As a young person, I am navigating friendships, love, new opportunities and a new country. Setting boundaries and making sure that I prioritize myself and my mental health over pleasing people is an important step and feels like quite the task. Having conversations to establish your limits, triggers and boundaries can not only help you with anxiety but also result in more transparent and safe relationships with people around you.
Here are some tips on how you can deal with these conversations:
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As someone who struggles with anxiety, I find it quite difficult to decide my boundaries. One thing that has helped me to know more about my patterns is to reflect at the end of the day with a journal. Writing down things that trigger me or cause me to worry helps me keep track of my emotions and thoughts. Also, verbally stating your boundary as you work on understanding it can help you assert yourself when the time comes to talk about a particular boundary.
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We all have struggled with remembering in the middle of a difficult conversation why we are doing this in the first place. It is easy to feel discouraged and even extremely nervous as you start having a difficult conversation with someone causing you to lose track of the conversation! Make sure you write your worries down and the way a situation affected you before you head into such a conversation.
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It is easy to feel like you are overreacting when having these conversations. Trusting your own thoughts and boundaries when you establish them is very important to act upon them. If you feel like someone is gaslighting you in such a conversation – take a step back, assert yourself and then feel free to exit the conversation.
These are some tips that I have found to be helpful in managing my relationships and having a healthy relationship with my mind and that of others.