Hi Lakitha,

Thanks for reading and leaving a comment! I wish that I had a friend like you! I think I would be braver and know that there’s friend next to me to help me in the process. I’ve surrounded myself with people who are also afraid of retaliation.

I see where you’re coming from. I’m not sure if it’s moving past the fear or controlling it— for me right now I think it’s more about getting curious and trying to understand it. I want to come from a place of self-compassion rather than self-domination (which might work in the short term but hasn’t worked for me in the long term).

I’ve set boundaries before — some people respect it and genuinely apologize while boundary-pushers continue to exacerbate and blame others. It’s these boundary pushers that I am currently dealing with.