But setting these boundaries online can sometimes be tricky.
Its easy to fall into the trap of feeling beholden to answer messages 24 hours a day.
Lear counsels people who feel overwhelmed to set firm time restrictions around their availability to respond.
The same could go for a personal text message.
Ultimately, we can only be responsible for ourselves.
We cant expect other people to know what our limits are if we dont tell them.
Maybe that looks like one of those Twitter templates, and maybe it looks totally different.
Back in the day, if the landline phone rang and it was inconvenient, we didnt pick up.
Simple, said psychotherapist and sociologist Kathrine McAleese.
you’re free to still do that …
Choose when you are available and honor your right to make that choice.
Acknowledge those emotions; do not ignore or stuff them down, she said.
You will become drained and experience empathy burnout.
In some cases, crossed boundaries can lead to an unhealthy lack of balance.
It can be helpful to gently redirect this kind of conversation by re-balancing the scales.
Again, you want to be there for your friends.
In the long run, Lear said this helps both parties because it reduces feelings of burnout and resentment.
Sometimes, extreme situations call for extreme measures.
Ultimately, we can only be responsible for ourselves.
