[rei]

how i handle frustrating situations depends on the circumstances. if i'm around professional colleagues, i try to stay calm and later i'll express it through words or through intense physical activity (exercise, cleaning, whatever). when possible, i try to express my emotions so they don't get bottled up or turn on my body.

another thing i do as much as possible is try to explore the reasons for the frustration. sometimes it's just a crappy situation or it's just someone being mean for no good reason (actually that's something i dealt with tonight, but anyway)... if i can get to a specific reason for the frustration, the source of the reaction, i use it as a focus for growth.

you might even do that with your own situation if you like. you emphasized the idea that people saw you as incompetent. maybe you put a lot of value on being competent, on seeming like you know your stuff. maybe it's even part of your identity, and so this felt like a blow to your notion of who you are. rather than continue to steam about it, you could explore this instead and learn more about yourself. you probably know what i mean already, and if not i'll be happy to clarify.

i think a combination of methods is often the best. ranting to an understanding loved one, jogging around the neighborhood, and once that layer of the urgent kind of frustration feels less intense, finding a place to reflect and even write about what was so triggering (in your case, it seems to be the perception of being incompetent - or it could be about embarrassment and realizing people look at the unusual situation just as you do when you happen upon one - so it might have been a 'hello mirror' moment). even though that layer of urgent frustration is gone, i find once i sit down to work through it i will have like a mini-trigger moment - which is a blessing since it shows me the core of the issue.

i hope this helps. days like that are no fun.