My friends text me all day and I’m fucking exhausted. How can I set boundaries?

This feels terrible to complain about.

For most of the past year I’ve been living like a hermit and I was terribly lonely. I would’ve killed to have this “problem.”

I recently started a new job. Service industry, so I have met a shit ton of new people. A couple of flirtationships as well. I also concurrently had some people from my past reconnect with me.

I love their friendship, I love that they’re thinking of me, and I will keep struggling to keep up with all of them, if that’s what I have to do.

But to go from 0 to 100 like this, I’m so so so tired. I feel like literally 1/2 of my day is my nose to my phone, responding responding responding responding responding. And the REELS. My god. So many reels.

Everyone already knows I struggle with response times, and they laugh it off and don’t take offense. So at least there’s that.

But I feel terribly guilty when I just want a damn day, maybe just a few HOURS, to myself. Or when a friend is texting me and seems down, like they need an ear. I can’t say no to that??

Is there something I can say that will convey that TODAY I JUST WANT TO BE ALONE AND PLAY THE GAME I BOUGHT A MONTH AGO AND STILL HAVENT STARTED, but that I also still love that they’re in my life?