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Coping skill · 10 min

Hold a boundary

You keep saying yes and resenting it.

Do this

  1. Finish this sentence: "I'm not willing to ___ anymore."
  2. Decide what you will do, not what they must do.
  3. Say it calmly, once, when nobody is high or furious.
  4. Follow through the first time it's tested. That's the whole boundary.

Why it works

Strong feelings and urges rise, peak and fall, usually within minutes. A skill gives your body something to do while the wave passes, and each time you ride one out, the next one gets a little easier.