At events like that one, MissyShelle, I anticipate the urge coming. I don't look forward to it, but if it comes, it doesn't surprise me. I become conscious of me having the urge, like I am looking through a camera which is looking down at me at the table with this person, in the total environment, everything. And I watch.
This is mindfulness, I guess, a way of being present in the moment, and I find it fits very well with AVRT. The idea of separating from the beast is built in with this tool. It also means that I am not fighting the beast, I am just watching without judgement. There is no fear or panic, no white knuckles, because the urge has no power to make me do anything. It's more of a 'Meh'.