I am very introverted and have chronic headaches and migraines with noise sensitivity, ADHD and anxiety. Several times a year, I sign up to work the registration tables for different events in my town (e.g., kindergarten evaluations, disease screenings). It’s easy money and just requires me to sit there (with 4-5 other people) and help people fill out the necessary paperwork. The shifts are usually 12ish hours and I bring my books, sketchpad, magazines, knitting, etc. to occupy the large amount of free time.
My problem is that 50% of the time I have done these shifts, there will be at least one person who is very talkative. They’ll trap me in a conversation or tell really long stories or simply want to talk the whole time and I am honestly suffering. I am happy to have a short conversation with others here and there and am willing to socialize somewhat, but I cannot handle the constant socialization. I begin to feel nauseous, overwhelmed and have intense headaches when I am talking for too long. One time I was stuck with someone who would monologue at me for a 30-45 minutes in between scheduled people and I ended up having to leave halfway through because I was in tears.
I want to be kind and polite so what are some nice ways to get someone to stop talking to me so I can relax and recharge by reading my book/drawing/listening to some calming music so I don’t get so overwhelmed? There’s no other work for me to do or anywhere else for me to go (besides the bathroom and the 1 hour lunch break) so I can’t use needing to be somewhere or do something as an excuse.