can learn to break through this automatic behavior and become more mindful[5]. This allows you to adjust your “work mask” so that it better aligns with your inner self.

You can also think of your mask as your social role. At school, you take on the role of a student, and at home, the role of a mother, or a daughter (father or son)—and there are many more roles and masks like these.

That role you once took on, or this mask, because it's something you get from your environment and because you make your own observations and assumptions about what works best in certain situations. So those are based on how you perceive reality.

Hypnosis helps you with:

1. Revisiting your reality.
2. What you pay attention to and are aware of.
3. Your imagination.
4. Disconnecting certain associations (such as your social mask in certain contexts).
5. Suggestibility.
6. The connection between your body and mind[6].

Finding out the cause of the mask

When a hypnotherapist helps someone take off their mask, they often first examine the cause of that mask. During the initial consultation, for example, a person might explain where their “mask” is causing them “trouble.” For instance, does someone act more extroverted than they actually are because they think it’s important? Or because they believe that’s what others expect of them?

Then someone can also indicate where they think this is coming from. This may be true, but sometimes not.

Regression is usually used to identify the moment when someone decided it was wise to put on a certain “mask.” These are typically situations from your childhood, because that’s when you decide how the world works and how you function best within it.

However, as a child, you are far from having all the knowledge and those "rules" often don't really get updated, so they can cause problems in your adult life. As a result, you can inadvertently have a very tiresome mask on.

Hypnotherapy helps people revisit the situation you saw as a child, to repair the limiting beliefs that have arisen. You then revisit the reality you saw at the time, so to speak, but with your adult knowledge.

That alone can do much to help you release your social mask.

Changing Focus

Another thing you can do is shift your focus . After all, if you’re constantly looking for confirmation that your mask is doing what’s needed, you might as well just be yourself for a change and then look for confirmation that being yourself is actually helpful.

For example, are you more introverted than you pretend to be? At work, be a little less "funny" and do what you do best. Maybe then your colleagues will suddenly find you even more fun and collegial, because less work will be left on the shelf. Then you can get very different positive signals from your colleagues.

Regression can also help you change your focus, so that you see things differently now and therefore adjust your mask to yourself.

Taking off your mask visualizing

The use of metaphors and symbols also plays a big role in hypnosis. For example, you can visualize literally taking off a mask; this can signal to your subconscious that you are allowed to be more yourself in certain situations.

For example, you can visualize how you take off your "work mask" before you go to work and how you act as your true self at work and toward your colleagues. This makes it easier to actually do this in "real life."

Especially during parties or other situations, do you find yourself wearing a mask? Then you can also visualize taking off your mask for those parties and being there as your true-self celebrating the party.

This can also be combined with repeating suggestions such as :

"I get to be myself."

"I am good enough the way I am."

"I only find people who fit me when I am myself."

These are just examples. Depending on your reasons for your mask, a hypnotherapist may offer other suggestions.

Learn Hypnosis

Do you want to help yourself or others take off their social mask and be more themselves? Then knowledge of hypnosis is indispensable.

Come check out a free masterclass to get started.

Or register directly for one of our events and trainings. You can take the training in class in Assendelft, or you can join the classes live at home. You are then with a live video connection to the lessons in Assendelft. This is ideal if you do not live in the area, or if you can't come to our location.

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