Boundary-setting may feel difficult or foreign even because many (most) folx didn’t learn boundary setting and maintenance growing up. It’s not uncommon for a person with an addiction or addictive behavior to grow up in an environment where boundaries were not honored. For instance, they may have grown up in a chaotic home where there was no enforced bedtime, or their privacy was invaded by a caregiver reading their personal journal. Oftentimes, food, a substance, or behavior is a way to regain a semblance of control in the person’s life and/or offers an escape from emotions that feel too intense to feel. Something that was occasional becomes more frequent until it becomes an addiction.
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