Building Boundaries

Use this worksheet to reflect on how you set boundaries with the people around you.

This activity comes from Mental Health America’s 2025 Mental Health Month Campaign.

  1. What personal values do you want to protect?

    (Examples: my time, my mental health, my energy, my relationships, my personal space, etc.)

    0 / 1000

  2. One way we protect our values is by setting boundaries. Boundaries are ways of communicating which behaviors we do and do not accept from other people.

  3. List three areas in your life where you would like to set clear boundaries to support your values.

    (Examples: work, social media, family, friendships, relationships, etc.)

    0 / 1000

  4. Practice scripts:

    An important part of setting boundaries is learning to say “no” firmly without being overly aggressive. For instance, if you were to say, “Why can’t you just leave me alone?” when you need space, it could come across in a way that is damaging to relationships. Use these examples to help you set boundaries:

    Workplace: “I can’t take on additional tasks right now, but I’m happy to revisit this later.”
    Social life: “Thanks for the invite, but I need some downtime this weekend.”
    Family: “I appreciate your concern, but I’d rather handle this my own way.”
    Personal space: “I need some quiet time right now. Let’s talk later.”

    We can’t control how other people act. They are free to choose whether to respect our boundaries or not. What we can control is how we respond when someone chooses not to respect a boundary.

  5. How do you currently respond when someone doesn’t respect your boundaries?

    (Be honest! Do you stay silent, over-explain, feel guilty, or get upset?)

    0 / 1000

  6. What might be a more effective way to respond?

    (Example: Instead of saying "It’s fine," try "I’m not comfortable with that.")

    0 / 1000

  7. Choose one boundary to practice this week and write it below.

    0 / 1000

What others answered: