My work with clients this week focused much around the topic of feeling safe. Almost everyone felt the emotional boundary systems that have been in place for a while are once again crumbing within and around them. One of my clients said he knew he couldn’t rush through the process or find a quick fix, yet the feeling of dread around worldly events leaves him suffocating. The boundaries he had relationships with no longer support him in the same way, nor do those thoughts he created around them. We worked on creating new definitions of feeling safe, both within the world and within himself, including those relationships in his life. We spoke about finding new interests, organizing new thoughts in the ways in which he saw the world. Little things like volunteering, supporting a cause close to your heart can all contribute to feeling safe in this world. The more you hold onto the old boundary systems especially in relationships the more constricted you will feel in your life and in connection with those around you. A new boundary system and new definition of safety takes time to unfold and integrate. Changes in your external world are happening fast. Don’t expect those changes in your internal world to manifest at the same pace. Be patient and gentle with yourself.