Hello Niv,

Your post compels me to say, “Things will be okay.”  Sounds trite, but I believe it’s true.

I also agree with what Patrick says here, and I think this is where it all starts:

“More Importantly, you must derive happiness and joy from your own life before you can share it with others.”  I would also add that you must derive happiness from within yourself as well, before you can share it with others.  You seem to recognize this in theory, but it is the practice of it that trips you up.

I say this all from experience.

I also picked out this from one of your posts: “Unfortunately that also involved a lot of people pleasing in other ways, like trying to fight fights that weren’t mine or trying to be some sort of savior…” Setting boundaries can be exhausting and feel like you’re letting people down, but be strong….say “no.”  Inwardly or outwardly, it is effective.

Airene