We get into this work because we care.

Because we see the pain under someone’s smile.
Because we feel the exhaustion in their shoulders before they speak.
Because we want to offer something real in a world that asks women to keep coping.

That care — it’s sacred.
But if you’re not careful, it becomes currency.

I’m writing this not from theory, but from lived experience. Years as a therapist, reflexologist, mentor… I’ve supported clients, trainees, and peers alike. I’ve given advice in voice notes, shared resources freely, offered my time when someone was struggling — sometimes when I didn’t really have the capacity, but gave it anyway.

Not for recognition. Not for return.
But because I care.

And here’s the part no one likes to say out loud:
Sometimes that care goes unreciprocated.
Sometimes you’re the one left holding the empty cup.
And the worst part? It’s often the people you’ve poured into most who disappear when you need holding.

That sting — I’ve felt it.
And I’ve learned not to let it harden me, but to let it teach me.

The lesson was boundaries.

Not walls. Not disconnection.
Just an honest check-in with myself:
Is this coming from my grounded centre — or from the part of me that wants to be needed?

The truth is, I hadn’t been running a business.
I’d been running an emotional tap that never turned off.

I say this with tenderness — not to blame, but to invite reflection:
If you’ve ever felt taken for granted, depleted, or quietly resentful… it might be time to reframe what generosity means in your practice.

Boundaries aren’t about restriction.
They’re about protecting the value of your presence, your time, your work.

That value doesn’t disappear just because someone else can’t see it.
But it does diminish when we hand it out from a place of self-abandonment.

I’ve had to learn how to support without over-giving.
How to offer compassion without leaking my energy all over the room.
How to run my practice like a professional — not a therapist-shaped rescue fantasy.

It’s still hard sometimes.
But with the right support (shout out to my coach), I now lead from a steadier place.

So I’m sharing this not as a warning — but as a conversation starter.

If this landed, if you’ve felt this too… let’s talk about it.
Let’s model to our clients and our community what it means to give from fullness — not depletion.

We don’t have to perform care to be caring.
We don’t have to sacrifice ourselves to be valuable.

We just have to stop confusing over-functioning with generosity.

If you're a fellow therapist... what boundaries have saved your practice?
Where do you still feel pulled to over-give?