I sooo get the calm in the middle of the tornado comment... I do extremely well in the middle of someething that's super stressful. Comes with all the practice of not being allowed to show genuine emotion.

And, like I have been since a kid... I'm most likely going to have my meltdown while in the shower or in my bed. Although, I do have some people who see me partially meltdown... I struggle against it, but the walls come down a bit sometimes. I really shouldn't struggle against it, but I do.

I fill a lot of my emotional needs to various degrees. I read as both a release and a distraction - I can just feel the characters emotions and can throw mine into the mix. That doesn't sound like it makes sense, but it does to me.

I also practice showing my emotions in my classroom. It's obviously subdued, but I work really hard to let me students know when I'm angry, or sad, or disappointed, or happy, or proud, or any other emotion in between. I tell them how I feel, and I explain why (well, usually I have THEM tell me why I'm feeling upset if I'm upset... haha). It's actually helped a lot, and I can accept the caring from children and well... I've also cried in front of my classes a number of times for various reasons. It's done a lot of good for them and me.