What does it mean that emotional boundaries?

Emotional boundaries protect you from absorbing others' emotional states as your own. They allow empathy without enmeshment.

Example: Your colleague walks into a meeting visibly frustrated about a client call. Within five minutes, you notice your own jaw tightening, your posture shifting, your internal monologue turning negative — even though your morning was fine. Without emotional boundaries, you absorbed their frustration as if it were yours. With emotional boundaries, you can notice their frustration, feel genuine concern, and choose whether to engage — without your own emotional state being hijacked.

Try this: The next time you leave a conversation feeling emotionally different than when you entered it, pause and ask: 'Is this feeling mine, or did I absorb it from the other person?' Write down what you felt before the conversation, what you feel now, and what the other person was feeling. If your current state mirrors theirs rather than reflecting your own circumstances, you've identified an emotional boundary gap. Name it. That naming is the boundary.