Ghosting feels like avoiding a hard conversation. It’s actually having one, just in the worst possible way.

Disappearing does not avoid the conversation, it holds it in the least useful form. Silence communicates, and what it communicates is unreadable, so the other person assembles explanations out of nothing, usually unkind ones about themselves. A short honest message is uncomfortable for a minute and then finished. Vanishing is uncomfortable for weeks and never quite finishes.

If you need to end something, send the plain version and wish them well. No case, no list of reasons. When someone has done it to you, remember that their silence is information about them rather than a verdict on you.