What it is
When the nervous system is overloaded, “end it decisively” feels safer than “hold the complexity.” Nuance collapses, and sometimes empathy goes with it. The pattern is speed over resolution.
It looks like hanging up abruptly, cutting someone off in a heated moment, or small provocations framed as “testing” the other person.
How it shows up for me
It’s one of the two reasons my boundaries have come out miscalibrated. The other is mixing up the limit with the force. Under pressure, I collapsed nuance in favor of speed and safety. Now when I feel the urge to end something right now, I take it as a sign I’m overloaded, not as proof I’m right.