I’ve been thinking about how we present ourselves to people.

Which part of yourself do you present to others? How do you segment the self that you present to your partner and your kids, friend group A and friend group B, people you date and people you work with? And even with those, I imagine there are divisions.

Everyone does this at some level, and it’s usually done subconsciously.

Some reasons may include some trauma you experienced as a child or as an adult that causes you to build a wall. Or, you simply don’t want your boss to (understandably) know that you secretly run a fight club. That would probably be bad.

There is a fine line between healthy and unhealthy boundaries.

People are very multifaceted. We might have different sides of us that we should to different people, but it’s important to recognize what we are hiding and why. Are we embarrassed? Are we afraid of being judged? These are important questions to work on (whether by yourself or in therapy) to ensure all your relationships (professional, platonic, romantic) are healthy.

If you find yourself playing “mask off, mask on” often, you’ve got some work to do. And that’s totally ok! We are all works in progress. But the important thing is to recognize and acknowledge it.