I’m fine for a bit, to a medium degree, but seem to get angry when I’m out of battery for that kind of resilience.

I’ve sort of learned that I’m not actually angry, and just need to watch for the signs in my body to try to ramp down or GTFO before I hit that limit.

Learning how to communicate that to others who don’t understand is its own thing that I’m grappling with but I’ve figured out that I should just state what I need, without justifying it, and if others don’t like that for some reason that’s their problem and not something I should be caring about.

Asking for a minute to self-regulate is totally reasonable and not up for debate or considering another’s opinion about. If they actually care enough to ask why you might need the space, then I suppose there is an opportunity spread some understanding. If you just explain yourself unprompted, people tend to disqualify it with their own biased nonsense anyway.

I’m not very good at it. Anyone who knows me can tell the difference between a smile and a grimace. And no way in hell can I hide the flinch every time The Sound That Caused All Of The Problems gets louder. I’ve literally had to flee parties I was honestly enjoying because they just got too loud.

I feel kinda bad. Once, the sound that caused it was my cousin showing off how good he’d gotten on the piano at our family reunion. He was good. Really. But oh my god, the noise, the sound, on top of the cross-chatter, the crying baby, the dog trying to beg for my turkey, the story I was trying to listen to… it was too much. My cousin looked so upset when I literally had to cover my ears and leave the room.

I tracked him down later and explained what happened, and I even told him to please keep playing. It was just a bad day for me and my ears, and the discomfort caused by my disability wasn’t his fault, or anyone’s fault really.

Pretty good.

At work, I just say “please excuse me, I’ll be back in a minute” if things are getting too much, and wander out to somewhere cooler and quieter for a few minutes. The university I used to work at had a multi-faith prayer room, so I’d usually take a few moments in there.

Admittedly I have the advantage of being reasonably sure no-one will challenge this or ask why. YMMV.

In other situations, I’m pretty good at storing it up, but I have to keep a heightened awareness that I’m not doing or saying anything stupid, which makes me even more exhausted by the time I have a moment to myself.

Extremely good. Until the life one is trying to fit into falls apart, and the mask becomes implausible :/

I just start zoning out, and sometimes singing (if the environment is loud enough).

*gesturing along the arc of a rainbow*

d i s s o c i a t i o n !

i literally just stop existing in my body and let my neurotypical-sona take over.

this is the same personality template i use for professional tasks. no job i work at has ever met me. i wear the nonsapient autopilot interface like a hazmat suit while i am a gorillion miles away watching what’s happening around me like it’s on a screen.

i am in a long distance relationship with my body (also for the dysphoria)

I used to be great at it. Had full blown panic attacks at dinner parties and noone noticed. Then I got horribly burnt out (surprise!), couldn’t do anything for about three years, and am still working on getting all my skills back. So my advice is: don’t overdo it.

Easily.

People just think I’m yelling at them

But you look fine while doing it, if I may say so…

I generally try to avoid getting into the situation in the first place. Yes, I may be characterized as lonely, but it sure beats the alternative.