Treating 'No.' Like the complete sentence it is. I still fall into over-explaining when triggered sometimes, but nowhere near like I used to. It wasn't important what I was saying, my abusers simply valued the output and energy wasted. It kept me exhaustedly compliant for years. Never. Again.
I had to work on letting the silence fill the space instead of my words. It was really uncomfortable, but once I started doing this in person, I did so online, too. That includes when people try to accuse me of lying about health issues and stuff like that. I simply block them. I don't owe some rando, on the internet, or real life, an explanation of why I exist and how I manage to do it. It's also why I will ignore/confront passive-aggressive remarks because I'm not doing another adult's emotional regulating for them. I did that a lot for my parents.
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