Halloween is almost here. It’s got me thinking about the masks that we wear on this holiday as well as those we wear all year long. The thing about masks is that sometimes we wear them deliberately and sometimes we wear them unconsciously. Sometimes they obscure our true nature and sometimes, interestingly, they reveal it.

We choose to wear a disguise on Halloween but often, without realizing it, our choice of masks reveal more about us than we might realize. What we don’t necessarily realize is that choosing a mask is making a statement about who we are or who we want to be.

If we wear a mask that represents a political figure, we’re often telling others that we wish we were like them or that we had their power. If we’re wearing the mask of a comic book or video game character, we’re also revealing who we wish we could be. If we’re dressed provocatively, we’re showing that we value this aspect of ourselves.

The unconscious part of our psyche is always trying to express itself and it will sneak its way into the choice of mask we wear on Halloween. We inadvertently reveal a lot about our personality, our fears, our hopes and our dreams through the masks we wear on this holiday.

There’s a part of the psyche called the “shadow.” It contains all of the darker or wilder wishes, urges and impulses that we’re not so comfortable expressing directly.

Most of the shadow content is unconscious because deep down we’re embarrassed by these desires. Our mind does its best to keep these yearnings under wraps. Sometimes, though, these shadow energies leak out. This can happen, for example, when we’re intoxicated. Sometimes, we deliberately let them out.

Actors regularly get to explore shadow parts of their psyche. They do this when they play the role of someone nastier or less inhibited than they usually are. Halloween is also a great time to let our shadow come out because no-one really knows if the mask we’ve chosen is hiding our true nature or revealing it.

Naturally, most people assume that an actor is nothing like the character they’re portraying and not everyone assumes that the mask we’re wearing on Halloween has anything to say about us.

Still, some people are going to look at the Halloween mask we’re chosen and connect the dots on a subliminal level. Our unconscious mind is communicating with theirs and they’re receiving our unspoken message. They see the truth the mask is revealing.

Masks can be objects of great power. After all, they’re used in ceremonies and rituals all over the world. If some people start reacting to us differently after this year’s Halloween party, it might be because they’ve registered the communication from our masks that we didn’t even realize that we were sending.

There’s another aspect to masks as well. Throughout our life, we have different personas. We have family roles, academic roles, work roles and social roles. We have private personas and public ones.  These all demand different qualities, including different styles of interacting, so each one requires a sort of mask.

A CEO will wear a professional mask that stresses their role as a somewhat aloof authority figure who nevertheless commands loyalty and respect. A doctor wears the professional mask of someone who’s helpful but dispassionate. A lawyer may wear a mask meant to instill confidence in their clients while intimidating their opponents.

A sneaky politician may wear the mask of a down-to-earth populist; a nervous teacher may wear the mask of a firm disciplinarian. Sometimes these masks help us to inhabit our roles and sometimes they’re true disguises, obscuring the truth about a person’s character.

It’s up to those of us interacting with these individuals to look closely at the masks they’re wearing. We want to determine whether they’re wearing these masks to come across well in their job or to obscure a dirty truth about themselves.

Some masks we wear unconsciously. These are used for self-protection, to deflect judgment or to avoid rejection. If we’re at a party, for example, and we’re feeling vulnerable we might adopt a mask of coolness or aloofness in order to feel less uncomfortable. Or, we could be starting at a new school and adopt a mask of bravura to hide how nervous we’re feeling in this new environment.

These types of masks can be helpful, but at some point we’ll want to let down the mask in order to show the people around us who we really are. Otherwise, we’ll never be able to connect.

Intimacy is defined as “seeing and being seen.” If our masks are always up, we can’t ever be close to others or enjoy genuine relationships.

It’s exhausting constantly having to keep up our masks and it can even be off-putting. If a person at school or in the workplace comes across as overly masked they can look suspicious, like they’re trying to hide something. They can also seem overly mysterious and therefore unapproachable.

There has to be a balance between how much we cover up and how much we reveal. My thought is that masks are excellent for portraying our roles at work and in society. They inform others of what to expect, while keeping our personal details private.

Sometimes, however, our masks can create more of a problem than they prevent. These masks may misrepresent who we are or show us in a negative light. For example, someone who feels anxious or inadequate might assume a “tough guy” or “weirdo” mask. This could scare away the people who’d otherwise want to be their ally.

Knowing that we all wear masks at various times and for various reasons, we can become more conscious and deliberate in their use. We can put on our professional masks to instill confidence in our skills and to maintain our professional boundaries.

We can put on our social masks to feel more comfortable, as long as we’re doing it with full awareness and are willing to let the masks drop at the appropriate moment.

In the same light, we can carefully consider the masks we wear at Halloween. We can decide how much we want to reveal and how much we want to keep private. We can reveal a little sliver of our shadow self and it can all be in good fun. Happy Halloween, everyone.

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