I would definitely say that I’m good at communicating my feelings and boundaries however there have been several instances where someone has crossed my boundaries before Ive had the chance to verbalize them. Some examples range from cleaning of shared spaces, causal racism, to bigger issues like invading my physical space/aggressive sexual behavior. In these cases, once my boundary is crossed, I often freeze and dissociate from the situation momentarily. I’ve been working through a lot of this in therapy and trying to make sense of my past, focusing on boundary infractions. I used to blame myself a lot because I thought my inability to communicate my boundaries beforehand led to me being disrespected, but FDS has really showed me that most people (especially LVM) will push your boundaries whether you state them or not and communication in certain instances opens the door to manipulation.

Where do I draw the line in giving someone the benefit of the doubt versus potentially removing someone from my life after they disrespect a boundary that I may not have explicitly stated? How do I hold myself or someone accountable for the harm they have caused me in instances where they may not have intended to cause me harm? Also, what are some ways or daily habits that you ladies practice to enforce and communicate your boundaries (especially if you have a freeze or fawn trauma response)?