Good manners can keep us in a conversation after it has stopped being a conversation. One person speaks without pause. Questions are asked but no answer is allowed to land. We keep listening because leaving would seem unkind.
Listening deserves patience. People need time to find a thought, and emotion does not always arrive neatly. Yet our attention is not an unlimited obligation. If repeated attempts to take part are refused, we can name what is happening and set a limit.
A boundary can be simple: 'I want this to be an exchange. I cannot continue if I cannot speak.' If that does not change the pattern, we may end the conversation. In some settings safety or a power difference calls for a more careful exit.
Leaving does not prove the other person is beyond reach. It means this exchange, in this form, is no longer one we can usefully continue.

Listening is generous, but it need not become indefinite participation in a conversation where no exchange is possible.

Good manners can keep us in a conversation after it has stopped being a conversation. One person speaks without pause. Questions are asked but no answer is allowed to land. We keep listening because leaving would seem unkind.

Listening deserves patience. People need time to find a thought, and emotion does not always arrive neatly. Yet our attention is not an unlimited obligation. If repeated attempts to take part are refused, we can name what is happening and set a limit.

A boundary can be simple: 'I want this to be an exchange. I cannot continue if I cannot speak.' If that does not change the pattern, we may end the conversation. In some settings safety or a power difference calls for a more careful exit.

Leaving does not prove the other person is beyond reach. It means this exchange, in this form, is no longer one we can usefully continue.

Leaving a Conversation Can Be a Boundary