Establishing Healthy Emotional Boundaries

Have you found yourself repeatedly getting involved in unhealthy relationships? Do these relationships cause you to second-guess or doubt yourself? Do these relationships lead you to feeling uncared for or unimportant to others? Persons who have difficulty establishing and enforcing healthy boundaries with others often were raised in home environments that lacked healthy boundaries between family members.

Unhealthy relationships can include:

 Lack of privacy even in your own home

 Physical, verbal, or emotional abuse

 Constant criticism and/or name calling

 Not being allowed to make your own decisions

 Someone that tries to control your behaviors

Emotional boundaries are the limits you set to protect your emotional well-being and prevent your feelings from being negatively influenced by others.  Emotional boundaries are about creating a space where you can feel safe and be comfortable without being overwhelmed by the emotions of others. Emotional boundaries help us determine what our own feelings and remind us that we are not responsible for the behaviors of others. Emotional boundaries make it easier to not always take others’ comments and behaviors personally.

Emotional boundaries make it easier to balance focusing on self and others, and combined with positive communication skills to help strengthen relationships. Setting boundaries can help you avoid situations where others try to manipulate or exploit you emotionally

You can learn how to find healthy relationships with emotionally healthy people, and canimprove your own relationship patterns if needed. If unhealthy behavioral patterns were learned previously in life, you can learn to identify situations that tend to trigger certain emotional responses from you, and then work on changing your responses so that you can manage your own emotions and behaviors while at the same time learning to appropriately stand up for yourself.

How to set and maintain emotional boundaries:

 Determine what you want, and what you are not willing to tolerate in your

relationships.

 Determine what feels uncomfortable or harmful to you in your relationships.

 Clearly and respectfully communicate to others what you need and what you are not willing to put up with.

 Don’t apologize or feel guilty for setting boundaries.

 Protect your emotional space when needed by taking a break and practicing self-calming techniques.

 Seek support if needed from a therapist or counselor to assist you in setting healthy boundaries.

Healthy boundaries and relationships can help you identify and manage your emotions, and be better able to trust your own decision-making abilities. Begin building the life you want today.

How to Get Started Today

Contact my office today to schedule an initial appointment

by phone 334-676-3488