I still feel guilty for wanting less contact when I am overstimulated

Dear Delyara, As if needing quiet means I love people less. That is the old story in me. If I slow down, delay replies, lower access, or avoid a conversation because my whole system feels too entered already, guilt arrives immediately to accuse me of coldness. Not wisdom. Coldness. I know that isn’t true. I know boundaries protect relationships when they are used early and honestly. But the emotional inheritance is still there. The one that says goodness means continued availability, even after tenderness has become expensive. I’m trying to unlearn it. Slowly.