One of the most relatable forms of anxiety is when we want an awkward conversation to be over, but cannot make it happen.

Studies on conversation dynamics show that they rarely end when we want them to, lasting up to twice as long. This includes the guy at the gym who does not know that wearing earphones means we don’t want to be disturbed. Even our friends and loved ones sometimes leave us gasping for breath, wanting to run away from the awkwardness.

About 70 percent of people want an ongoing conversation to end earlier than it does, even with friends and loved ones. Whatever the length, a conversation never ends when we want it to end. We don’t normally be upfront about this and say it on the other person’s face, mainly to be polite and not to offend the other person.

Honesty and politeness are at loggerheads during an awkward conversation, and we are normally more polite towards strangers than we are with our loved ones.