Boundaries Part 1: What Are They?

A lot has been going around on social media in the last few years about boundaries. Some of it is wonderful and encourages people to stand up for themselves.

Some of it is trash and encourages abusive behaviors.

As someone who has struggled to set and keep boundaries with toxic and abusive people, it's something very important that I think needs correct information spread far and wide.

I was not allowed to have boundaries as a child, and until I set rock-hard boundaries with my abuser that were essentially me going no contact, I had never done so consciously. Since then, I have set verbal boundaries and non-verbal boundaries, via the "grey rock" technique, with another abusive person.

I will tell those stories another time. This video is about information.

This is correct information about boundaries from a licensed mental health professional. Mickey Atkins is one of my favorite mental health resources on YouTube because of her no-nonsense approach, and her explanations are easy for me to understand. I've learned so much from her.

This is the first of her two-part series on boundaries from a few years ago, and more recently, she made a video on toxic boundaries. This will combine into a three-part series of Mickey explaining boundaries as defined in the therapy space.

Video runtime is 7:37