If I'm at work, I tend to lock myself either in my office or the bathroom until either a Xanax (or three) kicks in or I calm down, but usually work only gets me in a tizzy if we have visitors that I have to deal with or if I'm being questioned about something that I don't feel I should be questioned on. I've worked here long enough that I tend to blow anyway, so I don't hold much in, but there are occasions when I try. I will also play the same song over and over and over again (Duran Duran's Serious), sometimes for days or weeks at a time, which tends to annoy co-workers, but keeps me calm, so they tolerate it.
Outside of that, I tend not to go too many places unless I just have to, but I'm pretty anti-social, so that's not an issue. People sometimes ask me, "hey, you wanna go..." and I just usually go "nope" and that's that. I think it's just an NT thing to be polite and invite people places who are near a conversation. I figured if they really wanted me to go, they probably would say something after my "nope", but they never do. I'm not insulted because I really don't want to go and I don't care if they don't want me to go either.
Store-wise, it usually takes me a week or two to get up the courage to go. I just kind of have to shut down my hard drive, so to speak in my head. I go to the same store, have a list, know where everything is (but boy do I get mad when they move things), and am usually out the door within 30 minutes or less. But I do prefer an actual person checking me out versus the machines because the machines invariably goober up and then I have to call over help and I start to panic (long story involving a basket overflowing with groceries, being forced to use the self checkout, and ending up crying for days afterwards and never going to that particular store again...you try handling that much grocery stuff on that tiny self-checkout counter with a line of people building behind you...it left me scarred for life). But grocery trips are entirely dependent on my Coke Zero quantity and my pup's snacks. If either one of those are out, I have to go to the store. If not, I can put it off longer (and I usually do). If I'm out of food, I can always stop at Sonic every night.
If I can make it home to de-stress, I cross stitch...for hours and hours and usually most of the weekend. If I go long periods of time without cross stitching, I tend to get hyper wound up and I will eventually blow over something silly, so I try to stitch at least once a week even when my stitching mojo has died down (it ebbs and flows). I'm in one of those ebbs right now and my co-workers have started to notice because I'm a bit snappy at the moment.
Sometimes I'll drive down to the coast (which is a 14 hour round trip), but then I have to worry about gas and bathroom stops (although I do go enough that I stop at the same places). Sometimes my eyes turn yellow and my gas gauge is screaming before I stop, but once I'm on the beach, I'm happy...I should also add that I HATE walking in sand unless it's at the water line, so there is stress there too until I make it to the water but the ocean is always worth it. I will often keep driving across the coast and end up making a 14 hr trip into a 27 hr trip, but I never stop to sleep...I go, I wander, I see, then I go home no matter how long it takes. My record is 32 hrs straight. I take sodas and snacks so I don't have to stop at strange places for food (just because every McDonald's may be the same, it's not the one I go to, so I can't go to just any other one, therefore they are not all the same). But as long as I'm in the car or near the water, I'm fine. There are things I drive past that I wish I had the courage to stop and visit, but I know I can't. I make mental notes of those for when other people go with me (which is rare).
I tend to find that when I'm over stressed, or ramped up because of anxiety, I can't sleep and it's very hard for me to even leave the house. I don't want anyone around me at all. I think it's why I like to do mindless things like stitch or drive so I'm not dwelling on stupid stuff.
