Whether enslaved or codependent, Caregivers who go too far will end up victims, not just of the people for whom they are caring but of their own guilt and feelings of inadequacy.

This can quickly lead to the kind of anger that makes a caregiver incapable of providing any care at all.

Ask yourself, how did I negotiate your boundaries today? There are victims of crime who do not choose this path – and they must overcome the violations to their mind, body and soul. To those victims we pray. But the voluntary victims who negotiate their boundaries may find this is due to a lack of self-esteem and self-empowerment. Building a backbone is not easy but it must be done. The first step is acknowledging it is you and not the other person who is victimizing you.

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