Jinx CCN (same age)...
I've been playing with this catalyst theory on giftedness. When the input is wonky (OE, visual processing, auditory, etc.) the brain has to build up internal executive control to not fall apart. So introspection and self-tuning because necessary internal skills to survive, that are also highly useful for intelligence.
Before I was maybe 11-12, I coped with emotional OEs by swapping in "safer" emotions. When there is no anger, only fury, something has to be different. Sad and afraid traded for fury is not a great long-term solution. I realized I couldn't blunt the extremes, but perhaps I could use the nudging introspective process to alter the filters. I've found that works really well for me.
In pre-teen to early teen years that meant a lot of self-observation: why did I react that way? what value am I applying that that makes me angry? what did I say that got that reaction? etc.
That transitioned into questions like "is there a vantage point to view this where I don't get angry?" and then I worked on reliving unpleasant situation/reactions and looking at it through my revised perspective until I could experience the event without feeling angry. Memory is malleable like that and tuning things has a pay-it-forward effect as the new applied filter will work in similar cases in the future.
Example someone insults my mom. Classically anyone gets angry, but the OEs get furious. Refiltering: They don't know my mother. They are trying to manipulate me into an emotional reaction. New filter: The attempt is pathetic, the only emotion needed here is a twinge of pity with a dash of disgust.
Lots of stuff like that, pretty much automatic now. It is rare nowadays that I have an out of proportion reaction. And those still get analyzed and interpreted.
I also discovered a book on meditation around that time and definitely that was very useful for deep dives.
Nice thing with rewriting filters is even when tired you don't have the risks that people with walls have. On the other hand OE empathy isn't as easy, because I want that ability. For empathy, when tired I can't deal with people who are out there in their emotions at a minimum I just can't look at them. When not tired, I try to keep up on what my authentic emotional state is and not get overly drawn into someone else's, particularly as some people seem like psychic vampires with emotions .
