a narcissist is self-absorbed
an asshole actively enjoys the suffering of others
microwaves are for reheating food, not cooking it
salting should happen during cooking
Think further before, don't wait for the middle of a conversion. Run potential future conversations through in your mind before you even see these coworkers and decide in advance how you'll respond to various topics so you don't have to do it in the moment.
You can do this in front of a mirror to practice the body language you want to project, as well.
By chance, are you located in the Midwest? Or neurodivergent? Because Midwesterners really aren't comfortable with most kinds of explicit negative emotional displays, and there are very specific ways to indicate negative emotions appropriately. And IME most NTs are distressed by the way NDs tend to express anxiety.
If I could sum up all of what I've said into one sentence, it'd be: Stop displaying anxiety to your coworkers.
No, I pull it back when I eat. And when I cook or serve food.
It wasn't sudden, this shit's been muddying the waters for a decade and the precursors were seeping in for another decade or more before that.
Maybe not the most recent, but have you checked out Defiance, OH? The band, not an actual town in Ohio.
Which is silly, because Iowa is the epicenter of the Midwest.
Nebraska and the Dakotas are legit in the Midwest, but at the far western edge of it.
Ah shit, thanks for reminding me.
If only we could get all parties to agree to a 9-state solution.
something like... a maximum speed anything could go?
No, that's pretty much it, think about conversations indefinitely. After a while it's pretty automatic, people aren't all that different from each other.