Cutting someone off isn’t the only option. You can turn the volume down from 10 to 3 without hitting mute.

Relationships get treated as binary when they are in fact adjustable. The choice is not only between full access and none, and assuming it is leaves people either enduring something difficult or making a dramatic break, when a change in frequency would have handled it. Distance is a dial rather than a switch.

Pick a relationship that is costing you and reduce it instead of ending it, fewer calls, shorter visits, less detail shared. No announcement is required. See how it sits after a couple of months at the lower setting.