The importance of setting boundaries

Setting boundaries has become a significant subject of interest for researchers and individuals, especially in the post-pandemic era, where the stress levels have raised. Boundary setting has become a more challenging issue in societies with poor social skills, either because it never been taught at schools or in families. Indeed, it is a true reality among many individuals, that they never learned setting healthy boundaries, while grown up in their families. Let’s see the importance of setting healthy boundaries.

Healthy boundaries allow us to retain our identity, prevent us from being manipulated or taken advantage of, they promote healthy relationships and they empower us to put our effort following our personal goals and establish empathy for others. By setting healthy boundaries, you make it clear to others on how you want to be treated and you contribute to your physical and emotional wellbeing. Plus, by doing so, it means that you respect your needs, as well the other person’s needs in a relationship, whether it is work or personal.

Ok, all these are easier being said than being put in practice, someone would say. It is true, that is why my advice would be: “start with small changes”.

The first step to start setting boundaries, is to ask yourself: “What I really want in order to be healthy and have a good self-esteem”? “What makes me happy and safe”?

Making it clear to yourself what is it exactly that will make you feel healthy and safe, then it will be easier to start making small changes in order to get closer to it. To do so, you could make a list of your core values and beliefs and highlight the most important ones for you.

But remember: You have the right to set boundaries and you have the right to be safe, secured and respected. And you have to believe that!