Dissonance Fatigue, Or Why "Being Aware of the Gap" Is Itself Exhausting
I stumbled on a term the other day - “dissonance fatigue” - and the more I read about it, the more it clicked into place for a feeling I’ve had on and off for years without ever having a name for it. I don’t think I’ve seen a tidier description of that specific flavour of tiredness you get when nothing in particular is wrong, but you’re quietly aware that you’re not quite the version of yourself you’d like to be. So I went down a bit of a rabbit hole, and I want to write it down while it’s fresh, mostly for myself, but also because I suspect a few other people will recognise the shape of it. ...