I wanted to leave the conversation but stayed polite

Dear Delyara, I was in a conversation today that wasn’t openly bad, but I could feel myself slowly disappearing inside it. Too much surface. Too much performance. Too much responding in the “right” way and not enough realness to make the exchange feel worth the effort. I wanted to leave earlier than I did. Instead I stayed polite, nodded, contributed enough, and carried the emotional fatigue home with me. I think some of my tiredness comes from how often I stay longer than my spirit wants to.