Care is not infinite — it’s renewable.
When Risk Emerges
Planning and Parting
Resources to Reach For
Holding Complexity and Differences
For Those Who Hold Space
🌿 Page Intention
This page is a companion for you — the one holding space, the one who stays steady in the storm.
Boundaries aren’t walls. They are doors that open inward first.
Self-care isn’t indulgence. It’s the structure that lets us show up again tomorrow.
This page offers:
- Language for setting kind, firm boundaries
- Tools to recognize burnout and re-center
- Reflection prompts to check in with your own needs
- Gentle reminders that you are not the crisis
🛡️ Boundaries in the Work
To hold space, you must have space to hold it.
Boundaries are what allow us to care sustainably. They protect connection — not from pain, but from depletion.
Key Practice Areas:
- Emotional Boundaries: Recognizing when you are becoming emotionally enmeshed or taking on responsibility for someone’s healing.
- Time Boundaries: Letting go when the chat ends — even if it doesn’t feel “finished.”
- Scope Boundaries: Redirecting when requests fall outside what you can safely or ethically do.
- Pacing Boundaries: Knowing when to pause, slow down, or ask for support.
Phrases to Use:
- “I want to be fully present for you — and I’m noticing I’m nearing my own limits.”
- “I care deeply, and part of that care means being honest about what I can and can’t do.”
- “Let’s stay focused on what’s within reach tonight.”
- “It’s okay to want more than I can give — and I want to offer what I can, with care.”
🌺 Self-Care that Isn’t Performative
Self-care isn’t a checklist. It’s how you come back to yourself.
This section gently counters the idea that bubble baths alone heal deep emotional labor.
Micro-Restorative Practices:
- Pausing to name what the chat stirred in you
- Checking in with your breath or unclenching your jaw between contacts
- Journaling a few lines after a tough shift — even just: “That was hard. I did my best.”
- Drinking water not because it’s trendy, but because your body is your anchor
Sustainable Care Practices:
- Creating rituals to close your shift (e.g., lighting a candle, stepping outside)
- Scheduling regular “no-helping” time — hours where you don’t support anyone but yourself
- Talking it out with someone you trust — not to solve, but to feel heard
🌀 Reflection Prompts for Checking In
Sometimes, the most radical act is to ask yourself:
- Where am I holding tension right now?
- Is this mine to carry?
- What do I need right now — not to fix it all, just to soften the moment?
- Am I trying to prove I’m enough by giving too much?
- Have I forgotten that showing up imperfectly… still counts?
🔄 When You’re Feeling Burned Out
A spark is different than a flame-out.
Signs of burnout aren’t failures — they are signals. Your body and heart trying to say: please don’t forget me.
Recognizing Signs:
- Dreading chat after chat
- Feeling emotionally numb or overly reactive
- Difficulty transitioning out of work mode
- Loss of empathy, cynicism, or deep exhaustion
Reset Tools:
- Reach out to a peer or supervisor and name your state: “I think I’m running on empty.”
- Give yourself permission to step back or reduce hours temporarily
- Revisit moments where you did feel connection — let them remind you this is just a moment, not the end of your capacity
🌻 You Are Allowed to Be Human
You do not need to be the perfect listener.
You do not need to always say the right thing.
You do not need to absorb someone else’s storm to be a steady shore.
You are allowed to need space.
You are allowed to rest.
You are allowed to be someone who cares… without disappearing inside that care.