The Hidden Cost of Fitting In: Camouflaging in High-Pressure Healthcare

Abstract

The current study explores if, and how, camouflaging is related to interpersonal functioning among healthcare providers in a high-stakes clinical context. Camouflaging is a process that many people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) tend to do, where we mask or camouflage our autistic characteristics to fit into what is deemed socially acceptable by neurotypical. Even though camouflaging might make professional experiences slightly easier, such shining armor leaves a mental health wake of exhaustion, anxiety, and depression. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from a sample population of 236 medical professionals (positivist research approach). Central to findings are a robust relationship between camouflaging and both interpersonal functioning and mental health outcomes over time. The results emphasize the importance of creating a culture in health organizations conducive to professionals with neurodiversity, normalizing esoteric illness experiences, and allowing space for the multiplicity of meaning inherent to being human. Implementing neurodiversity initiatives can boost employee health, interrelations, and patient care in healthcare organizations. The study is beneficial for healthcare academicians and practitioners to understand the severity of the issue and to devise ways and means to eradicate this menace. However, the results of this study could not be comprehensive in the sense that it was conducted with a very limited sample, while future studies need to use a large sample size to generalize the results. It is hereby suggested that in future studies could be conducted in different regions throughout the country.