Boundaries for Mental Wealth

Boundaries: Three

They are a necessary ingredient for a whole & healthy life.

It’s easy to downplay the importance of boundaries in our day to day life, especially if we are under stress, or they are not something we are aware of or are used to having.

Many of our innate boundaries (choice, safety, security, autonomy) are crossed as children so we learn than we don’t have this level of control, or rather, we never learn to develop or identify what we want our personal boundaries to be. But they are a necessary ingredient for a whole & healthy life. They are vital for maintaining several aspects of your mental wealth - your toolkit for a balance and self-supporting life.

Have a look at some of these benefits, and consider if any are being affected by a lack of defined limits in your life.

Emotional health - your ability to regulate your emotions, so that you always feel secure in your limits and ability to feel stable, whatever is happening in your relationships.

Without boundaries, you might feel anxious, stressed, depressed, resentful or angry. You’ll find it tricky to regulate your emotions and thoughts in stressful situations and may find it really hard to say no to requests or demands, or feel ignored or uncared for.

Psychological Resilience - your ability to develop and maintain psychological resilience, so that even when pushed, you are able to stay connected to who you are and what you want or don’t want to accept.

Without this resilience, even small events could set off a cascade of reactions that feel out of proportion. You may also find yourself being taken advantage of, if you struggle to maintain your boundaries in the face of demands that go against what you want.

Social Connections & Support - your ability to maintain inter-personal connections from strangers & acquaintances to friendships & family, all requiring different boundaries for the various interactions, requests and demands made of you. They allows you to maintain mutually respectful limits, but also the knowing when a relationship has run its course and is no longer healthy for you to continue with.

When relationships don’t feel respectful, you may find yourself feeling depressed, anxious and avoiding people, leading to isolation.

Cognitive function - clear thinking is easier when you know, without doubt, what your limits are, and where you are willing to be flexible without hurting yourself. Without the stress that may be caused by unrealistic demands, feeling unheard or pushing yourself too much in order to be helpful to everyone, your problem-solving and focus skills are sharper. This allows your decision-making to be objective, respectful and positive.

Without this you may find yourself unable to think straight under stress or when under pressure from others - you may struggle remember and explain your needs in a clear way.

Personal Integrity - Boundaries define where our personal space ends and another's begins, preventing overreach into each others’ lives, and supporting clear communication. 

Without it, you may struggle to identify what you want and need and what you don’t, and find yourself being over-involved in others’ problems, and them being over-involved with yours.

Healthy boundaries protect us against burnout, resentment, and emotional exhaustion, while also ensuring self-respect and autonomy. By setting clear limits to demands made of us, we can prioritize our well-being, whilst we maintain a balance between self and relationships. This cultivates healthier connections with everyone we interact with.

To start looking at what you want your boundaries to be, get your free workbook here.

Subscribe to the newsletter to get blog upload updates.

Next: How clear & defined Boundaries make life so much easier.