Why some people have trouble enforcing or creating boundaries

People often have trouble creating or enforcing boundaries. For example, people who have issues with codependency can have trouble with boundaries. Not all people who have trouble with boundaries are codependent, of course, but it is very common for people who have codependency challenges. They have often been conditioned that boundaries are selfish or inappropriate. They may have been shamed out of caring for themselves or taught that taking care of the needs and emotions of other people is their responsibility. They may have been conditioned to believe that they have no value unless they are doing something for other people. Because of this, codependent people often become reliant on others to meet their needs.

Codependency occurs when someone's needs are not being met and they become "merged" with another person in an attempt to meet them. It is often described as not knowing where they end and the other person begins. Codependency is unhealthy and dangerous, because the codependent sacrifices their own well-being for the other person in the misguided belief that this is what's required to have worth. They often feel trapped or guilted into doing things they'd rather not do. Lack of boundaries goes hand in hand with enabling or codependent behaviors because of something called enmeshment.