2026/01/22 by Anna Bortolan · 1 voice
Psychology · Social Sciences · #Interdisciplinary Cultural and Social Studies #Phenomenology and Existential Philosophy #Psychotherapy Techniques and Applications
paper · doi:10.1080/09515089.2025.2596269
openalex publication_date 2026/01/22 · openalex created_date 2026/01/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/14
Drawing on the notion of “camouflaging” and its characterization within research on autism, this paper explores the role that attempts to conceal one’s experiences may have in the phenomenology of anxiety. I start by suggesting that actions associated with both the “masking” and “compensating” dimension of camouflaging may be present in different forms of anxiety. I then proceed to argue that these actions may foster the person’s ability to sustain their identity when some of its core aspects are seen as being threatened by anxious feelings, thoughts, and behaviors. I do so by drawing on an account of selfhood to which both affective and narrative processes are central, suggesting that, in some cases, actions associated with camouflaging can facilitate the experience of affects and the upholding of narratives that are self-constitutive.