267 SelfWork: Am I Expecting Too Much? Being Demanding? Or Am I Setting A Boundary?

Today we're going to talk about the fairly sticky subject of the difference between expectations, demand, and setting boundaries.  What do you do when you feel disappointed by others? Do you isolate or judge?  Do you get mad or sulk? Could it be that your very expectations are the problem? Is it different to voice your expectations than it is to secretly have them?  Or is that playing a game that the other person doesn’t know you’re playing? And how do boundaries fit in here? We'll ask lots of questions and hopefully reach some answers today on SelfWork. The listener email for today is from a young 21 year-old who feels tremendous loyalty to her family and feels “needed” by them. But she also feels very stuck and admits she can hold onto a victim mentality. She’s dealing with enmeshment it sounds like.. and She’s asking how she can take baby steps to start living more independently… Wonderful question and I’ll do my best to give her some ideas. What would you say? So, in this episode sponsored by the fantastic Athletic Greens, please, sit back and relax… let’s focus on expectations, demands, and boundaries. Important Links: Here's the link once again to my new interactive podcast on Fireside Chat! Click here!  Click Here for the fabulous offer from Athletic Greens - now AG1 - with bonus product with your subscription! Episode 168 on setting boundaries Episode 148 on conditional love You can hear more relationship advice and many other topics by listening to my podcast, SelfWork with Dr. Margaret Rutherford. Subscribe to my website and receive one weekly newsletter including my weekly blog post and podcast! If you’d like to join my FaceBook closed group, then clickhere and answer the membership questions! Welcome! My book entitled Perfectly Hidden Depression is available and you can order here! Its message is specifically for those with a struggle with strong perfectionism which acts to mask underlying emotional pain. But the many self-help techniques described can be used by everyone who chooses to begin to address emotions long hidden away that are clouding and sabotaging your current life. And here's another way to send me a message! You can record by clicking below and ask your question or make a comment. You’ll have 90 seconds to do so and that time goes quickly. By recording, you’re giving SelfWork (and me) permission to use your voice on the podcast. I’ll look forward to hearing from you!         Our Sponsors: * Check out Happy Mammoth and use my code SELFWORK for a great deal: https://happymammoth.com * Check out Midi Health: https://trymidi.com/selfwork Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

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I'm Dr. Margaret, a psychologist for over 30 years, TEDx speaker, and the author of Perfectly Hidden Depression. I created The SelfWork Podcast in 2016 to explain mental health treatment and to give you the chance to consider therapy without thinking it's weird or that it somehow suggests you can't fix your own problems. My team is very honored that nine years later, SelfWork has earned nearly 5 million downloads! Each episode features the popular listener question as well as interviews with outstanding guests, authors, and experts, adding to the wide diversity of topics listeners so appreciate. Regularly rated as one of the top mental health/depression podcasts out there (ranked as a top .5% internationally) I keep it short, casual, and focused on "what you can do about it." I'd love to hear from you. Please join me.