The physical reaction may wait until there is nothing left to handle. You can stay steady through the urgent part, then discover the trembling, cold sweat or sudden weakness once you are finally somewhere safe to stop.
Looks vs reality
The same Experience can look very different from the outside than it feels on the inside.
"Glad that's over! You can finally relax."
My brain knows it's over, but my body is still vibrating with stress hormones. 'Relaxing' feels physically impossible right now.
"You're so quiet. Are you still mad about what happened?"
I'm not mad. My entire nervous system just ran a marathon and now I have the processing power of a potato. Words are hard.
"You seemed to handle that stressful meeting so well."
That was my masking system working overtime. Now the bill is due, and my body is paying for it with shakes and a cold sweat.
"You should eat something, you'll probably feel stronger."
My body is still in 'imminent danger' mode, and digestion isn't a priority. The thought of food makes me feel even more queasy.
"Let's go do something fun to get your mind off it!"
My nervous system needs a quiet, dark room to reboot. More input right now would feel like pouring gasoline on a fire.
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