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How do I balance empathy with personal boundaries? · Wellbeing Solutions - Ask A Counsellor

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  SPEAKER_00: How do I balance empathy with personal boundaries?
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  SPEAKER_00: Balancing empathy with personal boundaries means caring deeply about others without taking responsibility for their emotions, choices or well-being.
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  SPEAKER_00: Healthy empathy allows you to be compassionate while also protecting your own mental, emotional and physical health.
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  SPEAKER_00: For people in helping roles, this balance is especially important because empathy is a strength, but without boundaries it can lead to exhaustion, compassion fatigue or burnout.
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  SPEAKER_00: Here are some practical ways to achieve balance.
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  SPEAKER_00: Recognize what belongs to you and what belongs to others.
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  SPEAKER_00: Your role is to listen, support and encourage.
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  SPEAKER_00: You are not responsible for solving every problem or carrying someone else's emotions.
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  SPEAKER_00: Practice compassionate detachment.
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  SPEAKER_00: This means being emotionally present without absorbing another person's distress.
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  SPEAKER_00: You can acknowledge someone's pain while remembering that their emotions are theirs to process.
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  SPEAKER_00: Separate empathy from rescuing.
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  SPEAKER_00: Empathy means understanding another person's experience.
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  SPEAKER_00: Rescuing means trying to remove all their discomfort and solve their problems.
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  SPEAKER_00: Supporting someone while allowing them to develop their own coping skills is often more helpful in the long term.
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  SPEAKER_00: Protecting your own well-being.
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  SPEAKER_00: Your capacity to care means looking after yourself.
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  SPEAKER_00: Consider taking regular breaks, getting enough sleep, exercising, practicing mindfulness or relaxation, and engaging in hobbies that have nothing to do with caring for others.
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  SPEAKER_00: Except that disappointment is sometimes unavoidable.
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  SPEAKER_00: People may not like your boundaries.
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  SPEAKER_00: Setting healthy limits is not selfish.
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  SPEAKER_00: It is a way of ensuring you can continue to be present without becoming overwhelmed.
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  SPEAKER_00: Reflect regularly.
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  SPEAKER_00: Know your limits.
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  SPEAKER_00: Ask yourself whether you have emotional capacity for this conversation.
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  SPEAKER_00: And ask yourself Am I saying yes because I generally want to, or is it because I feel guilty?
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  SPEAKER_00: If you are thinking of harming yourself or feel unsafe, please call your local emergency number or crisis line.