Boundaries are often misunderstood — reduced to rules, ultimatums, or something that must be enforced. But at their core, boundaries are about space: how much is given, how much is taken, and what happens when those lines blur.
Difficulties with boundaries can take many shapes. Always saying yes, even when the cost is high. Feeling responsible for other people’s emotions. Struggling to ask for space or to say no without guilt. Sometimes the line between self and other has never been clearly drawn — or was repeatedly crossed in ways that left a mark.
These patterns often form early and quietly. Not necessarily through dramatic events, but through everyday experiences that made certain responses feel safer than others.
Therapy doesn’t offer quick scripts for how to “set better boundaries.” Instead, it offers a place to explore where these patterns come from — to understand what’s being protected, what’s at stake, and what might shift. From there, new forms of relating can begin to take shape.
