I'm mainly a lurker although not exactly first-time poster :) not sure why I'm writing, just to share I guess.
I met with a group friends I have not seen in a long time - we've used to meet up more but life changes - not Covid related - meant I have not seen them in a while. More of acquaitances now I guess.
From one person in partucular I was struck to hear a lot of authoritative remarks and the constant, overwhelming need to be right. About Covid, social issues, work, other people. Putdowns. Assumption that everyone thinks the same - I guess this one was the hardest for me. Picking emotive subjects others are likely to have polarised views on. I struggled to find common ground, and as time went on I realised there may not be much now.
I short - I realised I outgrew this relatioship some time ago, and perhaps those with others present will need to change as they happily went along. If anyone else here has difficult past you've had to work trough, you will know that saying 'I disagree with this' and walking away from an argument can be both very painful and very strenghtening/freeing at the same time. I'm feeling proud of myself, sad, anxious if it happens again and exhausted all at once.