I have a friend who has dementia and making it very hard for her siblings to help her. The friend has tried to recruit me to cover up her dementia. She asked me to do certain tasks for her, that a person not suffering from dementia could do for herself/himself. I said no.
I’m very happy you were able to set a strong boundary, zachira!
I’m working on it (it’s hard).
I know the problem of blindly doing everything asked of me. I was taken advantage of at work, family and some friends. It comes from coercive control by my mom verbally abusing me for existing. I wanted someone to be nice to me somewhere. I rebelled against her cruelty and selfishness by being very moral and being nice. I failed to see they were being nice to get something out of me. They were a nice version of my mother.
I have gotten angry and cut them out of my life. A lot of them need to stay gone.
I like that you were able to assert yourself while continuing the friendship. I’m trying to make acquaintances and friendships. I have to navigate setting boundaries with emotionally healthy people. That’s a challenge because I fear they’ll take off the mask and be disordered. I also fear they’ll drop me if I say no.
