Onika L. Dainty

My journey through homelessness began in the haze of a manic episode. When I walked out of my parents' home in November 2022, I had no idea I would never return. They had always been my safety net, the place I fell back to when mania subsided. But this time was different.

After two weeks on suicide watch, I found myself being discharged from a hospital with nowhere to go. That night, I used all my savings to book a six-week stay in an Airbnb. I told myself I had six weeks to recover from my mania, to find stability. But six weeks wasn’t enough.

Becoming unhoused is disorienting, especially when coupled with the emotional chaos of bipolar disorder. The path out is rarely straightforward—it begins with small, deliberate choices that can either lead to healing or deeper despair.

This is a story about what it means to seek shelter, support, and self while navigating the in-between spaces of homelessness and mental health recovery.

What Is Transitional Housing and Why Does It Matter?

Transitional housing offers temporary, supportive accommodations for individuals and families emerging from homelessness or unstable living situations. It acts as a bridge between crisis and stability.

Unlike emergency shelters—which are typically short-term and provide only basic needs—transitional housing programs offer structured support such as food assistance, case management, life skills training, and access to mental health and addiction services. These programs usually last from several months to a few years, with the ultimate goal being independent, sustainable living.

Transitional housing doesn’t just provide a roof. It offers stability, a space to rebuild routines, and an opportunity to restore one’s dignity.

Finding Transitional Housing While Facing Daily Survival

Six weeks of disillusionment ended on my 40th birthday—the day I officially became homeless. What followed was a blur of police wellness checks, hospital stays, and desperate efforts to find shelter. In January 2023, after a failed attempt by my cousin to house me in a hotel, she and my mental health mentor found a bed for me in a local shelter.

I arrived broken—sick, scared, and unsure of how to cope with this new reality. I feared I would drown in the chaos of managing my mental health while homeless. But I clung to one truth: the shelter was temporary.

For two weeks, I lived in a crowded dorm-style room, sleeping on a top bunk, storing my belongings in a small closet, and stretching on the floor each morning to recover from hospitalization. By the third week, with help from my mentor, Grama Judie, I began my housing search. My case manager was kind and diligent, but finding housing while displaced proved nearly impossible. I often fell short of qualifications by a margin too small to justify my disqualification—yet I persisted.

Then, ten days before I was scheduled to leave the shelter, a miracle happened: my case manager offered me a spot in their transitional housing program. It was a basement apartment in a quiet neighborhood on the city’s north side. I thought it was the blessing I had prayed for.

But not all that glitters is gold.

I lived there for six months—three spent in the hospital, the rest in fear due to dangerous upstairs neighbors. Eventually, I was moved to my current home. It’s a place I love, a place I feel proud to call home, though it’s not permanent. It’s a stepping stone—a space to find stability before finding permanency.

I live in the in-between. Better than where I was, but still far from where I hope to be.

Building a Bridge Back to Life: How Transitional Spaces Can Heal

Transitional housing has been a cornerstone in my healing. Though rebuilding life after homelessness hasn’t been easy, having a place to call mine for the past two years has restored my sense of time, purpose, and identity.

Today, I am in mental health remission. I’m nearly two years sober. I have the support of family, community, and a dedicated case management team. The very people I once saw as barriers have become allies. While they haven’t always disclosed their plans for my future, the decisions made—especially relocating me—have been in my best interest.

Healing in transitional housing is possible. I’m living proof. I’ve learned to trust myself again. I’ve cultivated self-compassion and rebuilt a vision for my life—all because I had access to a safe, supportive space. I now carry tools of resilience, strength, and clarity that guide me toward recovery and future housing stability.

Final Thought: Home Isn’t Just a Place—It’s a Possibility

I’ve known housing insecurity before, but nothing like this. In the past, someone was always there to rescue me. But this time, I had to rescue myself.

Homelessness has taught me that home isn’t merely a physical space—it’s a possibility. It’s the belief that I can live with a mental illness and still hope, still rebuild, still move forward. Living in a shelter stripped away my illusion of security and forced me to face the realities of my illness and its demands.

I once ignored the ongoing needs of my Bipolar disorder, fooled by the comforts of a stable job and a family home. But homelessness reminded me: severe mental illness can leave you living in the in-between, and you must fight to create a life that works with, not against, your reality.

Transitional housing gave me space to learn that. It hasn’t been perfect—I still have good days and bad—but it has been sacred. It’s been mine.

What does home mean to you when you’ve had to live without one? Can you name the people, spaces, or moments that helped you keep going?

I can be stubborn, but I’m also curious. After hearing repeatedly how physical activity improves brain function, boosts mood, and supports overall health, I decided to take small steps to include movement in my self-care routine. Although I was 40 pounds overweight, I didn’t approach exercise for weight loss. I chose activities that supported my mood, mind, and mental health.

In this article, I’ll share how physical activity helps stabilize mood. I’ll tell my story—how I walked toward wellness with detours along the way. I’ll explore how self-compassion plays a key role in building a sustainable habit, highlight stories from women who live life in motion, and offer tips that helped me build structure, routine, and consistency in my physical activity journey.

How Movement Helps Stabilize Mood

Physical activity has a profound impact on emotional regulation. It releases endorphins that naturally boost mood. It also supports brain health by promoting the growth of new cells and reducing inflammation in areas linked to emotional balance. Physical activity can interrupt negative thought patterns, create a sense of accomplishment, and build self-esteem—all crucial for coping.

For women with Bipolar disorder, movement can regulate mood, improve sleep, ease anxiety and depression, and even help restore cognitive function. Whether it’s walking, stretching, or strength training, movement activates the mind-body connection, which is essential for emotional stability.

Walking Toward Wellness: A Lived Experience

Five years ago, I was living in the city, navigating a depressive episode, and teetering between overweight and obese. I used to walk for hours in my early 30s through my parents’ suburban neighbourhood. By 35, I lived 20 minutes from the lake and walked regularly. But when I moved to Toronto, surrounded by concrete and crime, walking no longer felt safe—or desirable.

I lost all structure and fell into unhealthy habits. I only left home for work, groceries, or cigarettes. It took years before I felt ready to take a walk toward wellness again.

It started with a simple hike. A colleague invited me out of the city. I hadn’t seen trees or breathed fresh air in years. She called it a “baby hike,” but I struggled. I returned home sweaty, dirty, covered in leaves—and more alive than I’d felt in a long time. That hike sparked something. Every weekend, I hiked. When I moved back home, I hiked with anyone I could convince to join. I eventually became a certified Ontario Hike Leader.

Now, I don’t hike as often, so six months ago I joined a gym. I committed to walking 3–5 miles daily on the treadmill and training twice a week with a personal trainer. Yes, I’ve lost weight—but the most powerful change is internal. I’ve gained emotional strength, clarity, and focus.

Emotional regulation has always been a challenge: tearful outbursts, deep sadness, hypersensitivity, and sudden anger. Since incorporating regular physical activity, I’ve gained better control over these emotions. It started with small steps, but over time, exercise changed my mindset, improved my mental health, and stabilized my mood.

Surprisingly, the gym has become one of my safe spaces—a place where I feel free, fearless, and focused.

You Will Fall Off Track—And That’s Okay: Remember Your Why

Everyone has “off days,” especially when living with bipolar disorder. Sleepless nights, mood shifts, and depressive episodes are part of the landscape. Some weeks, I didn’t move at all—let alone make it to the gym.

The key isn’t avoiding setbacks—it’s returning after them. Whether it’s stretching in bed, doing yoga in your living room, or walking around the block, each time you move, you reclaim your power. Self-compassion is essential. So is remembering your “why.” Reminding yourself why you began your movement journey can be enough to get you going again.

Movement Looks Different for Everyone

For some, high-intensity workouts bring a sense of achievement. For others, like me, daily gym visits feel like success. But physical activity doesn’t have to be intense or traditional. Movement is simply about moving—on your terms.

Walking your dog, dancing while you cook, stretching to music, or doing chair yoga are all valid. The goal isn’t performance—it’s participation. Find what fits your body, lifestyle, and current season of life.

Creating a Life in Motion: Lived Experiences of Women with Bipolar Disorder

Catherine, a young mother of two, used yoga to regulate her mood before motherhood. She attended classes multiple times a week and practiced at home when needed. After starting a family, she adapted her routine—now practicing 15 minutes a day to maintain inner calm.

Kim, a first-year college student and former dance major, felt homesick and emotionally overwhelmed. She missed dancing and realized it helped regulate her mood. She enrolled in Hip-Hop and Contemporary classes at her university and now takes 2–3 per week. Her stress is lower, and she feels more emotionally balanced.

Dani had just been discharged from a psychiatric unit after a two-month depressive episode. Tired from her new medication and 15 pounds heavier, she remembered how good walking made her feel. On the first day of spring, she started morning walks while listening to music. By summer, she walked daily—and her depressive episode had lifted.

These stories show that physical activity can transform mood, mindset, and mental health. There’s no one “right” way to move. The power lies in showing up—for yourself and your well-being.

Tips for Creating a Gentle, Consistent Routine

1. Start with what you have.
Your body is enough. Begin slowly. Don’t commit to intense programs until you know what you enjoy. Use the suggestions in this article to get started.

2. Set realistic goals.
Instead of “I’ll run a mile,” start with “I’ll walk for 10 minutes.” Small wins build momentum and confidence.

3. Pair movement with something uplifting.
Listen to your favourite playlist, audiobook, or exercise with a friend. It can make movement feel less like a chore and more like a joy.

4. Be flexible.
All-or-nothing thinking is a trap. If you don’t hit your full goal, that’s okay. Something is always better than nothing. If you’re consistently struggling to meet a goal, it may be time to adjust—without guilt.

Movement is an Act of Self-Love

Physical activity isn’t just about your body—it’s about your mind and emotions. Reframe movement as a practice of self-love. It’s about how it makes you feel, not how you look. Loving your body means moving when you can, resting when you need to, and always returning when you're ready.

Final Thoughts: Today Starts With Movement

As Lao Tzu said, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” The journey toward mental wellness through physical activity begins the same way.

I’m grateful physical activity is now part of my life. It was the missing piece in my structure, routine, and habits. It started with a walk—and I hope it continues for years to come.

I feel no pressure to “do more” on my movement journey. When setbacks happen, I remind myself that falling off track means there’s always a way back. Consistency isn’t easy. There will be days when “movement” doesn’t exist in your vocabulary. But every day ends, and a new one begins. Every day is an opportunity to start again.

To my readers: What’s one way you can move your body today? Just one. Start there.

 “You treat men like disposable objects, like trash, you hurt them, men like me who want love and relationships with your destructive behaviours. You made up this stupid word ‘situationships’ to exempt you from being responsible for how your actions affect the other person. You hate men, you use them and abuse them and I’m sorry you were raped so much but maybe you should deal with your problems before you engage in another relationship, maybe you should try being a worthwhile person who deserves love…” 

Michael, which is not actually his name but for the sake of confidentiality it’s what I am going to call him, had so much more to say and he said it with a certain and violent anger as if he and I had been engaged in one of these situationships and he was the man I had hurt, used and abuse instead of meeting in January 2025 online for the first time  at least that's how it came across to me. I have been in a Cognitive Processing Therapy group for the last 10 weeks attempting to understand how my past trauma has affected my present life and interpersonal relationships. I was told in my intake last December 2024, that an unusual occurrence had happened in this intake where there were more men wanting to address their trauma than the organization had seen in many years. My psychotherapist realized because of the nature of my trauma, Gender-Based Violence, I may experience some discomfort with their presence. I was determined to join however not 100% comfortable with the idea but willing to explore it.

For the first 5 or 6 weeks I barely said anything, I just sat in my big red  chair, well mannered and well groomed, listening to the other group members share some of the most horrific traumas outside of my own that I had ever heard. I empathized with all of them but I kept quiet only speaking when asked to share my weekly emotions during check-in and my group take-away during check-out. I realized around session seven that I was not only afraid to share my trauma with the men in the group I was terrified of their judgement and rejection. 

Every week a member of the group would go over our homework worksheet where the three facilitators would help us understand our “Stuck Points” (the elements of the trauma that was keeping us in the trauma rather than moving forward and healing). Every week I would try to do some of the homework and I would fail, not because I didn’t find it relevant or useful but because I had avoided and covered up my pain and trauma so long it was like it was never even there like a picture you hang over a giant hole in your wall instead of fixing the wall, you know there is damage there but the pretty picture covers it so well you forget. I feel with my lack of engagement in the group perhaps Michael could only see the pretty picture I presented and not the giant empty and hollow hole of trauma that lived inside me. 

By week eight I made up my mind to share my homework and thus share my story with the group. I can remember the day of group, March 17, 2025 and what my stuck point was: “When there are too many men in a room with me, especially if they are intoxicated, I can’t control the situation and I will be attacked and raped because all men are dangerous and capable of rape.” When my group facilitator asked me why I felt this way, a watershed of emotional blockage came unstuck and I told the group everything. I was molested as a child, I was gang-raped at 14-years old by five boys in highschool, I was raped at 18-years old by my boyfiend and I was drugged and raped at 27-years old by a stranger I met at a club. This is the trauma I carry inside of me and the narrative that goes with it is: 

“All men are dangerous and even if you are attracted to them, the minute you lose control of the situation aka situationship run far, run fast, do something destructive to push them away because they will destroy you anyway so don’t give them your power ever again.”  

I didn’t realize I felt this way until week eight when I shared my trauma with the group. I believed these feelings were in the past and I could explain all my self-destructive behaviours related to men by placing the label of Mania or Psychosis in Bipolar disorder on it. The truth is however, as angry, hurt and embarrassed as I was over what Michael screamed in my face during group last week there is also a sense of release and self-discovery because for the first time since therapy started I had a breakthrough. I don’t agree with most of what he said or how he said it but I must honour the mirror he put up to my face. 

When I look at myself in that mirror I see a woman with decades of unaddressed trauma who avoids relationships because she is afraid and does not feel worthy of love because she is damaged. I see a woman who doesn’t feel safe anywhere, not even in her own home; I see a woman that sexualizes herself so men will find her worthwhile; lastly I see a little girl who got dealt a bad hand but has grown into a strong person who is trying to release the lifetime of pain she's been carrying in her mind, body and spirit. I don’t know where my trauma healing journey will lead me and I don’t know if my fellow group member is correct in saying stay away from men until you heal (kinder way of rephrasing). I do know everyday I fall a little more in-love with myself, everyday I feel a little stronger, everyday I feel a little more worthy and at peace with myself and everyday I feel closer to the ultimate goal of self-love and forgiveness. I may never heal to the point of being in a loving partnership, it may be me and all my journals for the rest of my life (I have no animals yet) either way I’m excited to find out.

If this self-reflection was as hard for you to read as it was for me to write, reach out, leave kind comments as its been a hell of a week, let’s connect, let’s have a conversation that takes us beyond the stigma of trauma to a place of healing, forgiveness and self-love.  

In this article I will examine why boundaries are essential to women with Bipolar disorder, explore signs of unhealthy friendships, and actionable strategies for setting and enforcing boundaries while maintaining meaningful relationships.

Understanding Boundaries: Why They’re Essential for Women with Bipolar Disorder

Defining Boundaries

Boundaries are the limits and guidelines that define acceptable behaviours and interactions in relationships and personal life, helping individuals feel safe, respected, and in control of their own well-being. Boundaries are also considered as the “invisible lines” that dictate what behaviours, thoughts, and actions are acceptable and unacceptable in a given situation or relationship. Types of boundaries include the following:

Physical boundaries: These relate to personal space, touch or physical needs. For example, you may find yourself in a situation where you are uncomfortable being hugged by your friend so it's important to communicate your physical boundaries to avoid invasion of your personal space. 

Emotional boundaries: These involve protecting your feelings, thoughts, and emotional needs, and separating your emotions from those of others. For instance, if you are developing a new friendship with someone but you worry about oversharing because they are very open with their thoughts and feelings, setting emotional boundaries is a way to maintain balance in the friendship while still developing trust. 

Intellectual boundaries: These relate to respecting your own beliefs, ideas, and opinions. For example, It is important to maintain your intellectual boundaries  in your friendships without allowing others to overshadow or diminish your beliefs, ideas and opinions with their own 

Time boundaries: These refer to the limits you set on how you spend your time, protecting your energy and ensuring you have enough time for what’s important, whether it’s work, personal life, hobbies, or self-care. When managing your mental health, sleep hygiene is very important so giving people a specific window to connect with you in the evenings can limit interruptions to self-care practice.  

Sexual boundaries: These involve respecting your own and other’s right to consent and communicate preferences around intimacy. When dealing with a friendship where there is a possibility of sexual boundaries being crossed it is important to address and clarify what your preferences around intimacy are within the relationship. 

Financial boundaries: These relate to setting limits on how much you spend or lend to others. Money can be a breaking point in any friendship when financial boundaries are not defined from the onset. You can feel disillusioned or taken advantage of if your friendship develops into a financial exchange rather than a mutually beneficial connection. 

Spiritual boundaries: These involve protecting your own beliefs and values. Maintaining spiritual boundaries can involve saying ‘no’ to a friend or walking away from a relationship that compromises your core belief or value system.   

The Impact of Poor Boundaries on Mental Health

Now that you have an understanding of what boundaries are and the different categories they exist in it’s important to examine the impact of poor boundaries on mental health. Increased stress, emotional burnout and mood instability can be the result of not setting and managing your boundaries in friendships. Because women with Bipolar disorder often exhibit people-pleasing behaviours in their friendships, stress, emotional and mood instability can increase due to their inability to say ‘no’ when they are feeling overwhelmed. Although setting boundaries is key to managing friendships these limits are considered poor boundaries when you allow them to be crossed without attaching a consequence.

There is the fear that when a boundary is crossed and you address the violation the friendship will end. This may be the case for some relationships depending on the boundary, how badly it's been violated and the resulting consequences but it is not true for every circumstance. When you set boundaries in a valued friendship this allows opportunities for open communication and understanding. Boundary-setting helps with mood regulation and emotional balance for women experiencing Bipolar disorder. We should not be afraid to say ‘no’ rather we should focus on the  outcome for our mental well-being when we don’t adhere to the boundaries we set for ourselves in friendships. All action or inactions come with consequences so it is up to you to decide if the relationship is important enough to compromise my mental health journey.    

Signs You Need to Set Boundaries in Your Friendships

Re-evaluating your friendships is always challenging. Deciding which relationships are healthy and beneficial for your journey to wellness and better mental health can be difficult but an important part of personal growth and self-care. Friendships go through ebbs and flows over the course of a lifetime. There is a saying that captures the nature of relationships: “Some people are in your life for a reason and others for a season.” 

If you are feeling any of the following in your friendships perhaps it's time to consider setting healthy boundaries that speak to your mental well-being.

Signs You Need to Set Boundaries

Feeling Resentful or Irritated: 

If you constantly feel resentful, irritated, or hurt by your friend’s actions, words or behaviours it's a sign that you need to set boundaries.

Feeling Overwhelmed or Emotionally Drained:

If you are constantly feeling overwhelmed or emotionally drained after interactions with a friend it is important to consider setting emotional boundaries.

Lack of Respect for Your Time, Feelings or Personal Space:

If your friend regularly disregards your feelings, time or personal space it's an indication that they are violating your intellectual, time and physical boundaries. 

Difficulty Saying No or Expressing Yourself:

If you are having trouble expressing your feelings, beliefs, values or saying “no” to a friend consider evaluating your feelings around spiritual boundaries in your relationship.

Over-Relying On You:

If your friend relies too heavily on you for emotional or financial support and you are feeling unappreciated or  de-valued, your emotional or financial boundaries need to be prioritized.

Gossip or Betrayal:

If your friend is constantly gossiping about other people or you have a healthy fear that they may betray you to others in the same way, it's important to set limitations to protect yourself and your personal information, consider setting intellectual or emotional boundaries.

Lack of Empathy:

If you have a friend that does not show empathy when you are sharing the challenges you face with your mental health, if they ignore or attempt to minimize your experiences perhaps it's time to set boundaries protecting your core beliefs and values. 

Jealousy and Possessiveness:

If you have a friend that is jealous of your time with others or possessive of your attention this often leads to a violation of your personal time and time you need for self-care. It is important to address this issue by setting healthy time boundaries.

Anxiety and Stress Provoking:

Some friends can provoke anxiety or stress in you and you may not be sure why. I call these “The Walk on Eggshell” friendships. Perhaps they are emotionally volatile, substance users or experience mood instability. Whatever the reason they can trigger mood instability in you and therefore it's time to re-evaluate your boundaries within this friendship.  

If you are experiencing any of the above in your friendships they are signs that you should consider establishing healthy boundaries or re-consider the current boundaries that you have set in your relationships. Setting boundaries will not be easy but they will benefit your mental wellness and the long-term health of your friendships by promoting open communication, empathy, understanding and mutual respect. 

How to Set Healthy Boundaries in Friendships

Setting boundaries within a friendship can be challenging, especially if the relationship has already established norms and expectations that new limitations go against. It is important to remember boundary-setting is for both parties to maintain the long-term growth and health of the relationship. Below are a few guidelines you can use when establishing healthy boundaries in your friendship. 

Communicating Boundaries Clearly and Kindly

• Use "I" statements: Expressing needs without guilt or blame. Starting a conversation with “I feel,” “I think,” or “I believe” can go a long way in opening the line of communication for setting clear and kind boundaries.

• Be direct yet compassionate: Balancing honesty with empathy. It is important to speak your truth in a direct and compassionate way. Using words like “Understand,” “Appreciate,” or "Realize" can help lay the groundwork for an open, direct and honest conversation about your need for boundaries.  

• Practice boundary-setting scripts to help you navigate difficult conversations. An example of a boundary-setting script can be “I appreciate that you are a night owl and would prefer to talk after 10pm, however I have trouble staying awake that late and often lose the thread of our conversations because I’m exhausted. I feel a better time for us to connect is after 7PM and before 10PM so we can both enjoy each other's company and get the rest we need.” 

Maintaining Boundaries Over Time

• Consistency is key: It is important to stay consistent when reinforcing your boundaries. Over time and in certain circumstances you may forget your boundary and its importance to your mental health. Writing your boundaries and their importance to you and the friendship might be helpful. Reviewing them regularly with your friends may also be beneficial for their respect and understanding.  

• Make Adjustments: Making adjustments to your boundaries as friendships evolve is essential. The friendships that you had in adolescence will evolve in adulthood and as you go through changes in your mental health journey the support you need and can give will change.   

•  Self-check-ins: It is important to check-in with yourself to ask are your boundaries still serving you? It's not uncommon for boundaries to change as they are not meant to remain unmoving. As you grow, so will your wants and needs in your friendships. By re-evaluating the benefit of the boundaries you are allowing yourself to be flexible in the relationships. 

•  Respect and honour your limits: Supportive friendships will always respect and honor your limits. These pillars of a relationship should be a continued indicator of whether or not your boundaries are being maintained.

• Therapy and Support Groups: Connecting with a therapist, councillor or joining a peer support group is a good way to help you define your boundaries in friendships and gain valuable tools on how to maintain them over time. 

Dealing with Pushback: How to Handle Resistance from Friends

Once you set your boundaries in a friendship there is no guarantee they will be followed to the exact letter. It takes time to establish long-lasting limitations and guidelines in a relationship as oftentimes your friend may not be used to you asserting yourself and the things you need within the friendship. On one hand, you should take pride in the fact that you voiced your wants and needs from your relationship but on the other there will be a feeling of guilt the minute you are required to enforce your boundaries. 

There may be push-back from your friends because boundaries can sometimes feel like a punishment. More likely they are in a space of mental transition from who you used to be in the relationship and who you are becoming with the new boundaries. There are three things to remember when implementing your boundaries:

• “No” is a complete sentence: It’s okay to say ‘no’ to the requests that cross your new and healthy boundary. Your friend may not like hearing the two-letter word but the more you use it to protect your boundaries the more you show that you value yourself as well as the health of the friendship. 

• Healthy Compromises vs. Overextending Yourself: It’s important when enforcing your new and healthy boundary that your friend may try to get around it. Ask yourself,  will making a healthy compromise de-value my boundary or am I overextending myself and therefore violating my own boundary? Sometimes in friendships making healthy compromises are necessary but if you believe your boundary is being crossed with the concession you may have to re-evaluate and re-establish your boundaries later on.  

• Overcoming Disappointing Others: Everyone fears disappointing others when establishing boundaries but it's important to remember that disappointment is a natural part of life. No one can please everyone 100% of the time so thinks about  maintaining your healthy boundaries so you do not  disappoint yourself or compromise your mental, emotion, physical or spiritual well-being  

The fact is once you set a boundary there is no guarantee it will be followed. You can examine the friendship, re-evaluate whether or not boundaries are necessary, set new and healthy boundaries following the advice set out in this article and you can enforce your boundaries changing the dynamic of the friendship. However, there is a possibility that your friend may respond with guilt-tripping, manipulation or dismissiveness. Recognizing when a friendship is no longer serving your mental health may be the next step in your boundary setting journey. Not all friendships are built to last and oftentimes boundary-setting can highlight the pitfalls in a relationship. 

So when is it time to re-assess or walk away from toxic relationships? The answer for me has always been when I’m sure I’m ready to let go and allow healthier relationships to take their place.  

Final Thoughts

Setting boundaries in your friendships can be hard, especially when there is already an established understanding of the norms and expectations you both have in the relationship. Boundary setting to some feels like a punishment or a negative limitation being introduced into a dynamic that previously seemed to work for both parties. However, the need for establishing healthy boundaries protects your mental health, energy, emotional stability and the longevity of the friendship. A healthy dynamic between friends honours your needs as well as allows you to manage Bipolar disorder symptoms like stress, emotional exhaustion, people-pleasing  and mood instability.  

So, when setting boundaries on your friendship journey, start small because one boundary at a time can lead to powerful changes. Remember every day is a new opportunity to do something you’ve never done before so today start creating boundaries that will serve your mental well-being and protect your peace.