"Just give me like 15 seconds. I'm feeling a lot right now and I need to steady myself."

This is universally understood or misunderstood

Add tinnitus in there and it never really goes away.

See, if you get tinnitus at a very young age, you only notice it when someone reminds you of it.

My week was ruined when i watched the Archer episode mentioning tinnitus, and I learned the ringing wasnt normal.

This is my wife...

Congratulations she's hot.

Then get her the comfy blanket that's cool. Not the heavy one that's cozy.

Maaup... Maaauup

The dull background ringing that never goes away is not the only way you can experience tinnitus. Tinnitus can be progressive. You can experience very loud ringing occasionally that is nigh impossible to ignore.

Oh I am fully aware, I do get sudden extra loud ringing too.

I was just saying, when i am not actively thinking about the tinnitus/ am distracted by something else, I dont notice it near as bad as someone who got tinnitus as an adult, whose previously silent world is suddenly full of noise at all times.

"Sorry, feeling a bit overwhelmed right now. Just need some time to myself."

Say it in a friendly tone that doesn't invite undue concern, and you're golden.

I literally just became aware that my bare feet were touching each other and I had to reposition my legs because ew

A "friendly tone" when my body is telling me to fight, fly, or freeze? I get you wanna help but that's not a reasonable option in most of my cases of overstimulation. If I'm composed enough to say that in a polite tone then I'm not bothered enough to address the situation.

Was just sharing what works for me. Didn't mean to downplay the difficulty of dealing with overstimulation.

I get that it's not always easy (or even possible), but I also find that causing concern or distress in others only exacerbates the issue for me. Nothing helps my overstimulation less than having someone act like I'm having a medical emergency. So I do my best to mask and give as short and honest of an explanation as possible.

But I get that not everyone has the same response. If your overstimulation gets so bad that you can't manage to avoid causing concern in others, then you will obviously need your own solutions. And if you find one that works, feel free to share.

I'll let you know if I ever figure one out 😅