Healthy Relationships (Episode 42)

🎧 From confused about boundaries to relationship expert - Emily Cox shares game-changing tips that will transform all your relationships! In this super real episode, Emily breaks down exactly what healthy relationships look like and how to build them, whether it's with friends, family, or that special someone.

Through straight talk and zero drama, Emily reveals the relationship secrets that every teen needs to know but nobody teaches you.

This life-changing episode explores:

• The real signs of a healthy relationship (and red flags you shouldn't ignore)
• How to set boundaries without feeling guilty or mean
• The communication tricks that actually work in real-life situations
• Real strategies for dealing with toxic friendships and family drama
• The journey from people-pleasing to confident self-advocacy
• How to keep your identity while being close to others

Perfect for: Teens navigating complicated friendships, students dealing with relationship drama, anyone trying to figure out healthy boundaries with family, and the counselors, teachers, and parents helping young people build better relationships. Plus: Essential wisdom for maintaining your authentic self while building stronger connections with others.

 

To learn more about Emily Cox, please click on the link below.
http://www.larkspurtherapy.com/

Transcript

Welcome to Mindshift Power podcast, a show for teenagers and the adults who work with them, where we have raw and honest conversations. I'm your host, Fatima Bey, the mind shifter. And welcome. Today, we have with us Emily Cox. She is from North Carolina.

She's a therapist at Larkspur Therapy. And today, we're gonna talk about healthy relationships. But within healthy relationships, there's a whole lot of things we could talk about. But today, our focuses are are gonna be on boundaries and communication, which I think are two key things. If you don't have an order, everything else is out of order.

How are you today, Emily? I'm doing fabulous. How are you today? I'm great. I am looking forward to talking to you.

So let's start off by telling us a little bit about your background. Excellent. So sometimes therapy is a field that people are really driven to and, like, gravitate towards and wake up and know that that's exactly what they wanna be. That was not my experience. I kinda stumbled into this field.

Okay. But it has been a delightful adventure along the way. So stumbling into it, getting through it through some life challenges and twists and turns, and then being able to help kids, teens, and families for over ten years now. It's been an awesome adventure. Good.

Good. Well, what what made you stumble into it? Excellent question. It's like more detail. Would you like Yeah.

Exactly. All the lovely and blue tree that's going on. That might be helpful and interesting to listen to. It was, mold mainly life things that happened, things I expected to go a certain way that didn't go, that way at all. I think I changed majors about 12 times in college.

No map. Like, that's legit. I was in the registrar's office a lot. Also had a lot of, like, transferring of schools and certain things happening that led to different directions. And so it led to a path that I was not anticipating at all.

I was all on pre law my first day of freshman year, and that is not where I ended up. I would have been a terrible lawyer, so things, fell where they're supposed to. And then it was actually, like, a really transformative experience in my own therapy experience. So I was like, this is incredible and amazing and has led through a lot of, like, darkness into points of light. And I was like, this is a great, wonderful experience.

It would be really cool to provide this to others or to support that experience for others. And so then that's when it led to graduate school and more education and training and licensure and all those other steps to get to the end goal of, like, helping people and providing a safe therapeutic space. That's awesome. I wanna make I wanna point out something to the audience that I think is key in what you just said and why I asked you about your journey there. You changed your major 552 times.

I'm exaggerating, but you changed your major quite a bit quite a few times. Sometimes people feel like once they make a decision, they have to stick with it forever, and that's the only thing they can ever do, and it's not okay to to do any further investigation to figure things out. But the truth is you need to figure it out until you find the right one. And sometimes that might be twice for one person. It might be 12 times for another.

That's actually okay. What matters is that once you find it, then you stick with it. But, you know, find it. It's okay to just keep keep searching until you find it. You know?

You you just you just got to. And I think it's great that you you did that and you mentioned that as well. So let's start talking about healthy boundaries. What are healthy boundaries? Excellent question.

Healthy boundaries well, boundaries in general are just kind of, like, guidelines or limits that we set for ourselves that help us determine what we need in relationships, what respect looks like for us, and what we are comfortable with and not comfortable with. So one of the most important things with healthy boundaries is, like, they're for ourselves. They're not necessarily for others. Right. Sometimes if we're like, no.

Never cheat on me. Like, that might be an expectation, but it might be hard for people that were in communication or relationship to uphold on their end because it kinda sounds like an ultimatum or it kinda sounds like a really hard line of, like, I'm not going in with the expectation or the intention of doing that, but then we're also putting this real, like, hard limit on what I can do as a extra person. Versus if we're looking at it more of, like, what's gonna be comfortable for us, like, hey. Connection, monogamy, intimacy are really important for me. For partnership, I'm really looking for a monogamous committed relationship.

That sounds a lot different than, like, never lie to me. No. You're absolutely right, and I like the way you said that. You really pointed out very well. A boundary is just a limit that you put on for yourself.

Like, it's it's more than just an expectation because they are two different things. So expectation is a a part of why you put the boundary there, but but the boundary is saying, hey. This is my this is the line you can't cross. You know, cheating on you, obviously, a line that we don't want you to cross. But it's a it's a it's a boundary where it's like, okay.

We need to be we're gonna be monogamous. So can you uphold that? Right. You know, and and setting a boundary. So let's dive a little deeper into healthy boundaries.

Why do healthy boundaries even matter in the first place? Excellent question of, like, why are these important? Everyone talks about boundaries, but, like, what are they Actually, how they work and why do they matter? Mhmm. So one piece of setting the boundaries of, like, why they're for us is they kind of open the door for self reflection.

So for one person, like, monogamy might be very important for them for various reasons. For whatever reasons, I've led it to be, like, hey. This is my boundary. This is my line. This is what I'm comfortable with.

So, like, that self reflection and self acknowledgment of, like, this is super important to me sometimes and why, and this is why it's important, and then being able to communicate that to others. Like, that's an amazing gift that we give ourselves and we give our we give others, people that we're in partnership or relationship with, of, like, hey. Not only is this my expectation, but, like, this is a piece of info about me. This is a connection point with me. This is why it matters to me.

So we're connecting with ourselves and connecting with others. The other piece about healthy boundaries is that it helps build that, like, communication connection piece, not just with ourselves, but with the people that we're talking with, that we're communicating with, that we're talking with, that we're communicating with, that we're in with, that we kind of have the experience of what happens when someone crosses the boundary, what happens when someone obtains the boundary, what happens when the boundary might need to shift, might need to change a little bit. So it's not like written in stone, this will never change, this will never be. Sometimes we can have that expectation of ourselves, but gosh, that holds ourselves to a really high standard. So then it gives us that practice opportunity of like, hey, why is this so important to me?

Hey. How do I talk about this with others? Hey. How did this blow up in my face, and I wasn't expecting it to be such a huge deal? Even when things fall apart, like, they still give us helpful information of how we want it to look or work next time.

Let's dive into what you just said about things blowing up in your face because that's a big one that happens a lot when we don't have healthy boundaries. Can you give us an example of something blowing up in your face because you didn't have a healthy boundary in the first place? Oh, there can be so many of them. Sometimes it can get real tricky when we're exploring, like, levels of commitment and levels of, like, monogamy, non monogamy, partnership, I mean, poly relationships, sometimes it could come up a lot of, like, if we're exploring our sexuality and how we connect and express our sexuality, that sometimes if we're not clear on ourselves of what our boundaries are, it leaves all this gray space for resentment, anger, hurt feelings, pain. So if we're not really clear of, like, what an open relationship can look like for us, what we're comfortable with in an open relationship, how we want to bring in partners, how we want to connect with others in open relationship, then all of a sudden, it can turn into, like, how dare you do this to me?

Have we thrown away everything that we built together? Do you not want me anymore? Do you not pick me anymore? They're gonna be beautiful, like, supportive, respectful, open relationships, but if they're not brought in with a level of, like, consistent communication, clear, respectful communication, and clarity on boundaries of, like, what the boundaries of those lines are, then it makes for a lot of this, like, mucky space where it then goes into, like, oh, how is this, like, impacting me? Let's talk about friendships because it's it's a little bit different than, you know, romantic relationships.

People talk about romantic relationships not a lot, and I think people don't talk about friendships enough, when it comes to relationships. I think we both know that the same principles apply to both. On, you know, on in most perspectives, there are some differences, obviously, but, the principles apply to both. But I think we tend not to recognize that, and that leads to explosions. Mhmm.

So in a friendship, what does a healthy boundary look like, specifically in a friendship? You and I are friends, let's just say. And and so what would be a healthy boundary that I should have for you? Excellent point. Well, a healthy boundary would be something that would kind of speak to something that's important to us or, like, key to us.

Sometimes it comes up a lot in friendships, specifically with, like, communication styles. So if there is someone who really gets a lot of validation or support from consistent communication, really wants that group chat to be popping off, really wants to be checking in, really wants to be doing things and talking things and sending memes back and forth, that can be really important for one person on the friendship. Mhmm. Another person in the friendship might need something else, or that communication doesn't mean the same level of, like, impact or intimacy for them, that they can disappear for days at a time. They might respond when they think about it and then lose their phone for three days.

They might not value the written communication as much. We'll see how that's, like, a misalignment. So what can happen if there aren't, like, healthy communications is then at least this, like, simmering resentment or, like, frustration or, like, they're flaky. They never get back to me. Well, they don't feel like a good friend.

That all might be true, but then, like, how do we connect and communicate with that? An example of a healthy relationship in that scenario would be, communicating, like, hey. It's really important to me that I have connection with you. I really love that we can connect through text. Like, I know that we're all really busy.

We have a lot of stuff going on, but getting this feedback is really helpful for me. If we're gonna disappear, we're gonna have connections. I'd like you just to send me, like, a signal or, like, a thing. It's really helpful that I would have that so that I know that we're still connected in our friendship and we're still together even if we're not tech constantly texting all the time. Alright.

This this, podcast is for teens and the adults who work with them. So everything we're saying relates to people of any age. It doesn't really matter. But let's use a real world example for teens. Let's say I have a boyfriend.

We'll call him Jerry. Mhmm. And you talk with Jerry a little bit too much when I'm not around, and that's stirring up some feelings in me. I'm getting I'm feeling some kind of way about it. So, you know, jealousy typically, it's jealousy or, you know, insecurity, whatever it is.

But maybe I have a real reason to feel that that way because you known as a school hoe, and you talk to everybody. You just go around talking to everybody. So I have a reason to feel that way. But even if you're not that way, I you know, my own insecurities, whatever the reason is doesn't matter. I'm still not comfortable with that.

So in that situation, what is the boundary that I need to set and communicate to you to maintain our friendship and then maintain my my relationship with Jerry? Mhmm. The delightful Jerry. Well, that's a real one. That happens.

Yeah. Yeah. Well, it happens a lot. Jerry might be delightful. Who knows?

The most important thing is, like, getting clarity with ourself in that scenario of, like, what are we seeking out of this? What are we seeking out of support? What is going to connect with us? Because our knee jerk might be like, back off. Right.

Leave him alone. You can't ever talk to Jerry. Leave him at the top of the Attitude. Right. And, also, like, if you don't, it raises the stakes.

So, like, oh, back off Jerry, never speak to him again. Well, if Jerry and friend have bumped into each other in the hall, what's gonna happen now? Like, it then sets up this expectation for everyone involved and for ourselves of, like, well, do I gotta blow up? Do I gotta reinforce this? Do I gotta show out in a way that is gonna be authentic to me?

Because I told them not to do this, and they did it. So now all hell is gonna rain down. So clarity of, like, what are we expecting out of this? What is reasonable for us to expect out of this? So being, like, never speak to each other again.

We could say that. Would that be likely to happen? Who knows? In some situations, maybe yes. In some situations, likely not.

We're gonna interact with different people and have different expectations. So being clear on the kind of what's reasonable and then being clear on, like, what we are seeking for it itself. So, like, if it's kind of an insecurity or, like, a, I can't have full trust in Jerry or, like, things are happening with Jerry that kind of lead me to have some concerns or some questions Right. Then that would be more of a conversation with Jerry or, like, a more of a connection with Jerry of, like, hey. There's things that are coming up is causing these reactions with me in our relationship.

I feel really connected in this relationship that these things would be helpful for me. If it's something more of, like, kind of dynamics or frustrations or not having full trust in the friend that we're like, oh, I don't really know. I trust Jerry no matter what, but this friend might be doing some stuff. Then it's kind of like, okay. What is an expectation that we could have for the friendship?

Do we want to maintain the friendship? Do we want to look differently? Do we want distance? Would that be helpful for us? If we're clear on that, then we can go into what is really helpful with boundaries is I feel statements.

So, like, back to our social emotional learning in elementary school if we were exposed to that. So kinda I feel frustrated when you're running into Jerry all the time because it creates a uncomfortable dynamic in my relationship, and I'd really like for you to touch base with me. Yeah. But but that's your problem. Jerry and I are just friends.

I know that you're friends with Jerry, but I'm also in relationship with Jerry, and I want to maintain this friendship with you. And I want to You just you just doing too much. That's you're just doing too much. I might be doing too much. We might not need to be friends anymore.

Exactly. You we need we need to have those conversations because that's a real issue. That's a real common issue and not just with teens. It looks different in adult world a little bit, but it really is the same thing. And and it does happen a lot.

I I think something that, I'm reminded of in this conversation, a former roommate of mine had a boyfriend. Well, he was a he was a fiance at that point, I think. I go along with both of them great. I tend to get along with men really well, and I have a lot of male friends. I actually make it a point to make sure I communicate with.

And even if I don't befriend their girlfriends or wives, I make it a point to make sure that I present myself as not a threat. Even if I don't know them that well, just because I don't want there to be issues. I don't want to be the cause of an issue in their relationship. So for me, I make it a point to have those boundaries. My boundaries are I am not going on vacation with your man.

I'm sorry, but that's just stupid. For me personally, I just feel like that's just way no common sense, and I just think it's very imbalanced. And that's a boundary that I have. So for me, I'm not I'm not doing that because that is your man, and I should have a healthy boundary there, you know, so that I'm not having issues with you and coming across as trying to steal your man or that sort of thing. And I'm mentioning this because this is, again, a very common thing.

Now this is not just true for for for me as as a heterosexual woman. It's just true in general. I'm just using myself as an example because that's what I am. But it's, you know, in general for just people. So when we are looking at boundaries, I think it's important that I want our audience to not just understand the concepts, but really walk away understanding how can I really apply this to my life or look back at examples?

And I'm talking to audience right now. Some of y'all know what I'm talking about because you've been there, done that, you're looking at it right now, or you're remembering something from the past, where a situation could have been avoided if, number one, there was a healthy boundary set. Number two, there was communication about it, as Emily just said. It is critical that we have those uncomfortable conversations because the result of not having the uncomfortable conversation is far more uncomfortable because now you're having a blowout, and now you're on social media sideswiping each other with stupid little messages as they like to say. And it's just childish.

It's just childish. Set those boundaries. And and I really like the fact that, Emily, what you said, I think is key. Sometimes we don't know how to set those healthy boundaries. So we gotta decide what what is that.

And sometimes you're not gonna figure it out until you have some experiences. Let's just be real. Mhmm. You're not there's no magic book that says, here's a, b, and c, but a, b, and c don't mean anything to you until you actually understand their application in life. So for some people, and I'm one of those people where I I can understand a concept, but it doesn't mean a damn thing to me until I actually really understand it.

Understand it through experience or at least through watching someone else's experience. I think that is so key. What are some of the key things, key ways that we can communicate a a a we can communicate a boundary? And let me let me be more specific. Let's say we've had a friendship where I haven't had a boundary.

I just discovered that I should have this boundary, so I'm now going to implement this boundary. How should we communicate that? Because people get pissed off about that sometimes. Mhmm. One is this great piece about boundaries that, like, we talk about it.

You brought up a great point of, like, a lot of us are experiential learners. So, like, we can talk about it. We can listen to the podcast. We can watch the TV show. But then, like, oh, I actually have to do it.

That's scary. Yeah. And, like, it's supposed to be. Life can be scary sometimes, but also the mistakes are what leads us to growing. Sometimes we're like hermit crabs.

Right? If we never get out of our shells, like, we can stay stuck in the shells. We need to move shells sometimes and, like, get to that bigger stuff. And sometimes we do that by, like, getting vulnerable, like, letting our squishy undersides come out and being, like, I gotta get to my bigger shell. So through practicing, through messing up, through having these blowouts, like, you know, we we go into it.

We're all prepped. We got clear in our boundaries. We know what we're gonna say. And, oh, it did not go well. It was knock down, drag out.

It was awful. And this friendship just blew up in our face. It feels like the end of the world, but it actually is, like, moving us to that bigger hermit crab shell of, like, oh, wait. Now I know this. This is what didn't happen.

This is what didn't turn out the right way. But, like, what did I learn from it? Or, like, I gained something from it. So going back to communicating about it, people get real anxious around, like, yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. You're talking about boundaries. You're, like, having me practice in session, but, like, this isn't gonna work. This person's not gonna like that. They're not gonna respond well to that.

This is gonna blow up in my face. So sometimes I go, like, let it. It might. Exactly. We are not in charge of other people's reactions.

Exactly. Sometimes we respond to, like, fear states of, like, well, I don't wanna piss somebody off. Well, I don't wanna upset them. Well, I don't want this friend to leave me. Like, we want to be accepted.

We want to be supported. We want people to validate and be in connection with us. And sometimes we can feel, like, communication is putting that in threat or under attack. In reality, it's opening us up to this, like, deeper connection, more intimate connection, getting us closer to what we want, but that fear of rejection can keep us from doing it and, like, keep us walking on eggshells. So sometimes it's gonna blow up.

Sometimes they're not gonna respond well. Sometimes they're gonna be like, what do you mean you want limits on our friendship? What do you mean you don't want me all within your life all the time? You don't want me to crawl up inside you and, like, use your body as a puppet? This is what we've been like our whole lives since we were in diapers together.

What do you mean you don't wanna be in constant communication with me? So it could blow up, but then we will know of, like, hey. That didn't go well. Was I still authentic to myself? Did I still communicate?

Did I still get what I wanted to get out of that interaction? It could be no. It could be like, no. They were screaming at me, and that was awful. And I hated that, Emily.

But also, like, hey. I communicate a boundary. I practiced. I tried. Sometimes too, I talk about, like, worst case scenario.

Anxiety loves to live in the gray space and loves to live in the unknown. That's why when we don't have sometimes people talk about depressions about the past, anxieties about the future. So, like, all of the unknowns, anxiety likes to fill the gaps and be like, what if a meteor falls from the sky and then lands on your car and you can never drive again? Woah. And, like, we kind of get caught up in those things.

So sometimes I talk through, like, what is worst case scenario? What is the worst thing that could happen? Like, follow that spiral to the end and, like, what is the endpoint? Okay. We have the tools and the skills to handle that endpoint.

Everything goes awful. Everything turns to shit. Like, we are still capable, and we can still do hard things of, like, handling what that would look like and what that would happen. So sometimes, like, people don't wanna hear it, but it's like, okay. Worst case scenario, they scream at us.

They drop all of our nudes on Snapchat. Like, things are bad. But then, like, is that the kind of friend we want anyway? Is that the kind of relationship we want to have? Yes.

Those are really hard questions, but it's kind of like the hard reality is when we're like, and, like, also perspective shift of, like, we could be asking for, like, hi. I want to hang out 20% less. Well, if someone has a 200% reaction to that, that's more indicative of kind of where they are versus us upsetting the balance. Right. Yes.

I I always like to say, when and I've seen this happen. When you set boundaries that people aren't used to, you're gonna get different reactions. And I think that reaction is a big tell all of whether or not they should be in your life. Sometimes setting boundaries is the very filter you need to sift them the hell out of your life because some people don't need to be there. They're there for the wrong reasons.

They're there to be energy vampires. There's a lot of different reasons, not all the same, but you want people that are going to enhance your life, not suck away all the energy out of it without giving something back. So sometimes these new boundaries are tests. And like Emily said, it doesn't make you bad. It's not wrong.

And their reaction says more about them than you. They're used to having access to you all the time and wasting your time. And when you put up a boundaries that says, we're not just gonna talk anytime. My new boundaries, we gotta work by appointment. They're not used to that.

And so that is a you know, that's a new boundary that they just they have to you have to see how they have to learn how to handle that. Now if they're mature and they're real, they'll do that. If they're not and they're selfish and whatever the reason is because there's many reasons, whatever the reason is, you don't need that around you. So let it go. Let them go.

It is really okay. Healthy boundaries keep us healthy. It keeps us in order. It keeps our lives in order. But most importantly, the I think the number one and I know that you you'll agree with you can, comment on this, Emily.

The number one thing that healthy boundaries do for us is to keep our mental health in order. I don't care what your what boundary you're talking about and what area you're talking about, even sex. A healthy boundary. At the end of the day, put your mental health in order. When I talk with people, like, boundaries are an act of self care.

Like, it's a form of self care and self connection. So, like, what are we protecting at the end of the day? Our mental health. Our mental well-being are what's gonna be healthy for us. That's why it's, like, the ultimatums can sometimes, like, is that really protecting our mental health, or do we just want to, like, control things because that makes us feels powerful?

That can be what we need to be. Like, there's, you know there's a whole other topic, but, like Yeah. Right. At their core, boundaries are a part of self care and a part of, like, a gift that we have to ourselves. What are one one more question.

What is something that we that often gets confused with a boundary but isn't? There's a whole lot of them. Well, that is an excellent question. I mean, my go to is ultimatums because that's what I see a lot with of people confusing them with that. So that's probably the most, like, obvious easy one.

I'm trying to think of a more tricky one for you. Boundaries. Ultimate ultimatums are just like, you do this or else. These are, like, super, like, hard written in stone and also, like, a declarative on someone else's actions. It doesn't allow any space for, like, communication or back and forth.

It also, like, raises those stakes and makes them really, like, intense and high. So instead of being, like, hi. Like, I wanna change the communication style or frequency or method. Or like, hey. I hate bowling.

I never wanna go bowling again. Bowling does not make me feel like fun. So it is different of, like, I don't wanna go bowling anymore. Can we do something else instead? Or can we do this instead?

Bowling x me out of being like, I'm never going bowling with you because it's disgusting, and I hate it. And if you ever go bowling, I'm cutting you out of my life because bowling is the worst thing in the world. Like, you hear how those sound differently? But sometimes people are like, oh, boundaries. Okay.

I'm gonna set a boundary. You can't ever lie to me. You can't ever hurt my feelings. You can't ever do anything wrong. Like, real talk.

We're humans. We make mistakes. Mistakes are how we grow. So it's kind of those declarative statements that can kind of get tripped up in it. Another way that it can get tripped up is, like, if we're getting so focused on the other person's reaction or on the other person's needs, I see this a lot with, like, people pleasing and anxiety of, like, when it's kind of that walking on eggshells.

Like, well, I don't want him to get mad at me. Well, like, what if he breaks up with me? Well, what if she never wants to see me again? Well, what if they never talk to me again? Like, that is where fortune telling and we're going, oh, they're gonna leave us and they're gonna do this.

It's also, like, maybe not reality and maybe not exactly what would happen. It's what anxiety is tell us is gonna happen, that people can't accept us exactly as they are. They can only accept us when we fit ourselves into these really uncomfy boxes. And, like, that's more about a process that we have within ourselves than, like, a communication and limit that we're setting in relation with others. But it shows up kind of when we're doing that, like, self exploration process.

I love the the example used of the the ultimatum and breaking breaking down why that's different than a healthy boundary. And I I think that's a good example because that's a big one. I it does happen a lot, and it happens in different ways, not just romantic relationships. You know, you give a good example, but the details are gonna be different for each of us. And I think it's important that I'm all about balance.

It's something that I I I teach a lot on. And so I always like to talk about the balance of a subject, which is why I ask those opposing questions. It's because sometimes people will take what you say and take it to the extreme. And I and I want to make sure that they understand you're not talking about the extreme. You're talking about being balanced.

You're talking about being balanced. And and communication and boundaries, they're not separate. Two separate things. They absolutely they're they're separate on paper, but they go together. There's time these twins.

You know, you you really can't separate them truly. Well, it's hard. Like, if we have boundaries, but we never communicate them, then, like, what are they doing? They're like tools. Right?

So, like, if we leave the hammer on the shelf and it's collecting dust, like, all of our pictures are gonna stay on the floor. They're never gonna get on the wall if we don't use them. So it's always gonna be like, oh, I'm really good at boundaries. Like, I practice boundaries. I'm really good at them.

Okay. Like, how does it go when you talk about boundaries with your friends? How does it go when you set a boundary with your parent? Oh, I would never do that. Well, like, that wouldn't work well for me.

Well, like, that's not gonna go for me. Well, like, we've practiced a lot of boundaries. We've done that self exploration, but, like, how we actually practice communicating about it. So, like, the hammer shitting on the shelf, it's not being used, and we're not getting what we want out of it. Yes.

Well, Emily, it has been awesome talking to you, especially the conversation you've had off air, which have been entirely full of laughter. It really has been a lot of fun talking to you, and thank you for coming on. I really appreciate it. Thank you for having me. It's been great.

And now for a mind shifting moment. I want you to think about this. Look at all the relationships in your life, family, romantic, friendship, even work. Have you set healthy boundaries in all of them? What is lingering in the back of your mind and you know you have not talked about, you've not communicated about because you're afraid to?

Whatever just popped in your mind is the very thing you need to deal with and communicate. Just think about that. Thank you for listening to mind shift power podcast. Please like, and subscribe to my YouTube channel at the mind shifter. If you have any comments, topic suggestions, or would like to be a guest on the show, please visit FatimaBay.com/podcast.

Remember, there's power in shifting your thinking. Tune in for next week.