I Feel Guilty for Wanting Less

Dear Delyara, Less noise. Less need. Less emotional labour. Less pressure. Less one-more-thing. Less being the answer. Less carrying. There are evenings where wanting less is the deepest truth in me. And almost immediately after that truth comes guilt, because I love the people involved. I know that. I know their needs are human and ordinary and real. Still, love does not cancel overload. And overload does not become kinder just because a woman feels ashamed of it. That shame is exhausting. It makes honesty harder. And I’m tired of how often I have to defend my need for space inside my own mind before anyone else has even challenged it.