Thank you for sharing this post, S. You write about many things that others including myself can relate to. It does seem to happen that when we start to set boundaries with people who need to have boundaries set, that these people tend to not like our boundaries. This seems to be kind of a universal issue but I think it shows us we are on the right path. The other people probably like that we always say yes, or always give, or take their abuse, or whatever it is. Once we say no, this rocks their world. But our job is to take care of ourselves in the way that supports our own emotional wellness and equilibrium. If the users in this world don’t respect our boundaries, it can make us feel badly about ourselves. As we grow and change, as we mature and they don’t, then we find less and less in common. There is a transition time as we look for others who are less difficult or cause fewer problems to have in our life. Sometimes we mistakenly feel it is our duty to fix other people or that we have no value unless others like us. It can challenge this lack of self love within us when they get mad at us for setting boundaries or changing how what we allow others to bring into our lives. I know when I set a boundary with a difficult person and then they challenge that boundary, I often feel like I am back to square one. They were supposed to respect my boundary and be nicer to me and instead I feel guilty that they get upset. Something many of us work on and can seriously relate to.